T Penzü
Introduction
I wrote this article and releasing in Nagaland’s esteemed newspapers, to make all Nagas aware of the importance of our Naga folk dances, and to get these standardized with urgency. By ‘all Nagas’ I mean Nagas inside and outside Nagaland State who are living all around the world. Also, to inform all the Nagas that our folk dances have great potentiality to use as an instrument of peace in inter-tribal, inter-State and international understanding around the country and the world.
However, the cultural or folk dances which we are performing at present are sub-standard ones. These require development and standardization. Our few generations of Nagas from 2nd half of the 20th century to this first decade of the 21st century are in a transitional lukewarm period in respect of our folk dances. Upto 1950, the original Naga dances of our predecessors’ time were performed in full grandeur and majesty, dressed in plentifully rich costume or dancing dress. Dateline may differ slightly from tribe to tribe. (1950 is the general/ approximate year.)
Today, the original splendour of our dances has totally vanished. What we perform today is a hazy imitation of those bygone days’ dances. It is not due to our intentional neglect. Social practice of earlier non-Christian era is a misfit today. And, we are yet to evolve a new pattern of dancing practice befitting our modern Christian era. That is why I have written above, that we are now in a lukewarm transition period. Cultural dances are lingering now without shining. In later pages I have expressed my hope of shining these dances after evolving a new pattern of creative designs.
Required measures to be taken to standardize Naga folk dances
1. Semi-naked dance to well-dressed dance
We Nagas entertain a wrong notion or mistaken understanding like this: ‘Our Naga forefathers were naked or semi-naked people. They danced semi-naked. So we too should imitate the same.’ This is an absolutely wrong notion.
We must know that at one time of world’s history all human beings were naked. Cave men and hunters in pre-historic time, in Stone Age and Iron Age were naked or semi-naked. We should not think that it was only Nagas who were naked at the beginning of the world. God created Adam and Eve naked. God didn’t make clothes for them. Later, they covered their nakedness by leaves, and then by animal skin. In subsequent generations people wove clothes and covered their nakedness. Here include Europeans, Americans, all the world’s people. I have given more elaboration on this nakedness in later stage of this article under the sub-heading, ‘Origin of the word ‘Naga’.’ (to be published in the next issue)
Come on, let us now imagine as viewing a group of Naga dancers in a festival or function. All males, adults and young boys, all in semi-naked bodies, exposing their naked buttock and thigh, without any half pant or any clothes. Of course, in front side they do cover their private parts with a piece of cloth or with white cowrie-shell shining covering. It looks awful, awkward, embarrassing and very primitive! It is not fit for modern age spectators, audience.
It is good that female dancers wear designer-creations of uniform attires like blouse, skirt, etc. over which they wear other costume items like pearl necklace, and so on.
Naga fashion designers and art & culture-minded people combined together should design an appropriate male dancing dress by the designers’ artistic creations without delay.
2. Slow moving dance to smart dance
Except for a few contingents almost all Naga dancers perform their dances in slow-moving, clumsy-like display, with no smartness at all as if dancing with great effort. It is like viewing a cinema film in slow-motion switch button. All Naga dances by all Naga tribes need to improve smartness and quickness.
All human beings admire their domestic cocks for their smartness and dignified look. But compared to wild cocks in the jungles, domestic cocks look unsmart and clumsy; and fully dependant on their human-master for food. We Naga dancers, sometimes we are tempted to praise ourselves for our ‘good cultural dances.’ In my boyhood in the 1940s, when I viewed dances of our predecessor-generation, people performing their dances in Moatsü festivals, I still remember, they danced as if they were flying in the air without touching their feet on the ground.
3. Transmission of dance from old to new, young generation
We have our folklore stories like myths, legends, folktales, etc., transmitted orally from father to son from old to new generation. Likewise, our folk dances too need to be transferred or transmitted from old generation people to the younger ones. But the process of transmission is not taking place in Naga society. In such a situation we may face the danger of our dances vanishing in this 21st century itself.
How do we know the non-transmission? Here is the evidence clearly: In the annual hornbill festivals, dancer-members or artistes of almost all dancing troupes or contingents were old generation adult people, married men and women in and above their prime of life. In terms of percentage, there may be about 5 % to 10 % unmarried young boys and girls mixed up with adult dancers in every troupe who came from the rural villages.
