The leadership of Teli Kivelimi Kiba, the first woman Gaonbura of Naga society, challenges patriarchal traditions and underscores women's struggle for gender equality.
The remarkable leadership of Teli Kivelimi Kiba, the first woman Gaonbura of Naga society, challenges patriarchal traditions and underscores women's struggle for gender equality and a rightful place in governance.
Nagas have an oral tradition. It was only after Christianity and, thereafter, modern education were introduced in the 19th century that some attention was given to written history. A lot of what we know today about our past was basically research and history written by British ethnographers, administrators, historians, anthropologists and sociologists through the prism of these fields. However comprehensive and meticulous their efforts were, they had language limitations. Besides, their accounts blanked out women’s personhood as if they were merely background fillers of a crowd scene in a mega movie, thus revealing a patriarchal slant. So, a lot of our history still remains unwritten.
But efforts are now being made to fill in the gaps in what is being passed off or believed to be the mainstream and dominant Naga history. So, it may surprise many to know that a Naga woman, Teli Kivelimi Kiba, had been a Gaonbura (GB) in lghanumi village of Zunheboto district from 1936 till her death in 1956. Not strictly a history book, People Stories: Volume I (Revised Edition), published by Penthrill Publication House under the aegis of the Naga Heritage Centre, and edited by two well known litterateurs, Avinuo Kire and Meneno Vamuzo Rhakho, documents oral accounts of unsung and unheralded men and women, who have made a great difference to the lives of the people around them, their villages and the neighbouring villages, and have also stood centrestage during the events of their times that shaped the history of their villages, neighbouring villages and the Nagas. Some of them are still with us, some able to recount their stories but have since passed on, and some stories have been recorded by family members.
Some of these accounts speak of times before the advent of the British, some during and after British rule, and others during the turbulent years before statehood. The documented accounts of these people are simple, brief, easy to understand and not boring history stuff but actual lived experiences, which bring people and the past back to life.
What drew me to Teli Kivelimi Kiba's story, as narrated by her granddaughter Shikuli Kevilimi Kiba, daughter of Teli’s eldest daughter Hovili, and written by Meneno Vamuzo Rhakho, is that Teli could very well be living today and fighting the same fight as today’s Naga women fighting for political, property and inheritance rights. Traditionally, no Naga woman was entrusted with village governance, but after the demise of Teli’s husband, who was a GB, Sir Charles Pawsey, the then Deputy Commissioner of Naga Hills, visited lghanumi to settle a case. Since none of the men could speak in the presence of the DC, Teti spoke out on behalf of the villagers and gave an insightful judgment. Pawsey was greatly impressed by her leadership qualities, wisdom, confidence and articulacy. He placed a GB’s red shawl on her shoulders, commenting that such a person should take on the role of a GB. This created history, as Teli became the first Naga woman GB, succeeding her late husband Ghopfuna.
After her husband’s demise, Teli had to suffer the indignity of having her brother-in-law take away all her movable and immovable property, which she and her husband had acquired because she had three daughters but no sons. The brother-in-law also challenged her succession as GB. Teli didn’t take it lying down. She approached the court of Deputy Commissioner Charles Pawsey. Teti won the case and her property was restored, as was her GB-ship.
Naga women, indeed all women, need recorded accounts of strong heroines and role models such as Teli to be made known and taught in schools and colleges because we need to remind ourselves that women’s struggles for recognition and acknowledgement of their personhood as well as for all our political, economic, social, cultural, fundamental, legal, constitutional and human rights, are not something that evolved in a few decades, or as widely perceived, are imports of Western feminism. For centuries, women across the globe have been demanding the same things that patriarchal societies deny and deprive them of. The struggles for these demands could begin in palaces or prisons, in kitchens or parlours, in the streets or fortresses, but the theme remains constant. Teli must be upheld as an icon of feminism and a beacon of light for the discriminated-against and marginalised women.
Teli’s story also underscores the loss incurred by patriarchal communities and societies that discriminate against women in favour of men. The loss is incurred and compounded over time through patriarchy’s failure to recognise talent, abilities, leadership qualities, wisdom, knowledge, confidence, oratory skills, creativity and the innovative spirit. It took a British officer to recognise these traits in a woman in a village where men couldn’t speak in the presence of a Deputy Commissioner. It took a woman to bravely and clearly state her case on behalf of fellow villagers. And even now, we have the audacity to give leadership roles to males. If this was not so blatantly unjust, it would have been humorous. When talent is overlooked because of a person’s gender, the community and society suffer - the obvious example being Naga society and many other tribal societies across the Northeast and the rest of the country. That a case for reservation for women in elected bodies continues to be made and the enactment of a law providing it remains undecided in Parliament, which is used as a bargaining chip and bait, reveals a lot about a country and a society that disregard equality, fundamental and human rights, and trample talent under the boots of male chauvinism. The sky over Nagaland, the Northeast and India will always remain low and lopsided because women are prevented from exercising their right to hold it higher.
History is not always written in history books alone. Often, literature does more justice to people who make history. There’s more to Teli's story, but I leave that to you to find out for yourself. You may also discover how much you are missing by avoiding or demeaning literature and ignoring history.
Monalisa Changkija
Dimapur-based poet, and former proprietor and editor of Nagaland Page
(This article was published in the October 30, 2026 issue of Assam Tribune)