Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, APRIL 19
With the intent of preserving, revitalizing, safeguarding, promoting and increasing awareness of Naga Heritage through various ways and means, a cultural archive called the Naga Heritage Centre was inaugurated Tuesday. Besides, the centre’s first volume of people stories, written by politician Dr Shürhozelie Liezietsu, the president of the NPF and of Ura Academy was released during the event.
The centre was established by two young women, Dr Avinuo Kire and Dr Meneno Vamuzo Rhakho.
‘People Stories: Volume One’ is an eclectic collection of stories and traditional teachings gathered from Naga elders written and compiled by Dr Avinuo Kire and Dr Meneno Vamuzo Rhakho.
With the aim to capture and document the rich oral traditions of the Naga, the stories range from the early days of the Naga history when people lived in close harmony with nature and the spirit world was as real as the physical realm. It also includes stories from the years of Naga people’s contact with other cultures.
‘The essence of this book is that it privileges Naga voices down the generations’ said the authors and informed that more volumes that are inclusive of the many more Naga tribes whose stories are not contained in these pages will follow.
Giving an introductory speech about the Naga Heritage Centre, Dr Avinuo Kire said the mutual concerned between her and Dr Meneno to preserve and safeguard the Naga heritage to be executed in a systematic manner has led to its establishment.
Stating that the shift towards globalization has had its effect on the Naga as the gradual change in lifestyles has altered the Naga ways of life and thoughts patterns in the recent years, Dr Avinuo, said thus, the urgent need to document undiluted oral narratives while still possible, since Nagas are highly oral society, whose main pool of knowledge and information lies with the elders.
Noting the dying generation of “professional storytellers” who are taking with them the bulk of information vital for our cultural survival, as well as survival as a people, Dr Avinuo said ‘we are on the verge of losing an entire generation’s knowledge and wisdom, this obviously means that we might lose the link to our ancestral heritage’. Therefore, she maintained there is a serious urgency to collect from the elders, ‘as they are our only channel to collect from and maintain our sense of identity as a people’.
She also said the priority mission of NHC at present is to document oral narratives by systematically tracing, recording, collecting and documenting in detail the Naga oral narratives; stories, history, legends, folktales and traditional teaching which contain keys to knowledge of our past, history, ecosystem and the rich intangible cultural heritage.
Noting the lack of interest among the younger generation to learn about his/her heritage and their values and traditional ethos, Dr Avinuo said this will ultimately lead to identity crisis and rootlessness which in turn will give rise to many new problems. Therefore, she asserted that people need to find a balance where progress and modern comforts can coexist with what is traditional and therefore, precious.
Speaking at the event, the publisher of local publication PenThrill Publication House, Vishü Rita Krocha, said ‘People Stories: Volume One” is rare and different from the kinds of books that people generally come across, and appreciated the authors for their brilliant initiatives to document the oral narratives of the elderly by bringing alive the rich stories of a generation that is swiftly fading.
Also noting the lack of readers among the Naga people for local writers, Rita remarked that ‘for anything to grow, we need support and encouragement’. She is optimistic that in days to come there will be a thriving community of readers among the Naga people so that a vibrant atmosphere for literature is created.
‘People Stories: Volume One’ is the first collection of documented oral narratives released by the Naga Heritage Centre and published by PenThrill Publication House. The book is priced at Rs 550.
