Nagas perception of Past.

Tuis em Ngakang* My people, the Nagas, have a continuing high regard for the past, and throughout our life we are taught by example and observation that it is through the knowle dge gained over time that our people have managed to survive. We Naga are taught that all things stem from and continue to be tied to the pa st, and that it must continue to be respected and preserved. In our land, it is necessary to hand down from generation to generation the knowledge and the skill s to ensure survival. It is no longer news to state that the customs, beliefs, values and opinions o f the Nagas society have been handed down from their ancestors to posterity by w ord of mouth or by practice since the earliest times, until the advent of Britis h colonization and its stress on literacy and the written word barely 150 years or so, changed the trend. Before this so-called civilizing contact the Nagas had lived his life and had maintained his tradition in his own way. He had made things an d had acquired property; he had believed, loved, hated, fought, wandered and won dered, and had learned many things by his own experimental existence. His dreams , fears and his hopes had existed since the most primitive days when his life be gan. From birth, through stories and legends about survival, endurance and respect for nature and all mankind, children are taught. Toys and playthings are fashio ned for them, including tools and traditional dress so that they may learn early about the roles they will assume. Girls were provided with packing parkas and c arry their dolls on their back as they will carry their children in the future, and they are taught the traditional styles and methods for sewing and designing clothing. Boys are dealt with from an early age as budding warriors, and are int roduced to traditional games, group play and exercises to learn alertness, impro visation and endurance. Children quickly come to understand in my culture that time-honored skills an d attitudes can never be relegated solely to the past; that they ensure a way of life and survival in the present and for the future. A great amount of time was spent by children in listening to the elders as t hey recount tales of their past, and in hearing through individual songs called haolaa. These songs usually speak of events that occurred in the past and detail ed their reaction to them. Their ties to the past have essentially been passed d own verbally through legends, anecdotes and songs. I am part of something that time has not erased. As a Naga I have learned f irst-hand that the knowledge handed down by my people on survival in our land is not to be disregarded, and failure to practice and uphold this wisdom can only result in tragedy or disharmony to an individual or a group. We, as Naga, have a strong sense of self-of who we are, and why we are as we are. Through our legends we Nagas speak of our close ties with the spiritual worl d, and of our reverence for and understanding of wildlife. Stories handed down t hrough time depict our interrelationship with the animal world, and tell of anim als and humans exchange roles, acquiring supernatural powers and teaching and pr oviding for one another. Our artwork also reflects these relationships, and has rituals that show respect for and acceptance of this oneness and harmony, which are displayed in our carvings and shawls. All these, and more, are an eloquent testimony of the way of life of a people-t hey represent the spirit, attitude, wisdom and life-style which the Nagas had li ved, had believed and had passed on from generation to generation for many centu ries. They are the product of his experience rooted at a particular time in the life of the society. This built-up wealth of Nagas oral tradition has lived is l iving and will live in the folklore of the people. It is enshrined in the memori es and hearts of the people. These tradition-bearers have kept alive the totalit y of our society, the unique system of our beliefs, the pristine virtues of our humanity and the rich cultural heritage found in the folk tales, myths, legends, proverbs, superstitions, songs and recitations of our ancestors which have come

down from the remote past of our history. When the Westerners came to our land, many of our Nagas values and practices were not understood by Westerners- people whose civilizations were different fro m our own. The tendency was to laugh at those things which looked surprising fro m the standpoint of those who made themselves judges. These were labeled primiti ve and uncivilized, because they did not conform to civilized standards. Early White missionaries, who considered the folk-lore as rustic and primitiv e, without dept or sophistication, missed the point completely. Although there m ay be some common-sense beliefs and superstitions in the uncivilized communities , it must be noted that these have existed side-by side with some of the most pr ofound philosophies as well as some of the deepest truth of humanity. Our older people told us that we are the earliest inhabitant of this land. We are also aware of the tales and stories associated with the earliest contact wit h non-Nagas-in the form of wanderers, traders, missionaries, geographers, admini sters. Our older people speak of their parents meeting the earliest visitors and sharing our food and shelter with them. Although the time span that we refer to is general, the information handed down is very specific and detailed. There are many sites in our place, which tells the heroic deeds of our forefat hers and speak about our past, but it has limited historical interest to the Nag as, as they have simply accepted their existence as part of their life. However our attitude should change as outsiders are intruding in, the new awareness of t hese sites should be extended as the key to preserving the past. As the populati on grows, our people should become increasingly concerned about the threat to th e environment. We are told that, recently some archeological work has done in our land. It is good that we are digging out our past, but it is also necessary for the Nagas to share their understanding and knowledge of the past. More time and attention wi ll have to pay to the strong concerns we have regarding the remover of artifacts to distant museum locations, where we question whether we shall ever get an opp ortunity to view them again and utilize them to educate our own children. To kno w that we belong to us, we need to make actively doing our part to preserve our environment, wildlife, historical sites while they are still relatively intact. We should learn, how valuable and experience caring these to me and to my childr en. Spending our time in taking care of these invaluable resources is identical to look at our own way of life. Standing here in my own land - with friendly birds and lovely animals- I am aw are, as they may be that their ancestors probably watched mine in the same manne r as in this same place hundreds of years ago. Here at this land, nothing has ch anged through time. I-Naga- and the land and the animals are still here. This is my past, and this has become a special place. Even though I am young, I too am the past as much as I am the future! *The writer is a research scholar from Delhi tuisem.ngakang@gmail.com