[caption id="attachment_285300" align="alignnone" width="565"]
Hekhushe Shikhu addresses the inauguration of the Ethnic Performing Arts, on Saturday in Dimapur.[/caption]
Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 30 (EMN): The Ethnic Performing Arts Institute was inaugurated on Sat. Nov. 30 at the Indigenous Cultural Centre office in Dimapur by Sumi Hoho president Hekhushe Shikhu as the event’s special guest.
The Ethnic Performing Arts was formed with the objective to preserving, projecting and promoting the tradition, art and culture of the Naga people, said Ikato Y Kiho, the director of the institute.
In his keynote address, Kiho said Naga culture and traditions are primarily oral.
“The trend now is leading to the extent of forgetting and devaluing our own mother tongue which we feel is the most pathetic and dangerous lead. What do we know when we don’t know our own culture,” he said.
‘We Nagas have fast forwarded ourselves more than the normal phase and consequently fast forwarded in forgetting our rich tradition, art and culture of our forefathers which is our basic identity.’
Kiho asserted that “with the progress of wisdom and education our farsighted Naga authors has documented many books to preserve and protect our tradition, art and culture, yet with the run of time, we being in tradition of oral culture, our original resource persons are old and almost all died and the real source of information and knowledge is almost extinct.”
The recognition of the importance and urgency to preserve, protect and promote the forefathers’ tradition, art and culture led to forming Ethnic Performing Arts to mediate, he said. The goal is to impart and practice tradition, art and culture, Kiho said.
The Ethnic Performing Arts institute will offer three months sponsored course in folk dance; folk music, indigenous games, acting and theatre designing starting from January 2020 onwards for the Sumi community for free.
After the three months course, the institute will offer the courses to interested individuals with fees, Kiho informed. He said the institute has collaborated with the Indigenous Cultural Centre to conduct classes.
The classes will be conducted by the director of Indigenous Culture Centre Dr Hesheto Chishi on aspects of tradition, art and culture; Rev. Ghoheto Zhimo on folk music; Zuvihe Yeptho and Hukato Aye in folk dance; Toheni on folk dance and folk music for women; and Ikato Y Kiho in acting, theatre and designing.
