Dimapur, October 28: With the spread of western culture, where most of the young Naga population have began to lose sight of their traditional and cultural values, they are urged to seek their forefathers’ values to ‘preserve their identity.’
Masangum Mpom, personal aide to the chief minister of Nagaland, on Friday advised the younger generation to imbibe the values of yore ‘more so to preserve their identity.’
Mpom was speaking at the inauguration of a ‘Khangchiuki’ (male dormitory) of the Liangmai People’s Organisation (LPO) in Mhaikam village in Peren district on October 28.
Stating that ‘such dormitory was rare to find even in rural areas,’ the aide lauded the LPO for ‘setting a trend for the present generation to emulate.’ He observed that the present generation had given into western culture ‘thereby losing the tradition of their forefathers.’Mpom also explained that traditions formed the essence of identity. Losing culture will lead to the loss identity; eventually, it would lead to a position of a people lost, he said. In this regard, he encouraged the younger generations to endeavour toward ‘reviving culture and tradition of our forefather and emerge as a distinct people.’
While acknowledging the inevitability of the spread of western culture, Mpom advised the gathering to embrace values that are essential to life ‘but to preserve the age old traditional values of the forefathers.’
‘You lose everything when you lose your culture and tradition,’ he said. The construction of the dormitory was an ‘indication of unity prevailing among the Liangmai community in Mhaikam village,’ he said. He encouraged them to stay united and spread the message of unity to the Naga brethren.
Folk dances and music marked the inauguration of the dormitory.
