Tribes of North-East India

Tribes of North-East India
Author: Sarthak Sengupta
Publisher: Gyan Books
Total Pages: 294
Release: 1994
Genre: Social Science
ISBN:

North-east India, comprising of seven sisters states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura, is the homeland of a bewildering variety of tribal life. Their ethnicity, culture and folklore form a rich mosaic of India's primitive life. This volume, contributed by eminent anthropologists, sociologists, political scientists and administrators combines authentic research, field study and the futuristic scene of regional tribal life.

North-East India: Land, People and Economy

North-East India: Land, People and Economy
Author: K.R. Dikshit
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 828
Release: 2013-10-21
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9400770553

North-East India, comprising the seven contiguous states around Assam, the principal state of the region, is a relatively unknown, yet very fascinating region. The forest clad peripheral mountains, home to indigenous peoples like the Nagas, Mizos and the Khasis, the densely populated Brahmaputra valley with its lush green tea gardens and the golden rice fields, the moderately populated hill regions and plateaus, and the sparsely inhabited Himalayas, form a unique mosaic of natural and cultural landscapes and human interactions, with unparalleled diversity. The book provides a glimpse into the region’s past and gives a comprehensive picture of its physical environment, people, resources and its economy. The physical environment takes into account not only the structural base of the region, its physical characteristics and natural vegetation but also offers an impression of the region’s biodiversity and the measures undertaken to preserve it. The people of the region, especially the indigenous population, inhabiting contrasting environments and speaking a variety of regional and local dialects, have received special attention, bringing into focus the role of migration that has influenced the traditional societies, for centuries. The book acquaints the readers with spatial distribution, life style and culture of the indigenous people, outlining the unique features of each tribe. The economy of the region, depending originally on primitive farming and cottage industries, like silkworm rearing, but now greatly transformed with the emergence of modern industries, power resources and expanding trade, is reviewed based on authentic data and actual field observations. The epilogue, the last chapter in the book, summarizes the authors’ perception of the region and its future.

Ethnic Mobilisation and Violence in Northeast India

Ethnic Mobilisation and Violence in Northeast India
Author: Pahi Saikia
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 168
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 100008373X

The book is a very detailed work on the relationship between movements for autonomy by indigenous peoples (the so-called ‘tribes’) and violence in Assam, in northeast India. The book addresses some of the reasons for the failure of ethnic conflict management and for the frequent emergence of violence in the region. In particular, the historical description of movements by the Dimasas, Misings and Bodos is well compiled and provides a good summary for the readers. At the same time, the work offers a good understanding of ethnic violence in contemporary India. The volume offers some new research data based on comparative analysis of different trajectories followed by three important movements among Assam’s ethnic minorities. While the pieces of the argument are based on the existing literature on ethnic violence and contentious politics, they are effectively connected to materials drawn from northeast India. Furthermore, the book raises significant concerns on the debates on crafting of decentralised institutions and executive opportunities that may facilitate ethnic accommodation thereby reducing the likelihood of such groups to pursue their goals through channels that are radical or extreme.

Constructing the Divine

Constructing the Divine
Author: G. Kanato Chophy
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 331
Release: 2019-01-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 042953731X

From being characterized as ‘primitive tribe’ in the colonial imagination to become predominantly practitioners of the American Baptist faith, the Sumi Naga – formerly known as the Sema Naga – in the North-East Indian state of Nagaland have come a long way ever since this Naga tribe encountered the white man toward the latter half of the nineteenth century. This book in a way chronicles the transition of Sumi society from the period of colonial contact up to the present-day context. A critical understanding of Sumi society and culture is at the heart of the narrative, and the analysis of Sumi religion and world view remains the main thrust of this book. It is argued that the Sumi, who are overwhelmingly Baptists, are faced with new religious issues which has brought about not only schismatic divisions but also rendering ebullience to religious life, and that a new discourse has emerged in Sumi religion. The author positions himself as an ‘insider’, and in doing so has given a reflexive account of Sumi religious life, meanwhile substantiating the arguments and findings in the light of contemporary theoretical developments. The volume brings out compelling evidence that religion significantly shapes the daily life of the Sumi. It offers a detailed ethnographic study of Sumi religion and world view, as the Sumi Naga was seldom studied in-depth in the post-Independence period. Please note: Taylor & Francis does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka

The Nagas

The Nagas
Author: Julian Jacobs
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Total Pages: 359
Release: 1999-02-01
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780500974711

The Nagas of Northeast India, radically different in culture and beliefs from the better-known Hindu peoples of the plains, were renowned in the years before Indian independence for their fierce resistance to British rule and for their practice of head-hunting. Although sharing many social and cultural traits, the thousands of small Naga villages often vary greatly from one another, and the Nagas display both unity and diversity in their dress and ornament. Their vibrant material culture is generously illustrated here in color photographs that display textiles, basketry, jewelry, weapons, metalwork, and carvings. Drawing on a diverse range of historical materials, the authors examine how the notion of tribes came to be applied to the Nagas and point out its subsequent importance in the development of contemporary Naga nationalism.

Land, People and Politics

Land, People and Politics
Author: Walter Fernandes
Publisher: IWGIA
Total Pages: 2
Release: 2009
Genre: India
ISBN: 8791563402

Studies the processes that result in tribal land alienation and the consequent conflicts.

Environment-Cultural Interaction and the Tribes of North-East India

Environment-Cultural Interaction and the Tribes of North-East India
Author: Banshaikupar Lyngdoh Mawlong
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2015-09-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1443881562

All life forms on earth are complementary to each other; the existence and survival of one depend on the existence of another, and vice versa. However, no life forms are more dependent on others than human beings. Humans’ very survival is conditioned by the existence of the natural environment and the living things within it. One aspect of this interaction is the central and inescapable role played by human culture in defining the human-nature relationship. This book emphasises that environmental conservation is a matter of moral and cultural ethics. It stresses the fact that existing environmental conservation methods need to accommodate traditional environmental knowledge and practices of different indigenous cultures in order to re-build and restore the bond between humans and nature.

Cultural Contours of North-East India

Cultural Contours of North-East India
Author: Birendranath Datta
Publisher: OUP India
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2012-04-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780198075578

This book explores aspects of culture and folklore of different states and tribes of north-east India. It examines arts and crafts, regional painting traditions, puppetry, literature, performing arts, cultural relations between different states, and religious cults and movements of the region.

On the Edge of Empire

On the Edge of Empire
Author: David R. Syiemlieh
Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Limited
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2014-02-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 9788132113478

In the closing years of the British rule in India, a secret plan was conceived and discussed at the highest circles for a crown colony comprising the hill areas of North East India and the tribal areas of Burma. The plan could not be implemented largely because it came up for discussion in the closing years of the British rule over India. The plan has been referred to in many publications. What was of concern was that scholars have made reference to the Crown Colony Plan/Protectorate without reading the actual texts. For too long, secondary references have been used in writing about these plans as the original documents were not easily available for research. This book compiles the four British plans into a single volume. There is a connection between the four plans of Reid, Clow, Mills and Adams. All four were members of the Indian Civil Service, all four served in various capacities in the region and all officers left their accounts/notes perhaps not mindful that even if these were not implemented the notes would come up for discussion many years after their departure.