A national symposium in Kohima explored Naga oral traditions, indigenous knowledge and tribal culture, stressing documentation, preservation and intergenerational
KOHIMA — A national symposium on “Naga Oral Tradition and Tribal Culture,” organised by the Research and Development Cell of Baptist College, Kohima, in collaboration with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), Regional Centre, Guwahati, was held at Baptist College, Kohima, on Friday.
According to the organisers, the symposium aimed to promote research on Naga oral traditions and indigenous knowledge systems and contribute to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
Prof. Anil Kumar, anthropologist and Head of the Janapada Sampada Division, IGNCA, New Delhi, emphasised the need to view culture from a holistic perspective.
He said IGNCA's mandate includes studying rural, tribal and folk traditions through a holistic approach.
Research, he noted, should go beyond passive observation to active documentation and digitisation for wider dissemination. He added that the centre has extensively documented both tangible and intangible heritage across the northeastern states.
Kumar highlighted the importance of textiles in shaping cultural identity, noting that IGNCA has undertaken extensive research in the area.
He stressed the need for communities to interpret and document their own stories, cultures and traditions accurately, cautioning against misinterpretation.
He also underlined the importance of experiencing and participating in other cultures to develop a deeper understanding of them. According to him, cultures naturally begin to assimilate, exchange and adopt elements from one another when communities come into contact.
Kumar urged participants to preserve their cultural heritage for future generations and ensure that younger generations remain connected to their traditions.
Dr. Sapam Ranabir Singh, Regional Director, IGNCA Regional Centre, Guwahati, described Naga oral tradition and tribal culture as a relevant and important area of study.
Emphasising the need for preservation, he said it should not be limited to documentation and archival work but should take a multi-faceted approach.
He observed that traditional knowledge systems and cultural practices are gradually diminishing and said intellectual discourse could help bridge the generational gap and encourage collective efforts to preserve art forms and cultural practices.
Briefly highlighting the work of IGNCA, Singh said the centre has 10 regional centres and focuses on documentation, preservation and research in various fields of art and culture, ranging from written and oral traditions to architecture and music.
Dr. Sentinaro, convenor of the symposium, said platforms such as symposiums enable people to move beyond merely displaying their culture and instead engage in questioning, discussion and interpretation.
She stressed the need to look beyond the question of how Naga culture should be represented to the outside world, saying there is an equal need to understand and represent Naga culture to Naga people themselves.
During the technical sessions, researchers presented papers on various aspects of Naga traditional knowledge, culture and oral traditions.
In the first session, Prof. Visakhono Hibo presented a paper titled “Forests as Food Reserves: Naga Traditional Cuisine for Sustainable Food Security and Climate Change Mitigation.” Dr. Kewepfuzu Lohe presented “Oral Tradition and the Transmission of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge and Cultural Practices with Special Reference to the Chakhesang Community,” while Dr. Aokumla Walling presented “Oral Tradition and Archaeology in Nagaland.”
The second technical session featured papers by Dr. Sophy Lasuh on “The Politics of Naga Cloth: All Wrapped Up with Nowhere to Belong”; Lanukaba Imchen on “Preserving and Transmitting Naga Oral Traditions: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward”; and Prof. Pangersenla Walling on “Languages and Cultural Memory: Linguistic Dimensions of Naga Oral Traditions.”