The way I saw the ‘Land of Festivals’- Nagaland ; a note from the field.

The way I saw the ‘Land of Festivals’- Nagaland ; a note from the field.

Sucharita Sengupta*

Nagaland, flanked by Assam, Manipur and Myanmar is one of the seven sisters of the Northeast India. Being a border state, it has its own history of conflict and movement for human rights against the much debated Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in the state. This deviance was however interpreted as defiance and thus Nagaland for long was a battleground. From then, with new ceasefire initiatives in the last few years, the state has come a long way; however myriad forms of fissures and suppressed angst occasionally pose a threat to the government’s idea and practice of peace. New protest movements have emerged denouncing the old protestors, with new demands and political motivations. Amidst a deeply fragmented society, the indigenous customs, rituals and festivals of the state aim at uniting the various voices of dissent. As a result, any resistance to the customary laws faces steep opposition. With the ‘Look East’ Policy, now ‘Act East’, the focus of the central government has been to establish peace and good governance in the state through development of infrastructure, trade and connectivity logistically with Myanmar and the Southeast Asia. For instance, the singular focus of the ‘Nagaland Vision 2030’ published by the Government of Nagaland in December 2016 is on peace, “Without Peace and Good Governance no Vision or perspective plan can be put into place. Hence the Vision is written with the anticipation that peace will prevail as an outcome of the early settlement of the Naga political problem now that a Framework Agreement has been arrived at”[i]. There are grave issues however that needs addressing. Prolonged obstruction to logistical apparatuses has also remained for long a potent instrument to obstruct the logistical flow in Nagaland. The state is still in its in transition where all groups and voices of dissent vouch for Naga rights and sovereignty but lack of unity is becoming the major hindrance for failed negotiations.

There are sixteen recognised tribes in Nagaland besides the Kachari, Garo, Mikir and Kuki Tribes with different languages. The common language is Nagamese, but that apart each tribe has its own language. On one hand the tribes take immense pride in nurturing their indigenous customs and rituals through their festivals, on the other hand, Christianity and westernisation have given way to new debates and renewed resistance to any new initiative in terms of policy implication that challenges the customary laws of the Nagas. Besides, individual festivals of each tribe, the Angami, Ao, Sema, Yumchungru, Lotha, Pochury and so on, the Nagaland state government since 2000 has been also organising the Hornbill Festival in a bid to promote the tourism of the state. The sobriquet of the state as a result is thus “the Land of Festivals” adopted by the Nagaland Tourism Department in 2009 (see picture below).

My work took me to Nagaland as part of a research work[ii] and I was fortunate enough to witness one of these festivals. Each festival takes place in a specific time of the year. I was there in the first week of May when the Moatsu festival takes place from 1-3 May. It is the festival of the Aos, the first tribe to embrace Christianity in the state. Educationally too, the Aos are very advance in the state. As per the 2011 census, the literacy rate of Mokokchung was 91.62%, the highest among all districts in Nagaland. Infact, there was a time when most governmental jobs in Nagaland were held by members of the Ao tribe. Although advanced and progressive, the Aos take pride in preserving their traditional culture which manifests into their major festivals, Moatsu and Tsungremon every year.

The Moatso is a very colourful festival marked by music and dance. Log drums play an important role in the social and cultural life of the Aos and could be seen in the festivals too through their dances, pic below.

The word Moatsu’ as a local resident explained, means ‘blessing’. It takes place generally after the sowing of seeds each year. The spirit of the festival lies in seeking blessings from Lichaba (The deity) for fertile lands. After Christianity was embraced by the Aos, the festival still continues and remains same in its essence. The welcome note by the first speaker inaugurating the festival in the local ground of Dipuphar 4 Mile, was deeply significant. He said, the spirit of the festival lies in promoting brotherhood and celebrating diversity and unity among all the tribes. Indeed, it is the friction between the tribes that hinder governance in the state.

Dipuphar, where the festival took place is around 4 mile from Dimapur, which is the commercial capital of the state. It is a busy vibrant hub with businessmen, hotels, shopkeepers and migrants. It is also precisely because of this cosmopolitanism that Dimapur presents a very unique demography, effecting in turn multiple fault lines. Logistically, Dimapur district is also the major entry point to the state since the airport is located there. Also being situated on the plains, Dimapur does not require from travellers or tourists, the much debated Inner Line Permit (ILP) which is a requirement if one desires a visit to the beautiful hills in the state capital of Kohima. The easy accessibility that Dimapur provides also is a bone of contention among many residents of the state.

Most shops in the market areas, especially in the New Market area are either owned or administered by non Nagas. Opening up the state to new investments, infrastructural development and connectivity will also implicate inflow of labour from the neighbouring states. How far this will be effective or whether this will create new angst and obstruct governance emerges as a crucial question.

In a nutshell, there are multi-faceted concerns that plague the Naga society at the moment and a number of groups are emerging and working in solving these issues, but their resistance against one another is probably the biggest menace that Nagaland has to find a way to solve in order to usher in any ground-breaking change.

*Sucharita Sengupta is Research Assistant at the Calcutta Research Group.

[i] Nagaland Vision 2030, Government of Nagaland, 6 December 2016, Pg.1.

[ii] Co researcher is Paula Banerjee. This field work was part of CRG-RLS project titled Social Mapping of Infrastructure, Logistics and India’s Look East Policy.

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