The present book examines cultural diversities of Northeast India. The sixteen essays included in the volume cover various aspects of cultural forms and their practices among the communities of Northeast. The present volume is expected to serve as a bridge between vanishing cultural forms and their commodification, on the one hand, and their cultural ritual origins, evolution and significance in identity formation, on the other. The book analyses continuity of cultural forms, their representations and often their reinventions under globalisation. Further, the book underlines historical forces such as colonialism and religious conversion that have transformed communities and their cultural practices. Yet some of the pre-colonial, ritual-performative traditions hold on. Through insightful analyses, this book offers an informed view of the region’s historical, ethnic and cultural practices. It is expected that the volume will be useful for scholars and students interested in Northeast studies.
Author(s): Kailash C. Baral
Series: People, Cultures and Societies: Exploring and Documenting Diversities
Publisher: Springer-AIF
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 234
City: New Delhi
Acknowledgements
Contents
Contributors
1 Introduction
Socio-cultural Perspective
Historical Perspective
Representational Perspective
References
2 Plural Embodiments: The Performative World of Sankari Vaishnavism in Assam
Introduction
Sankardeva and His Repertoire of Performance Forms
Formless (Nirguna) Divine and Utterance Spirituality
Religion for Social Change
Ritual Performance and Ankiya Bhaonas
Contemporary Manifestations of Ankiya Bhaona
Conclusion
Notes
References
3 Sattriya Tradition of Assam: Rituality, Memory and Transmission
Contours of the Sankaradeva Movement
Sattras: Past and Present
Rituality and Performance Discourse
The Body in Bhakti
Sattriya Dance: A Living Experience
Notes
References
4 Ojapali: The Sacred and the Secular in Assamese Folk Performance Culture
Byas Gowa Ojapali
Sattriya Ojapali
Suknanni Ojapali
Api Ojapali
Tradition and Change
Notes
References
5 From Sacred to Popular: Demystifying Ojha-Nach of Barak Valley
References
6 Culture and Commodification: Bihu from Meadows to the Rostrum
Introduction
Bihu Festival in Assam
Bohag Bihu
Kati Bihu
Magh Bihu
The Bihu Dance and Songs
The Transition
The Metaphor of Change
Conclusion
Notes
References
7 Kushan Gaan: Retelling of the Ramayana
Notes
References
8 Kherai Ritual and Cultural Performance: Worldviews of the Bodos
Notes
References
9 The Maibi Tradition and Lai Haraoba
Introduction
The Lais and the Maibis: Aspects of Pre-Hindu Manipuri Culture
The Lai Haraoba and the Agency of the Maibis
The Significance of Maibis in the Meitei Society
Notes
References
10 Shamanism Among the Adis
Notes
References
11 Religion as Culture: Analysing the Mizo Discourse
Introduction
Identity in the Mizo
Religion and the Mizo
References
12 No Song and No Dance: Invention of Tradition and Lushai Resistance to Cultural Colonialism: 1904–1911
The Tribal as the Ugly ‘Savage’
Song and Dance Culture of the Mizos
Attack on Mizo Culture
Loss of Hope for the Missionaries
Indigenization of the Church: A Response to Cultural Revivalism
The Physical Resistance to Cultural Colonialism
Invention of Tradition: Puma Zai as Organized Resistance
The Glorious Ramification
References
13 Jagoi Raas, the Manipuri Raas Lila
Notes
References
14 When (and Where) Ritual is not Romance: Liminality, Gender and Storytelling Among the Khasis
Notes
References
15 Cultural Recovery and Reformation: Tourism and the Hornbill Festival at Kisama
Notes
References
16 Mizo Tlawmngaihna: Then and Now
Notes
References
17 Dynamics of Popular Culture: Jatra in Assam
References
Index