Welcome and reception programme of a VIP/VVIP (great personality) is generally accompanied by display of folk dances. It is a fashion of displaying friendship, practised all over the world from earlier historical times. It is not a forced practice by order of authority, but a symbol of inhabitants’ courtesy and hospitality. Such events take place frequently in India, with greater zeal in tribal areas. In our Nagaland in such occasions, dancing members are found mostly of married adult persons in their 50s. Young boys and girls are rarely seen in dancing groups, except in garlanding or food service. It is because the heritage mandate of dancing has not yet been transferred to the young generation people.
In the year 2004 there was a week-long Naga dancing programme in New Delhi. Many contingents of folk dancers from several tribes, mostly from Tuensang district, performed their dances every evening. Many Central Government VIPs/VVIPs attended the grand events. I too, with some Naga friends attended every evening as invitees. I have learnt that the programme was organised by the initiative of the then Nagaland Governor and the North East Zone Cultural Centre at Dimapur. I found that except for a few young boys and girls, the number of dancers was dominated and overshadowed by old generation people with heavy legs.
4. Non-training propaganda Naga traditional festivals
Every Naga tribe has at least two traditional cultural festivals per year, recognised by the State Government granting restricted holidays. So far as my observation goes, tribals are not utilising the days for training of youths in folk dances. Dancing in an open compound for ½ or one hour can not be called training.
Each tribe’s regular programme is just to have a meeting or function with a chief guest-cum-donor delivering a short speech, exhortation by 1 or 2 local dignitaries, folk song by 1 or 2 groups, and meeting is over. Then, feast meal with meat…. function over; dispersed.
The next morning, news, with photo pictures, splashed in all newspapers of the State. Is it propaganda? We can not call it propaganda blindly. If there is any tangible follow-up action for promotion and development of dances by doing so, we can call it ‘mass education’. If it is mere celebration and nothing more, we can term it as propaganda.
Let the Nagas use their traditional festival days with wisely chalked-out programme with traditional folk dance training for youths as the main feature of the day.
5. Lay dancers to professional dancers
Who is a layman or laywoman? In secular term it means an untrained, unskilled labourer, or person without special training or skill in any trade or profession. In religious terms, person who preaches his or her faith to other persons voluntarily by his/her own volition, without any training in theological institution, is called a lay preacher or lay evangelist.
In our Naga society all traditional dancers are lay dancers. Because, in our society there is no institute or academy or school, where dance trainings are imparted, with award of certificates, diploma or degree to the qualified artistes.
In the olden time there was training in folk dances in all Naga villages from one’s early age. Every village citizen became a trained, skilled, expert dancer. A good dancing boy or girl was respected and held in high esteem in society and had no difficulty in getting a good matching husband or wife in marriage. Even in married life, till death, dancing enhanced social status to a higher level both for man and woman. Dancing was part and parcel of life in Naga society in our forefathers’ age.
But the question of everybody’s training does not arise in our modern age. It is not possible. Everybody goes to school.
However, I want to share herewith two visionary ideas with our Naga family members to develop, preserve and promote our heritage Naga folk dances. The two ideas are as follows:-
(a) Training of Naga Cultural/folk dances can be introduced as a co-curricular subject in schools and colleges of Nagaland. It will be an optional subject to be chosen by any interested student with examination like other subjects. Here I am rot giving detailed explanation to save paper space/length.
(b) Government-sponsored, or private institutions/academy can be run to impart training on folk dance with short course duration of 4 to 6 months’ course batchwise. Diploma may be awarded to those trainees who qualify the set test. Demonstrators can be recruited from villages. There will be also teachers’/demonstrators’ training with separate course under the same institution.
Under these systems we can produce professional dancers whose performances can cover the would-be demands in State, national and international levels all around the world.
To support my idea, I want to end this sub-heading with an example like this: Weaving was a traditional cottage industry for every Naga woman in earlier times. A girl without knowledge of weaving was looked down in society. Every good mother of a girl trained her daughter in weaving from an early age. Weaving was associated with high social status for a girl/woman.
But in modern world it is impossible to train every girl in weaving. Ultimately and automatically it went or was transferred to the professionals. Today, professional Naga women weavers are producing high quality and beautiful designed clothes, with good market demands in the whole country.
Likewise, provided Naga leaders could give the ideas, Naga professional dancers can preserve and promote the Naga heritage dancing in a much better way than our present system of laymen’s/laywomen’s dancing.
