Tribal communities exist in remarkable numbers all over the world, with India having a population of approximately 10.43 crore tribal population, according to the 2011 census. The diversity is a large part of India’s charm, and also a challenge to its homogeneity. In Nagaland, tribalism, too often permeates through its social fabric, more pronounced when it comes to politics and contentious local issues. If only tribal diversity were read as a unifying element to the economic, social and political differences. Soreithing Ramror of B.A 5th Sem, is someone in Nagaland who sees hope and joy in celebrating our tribal differences.

Celebrate Tribal Diversity Not ‘Tribalism’

Our Naga culture has started to vanish gradually. So for the past few years, Nagas have been facing many tribal and cultural problems. And so sometimes we need an external organisation which can give us a platform to discuss and share about what is going on. We also need to interact with other tribes of different states and countries to understand more about tribal issues and problems. A year back I had the opportunity to represent my college and State and attend an international conclave called Samvaad, organised by TATA Steel in Jamshedpur. The conclave taught me a lot about how important our culture and tradition are. It also taught me how to take measures and prevent our culture and tradition from extinction like some tribes of Africa which had gone extinct in the past few years. So this piece is about my journey of Samvaad at Jamshedpur.

Samvaad is an initiative of TATA Steel which creates a platform for the tribals in India to come together to a common platform to exchange ideas, thoughts, stories and issues that govern them. Tribals from different countries like South Africa, Indonesia, New Zealand, Myanmar, Uganda, etc. also had an opportunity to converge on this common platform, thus enabling to bridge the gap and stir a deeper understanding on the roots and importance of tribal tolerance

This five day program based on the theme ‘Coming together for social change’ was held from 15th-19th in the month of November 2018 at Jamshedpur were tribal communities from 25 states of India and more than 25 countries participated. More than 1200 participants comprising of community leaders, youth leaders, social activists, entrepreneurs, artisans, traditional healers and people from all walks of life came together with the objective to revive, preserve and promote tribal culture.

The conclave was held in two venues; Tribal Cultural Centre and Gopal Maiden. At Tribal Cultural Centre, the tribal leaders, youth and social activists came together and shared their stories, challenges, problems faced by their tribe, achievements, how they overcome the problems and failure. While at the other venue, traditional healers, artisans and chefs of different tribes gathered where they showcased their art, traditional food and delicacies, traditional clothes, jewellery, portraits and traditional healers had a workshop.

Four topics were discussed during the workshop. They are:-
I. Tribal culture and identity.
II. Land and forest rights for tribal communities.
III. Tribal perspectives on governance and development and
IV. Peace building and conflict resolution.

Every day the programme began with contemplation, soul searching and an understanding of the theme for the day. Before starting off with the programme, a traditional prayer ceremony led by the different groups of cultural teams performed their traditional prayer handed down to them by their ancestors or which they followed. In the afternoon, we had group discussions where the above four topics were discussed. And in the evening we had Soiree at Gopal Maiden where cultural troops of different tribes performed their own traditional dances and songs. Artisans and chefs of different tribes showcased and sold their art, crafts and food that they made respectively. Traditional healers also sold their medicine made from different herbs for various ailments like headache, gastric pain, cancer, etc. There were some traditional healers who took up activities such as massaging. These evening sessions were made open for all the people of Jamshedpur while the morning and afternoon sessions were confined only for the delegates.

During the four days discussion, I learnt many new things. People from different tribes came together and shared their concerns and interest of their own tribe. After hearing their stories and experiences I realised how important our culture and customs are. If we tribal didn’t have any of our culture, languages and customs we won’t be that different from other people of the state, even the world. Our culture is what makes us unique and different from the rest of the world.

A brother of mine called Tongpang Kumzuk from Changki village shared about his tribe and Nagas. He shared about the geographic location of the Nagas and how Nagas are diverse with different tribes. He further stated that in order to understand the community that we live in, we need to be practical in approach we cannot just read and browse about the lifestyle to understand the practices. The beliefs of the people cannot be understood in mere paper. Tribal communities have its diversities and there are many misconceptions regarding tribal communities.

Most of the youths in the present scenario aren’t aware about our own traditions and customs because of the influence from the west, Korean culture, k-pop etc. We are so much drawn into their fashion and songs that our traditions have started to lose its importance in our eyes.

Listening to the sharing of others from different tribes makes me realise how capable tribals are that we can achieve many things even without the help of the government. Some other tribes from different states have been working on their own without depending much on the government and have made lots of progress and have been developing. So if they can do it than why not us? I believe that we can also bring achievements even without the help of governments.

This event was an eye- opening moment for me. Being a tribal myself I wasn’t aware about how unique we are. I didn’t even know how important our traditions, customs, languages, folklores, etc. are . I didn’t even know all the things that our fore fathers have laid down in the form of oral traditions. I urge all the youth and my fellow mates to be more aware about our traditions. Let us strive to protect what is ours. If the people, mostly youths can do it in other countries, then why not us? How can we do this? By working together, hand in hand, there is nothing we cannot achieve when we have one another to support. Let us come together to become the ‘’change” we want to see in our society.

Degree of Thought is a weekly community column initiated by Tetso College in partnership with The Morung Express. Degree of Thought will delve into the social, cultural, political and educational issues around us. The views expressed here do not reflect the opinion of the institution. Tetso College is a NAAC Accredited UGC recognised Commerce and Arts College. The editors are Dr Hewasa Lorin, Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Noyingbeni T. Erui, Meren and Kvulo Lorin.
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