6. To rescue the near-extinct Naga folk dances
Apart from the common pattern of every Naga tribe’s dances, I have identified some individual village dances which are peculiar and much better than all other Naga tribal dances. However, these individual villages’ dances are at present in almost extinct condition due to villagers’ neglect; or there is no active organiser–leader to take the initiative to rescue the vanishing dances which are on the verge of total extinction from Naga memory. Among these, the two foremost villages are given below. They need to be rescued from extinction.
(i) Lozabozo: It is a medium-size Chakhesang village in Phek district about 5 KM away from Old Phek town. It has one of the best forms of folk dances different from all other fellow-Chakhesang villages. Their dances had been filmed by Films Division, GoI, New Delhi, in 1978. The film was screened all over India by Films Division and DIPR, Nagaland, as representative Naga folk dances for a few years. The dance is now in near-extinct category due to non-practice/non-display.
(Latest spelling of ‘Lozabozo’ is not updated by me)
(ii) Merangkong: It is a big village in Mokokchung district. It has few items of dances treated as the best ones in Nagaland, quite peculiar from all other fellow-Ao villages’ dances. But due to non-performance and practice, these dances are on the verge of total extinction. Merangkong dancers had frequently performed their dances in Government events during the British rule in the then Naga Hills with filming. Hornbill dance and exorcism dance were noted items.
(iii) Besides the two above cited villages, near-extinct dances with good repute are to be found in the undermentioned villages:-
Zulhami in Phek district; Poilowa in Peren district; Khar, Chuchuyimlang, Mopungchuket, Molungkimong and Kangtsüng in Mokokchung district. Also, there may be other villages in this category which are not included in my personal identification list.
7. Konyak dance needs modification and upgradation
Konyak dance is a unique one. The present pattern of dance is not good. But it has a peculiar item which enhances its potentiality to be modified and upgraded to a better level. It is the only dance form among all the Naga dances where guns are used as a dancing costume. Of course there are no bullets in the guns. These are fired with gunpowder only, in the course of dancing. These are their homemade muzzle-loading guns, non-injurious but creating the desired effect. This item of dance is called ‘Head Hunters’ War Dance’.
The present form is in slow-motion, with no uniform rhythm, plain, just walking-dance. As they go round dancing with greater intensity, they fire the guns in individual-dancer’s appointed point of time, not in a uniform point of time.
I have estimated that if some theatrical experts with creative mind could exercise their creative ideas for modifying and upgrading the dance pattern and rhythm, it can be produced into one of the best dances in the country, and a unique one. The present peripheral costume items can be replaced by better items. What I mean is that the gun-firing effect can be utilised in a standard pattern, turning it into an effective dramatic dance form.
8. Hurriedly rehearsed dance to ever-ready dance
Different Naga cultural dance troupes used to go on goodwill dance tours from time to time to Indian cities and also to foreign cities. Since there are no well-established, well-equipped cultural troupes in the State, the sponsors choose any one of the known troupes for a specific tour. The sponsor may be a government or non-government one. Hurried preparations and rehearsals are made after getting the assignment for the tour. Journey begins on the appointed day.
After reaching their destination, Nagas perform their dances well. In spite of hurried preparations Naga dancers get great applause for their good dances. It shows that we have potentiality and bright future if we standardise our present pattern of dances.
Yet the above cited seeming potentiality and apparent bright future will remain only wishful thinking, and might turn to fool’s hope too, if top policy-makers in the State Government choose to remain satisfied with the existing pattern in status quo. If so, enthusiastic young generation people have to cling to the famous saying, ‘A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.’
Among the 8 N.E. region’s sister-states, Assam and Manipur have dance institutions/ academies from a long time. They are producing trained dancers batch by batch in all generations. Those well-trained, professional dancers are showcasing their respective dances every now and then in world capitals like London, New York, Washington, Paris, New Delhi, etc. They are respected and treated as goodwill ambassadors of peace in the world. Following the footsteps of the two aforesaid States, Mizoram has recently standardized their bamboo dance and charmed the international audience in the five continents.
‘In respect of cultural and folk dances, Nagas have great potentiality and bright future.’ I am repeating it again. Will it remain only a wishful thinking as of now? Or will this happen in reality?
The ball is in the court of the high and mighty – the top policy makers of the State Government.
