Material culture and subsistence practices of Monsang Naga society: Continuity and change
- Part 2 -

Waanglar Somie *

Savaang Rotha Ekur - Festival of Monsang Community in September 2016 :: Pix - Sanjay Wangjamcha

Crafts

The Monsang Naga society has different types of traditional handicrafts. Being an agricultural society, the making of various types of baskets for different purposes is a must. Apart from agriculture related baskets and tools, there are also other crafts for household and other basic needs for storage. The easy availability of bamboo and cane in and around their village settlement sites are an important contributing factor in making the Monsang people produce such traditional handicrafts for sustaining their economic life.

In some cases, the knowledge or the skill of making such baskets is taught by elders. However, in most cases, it is generally noticed that most of the males in the village have some kind of inborn quality when it comes to handling or making such craft in one way or the other. The baskets produced in Monsang villages are sometimes marketed. An elderly man weaving a bamboo mat, Paentha Khuwphuw village, Chandel District, Manipur dated 10.01.2006.

The baskets have different designs, shapes and sizes depending on their utility. They cater to different needs. For instance, when a Monsang man or woman ventures out for jhum cultivation in the jungle or fishing in the river, he/she will carry the appropriate type of basket meant for the particular occasion.

Men will carry rupiir (a flat and bag like carrying basket) and chim (a knife) while setting out for work in the fields. Women, on the other hand, will carry bukang (carrying basket) and chim (a knife) for this purpose. Different types of baskets are used for different purposes. While some are used for carrying fire-wood, paddy etc, others are used for storing rice, vegetables, meat etc.

Vessels and Associated Objects

Ju biir

Ju biir is the traditional rice-beer pot or jar of the Monsang Naga society. It is basically an earthen vessel made of clay and stone. During traditional feasts like ‘Aekam ’ (Feast-of-Merit), ‘Bohrin-Esha ’ (Feast-of-Harvest), ‘Jaka ’ (Feasting), a large quantity of rice beer was prepared in advance and stored in large jars about thirty to forty in number, to be consumed during the feast which lasted for about seven days continuously. The larger ju biir contains 15-20 litres of local rice-beer.

The ingredients involved in the making of this local rice beer are tare-bu (a typical rice grown mainly in the jhum fields) rashang-bu (another type of rice found in the plains) and neemha-bu (another type of rice grown in the jhum-fields). After crushing all these varieties of rice together, they are mixed with yeast along with water and kept in the jar with its mouth tightly closed for about two to three weeks. The consumption of rice beer is still a living tradition in some Monsang villages.

Kurii

Kurii is a gourd vessel used for drinking. Some are used for storing water. Kurii is round in shape and has an elongated handle. These gourds are found in the forests. They are of various sizes. After collecting them, a hole is made in the middle and all the seeds are thrown out. The seeds found inside are very bitter in taste and are not consumed. Kurii has been part of the Monsang social life since the olden days. This traditional gourd vessel is preserved and found in most of the Monsang villages.

Bekhi

Bekhi is a bamboo stick use for stirring rice. It is also used either for crushing chilly or small dry fish in a small earthen pot. The making of bekhi is perhaps the simplest art which does not required much technological skill as compared to other crafts.

Tongka

Tongka is a traditional short bamboo cup without a handle. It is used for drinking water or tea. In the olden days, before access to modem accessories, tongka was widely used during traditional feasts and festivals. The use of tongka for serving tea to people during traditional feasts and marriages was very much common among the kindred tribes in Chandel district. However, the use of tongka is becoming occasional as many people are switching over to modem cups and glasses during such events.

Bukang

Bukang is a round-shaped carrying basket used by women. They are basically of two types. The bukang used for fishing is different from bukang meant for carrying fire-wood. Though both are more or less of the same shape and size, the bukang used for catching fish is close-knitted with small holes in it. The bukang for carrying fire-wood has large holes on all sides. However both can be used for carrying firewood, paddy, vegetables, meats etc.

Vupiir

Vupiir in Monsang custom is associated with men. It is a flat and bag-like carrying basket. While going for cultivation, fishing, hunting etc, vupiir is a must for men. Like bukang for women, vupiir for men is also of two types. The one used for fishing is closely knitted. Except for fishing, both the two types of vupiir can be used for different purposes. Agricultural implements such as chim (knife) are often carried in vupiir.

During hunting expeditions in the forest, the meat of the animal is brought home in Vupiir. Many types of wild vegetables from the forest such as bamboo shoots, wild plants and fruits are also collected and brought home in vupiir. During any social work in the village, one will often notice the participation of males carrying their own vupiirs on their shoulders. Such practices are common among the neighbouring tribes like Anal , Moyon, Lamkang and Tarao as well.

Weaving and Textiles

Weaving is a traditional activity of women folk in the Monsang Naga tribe. In earlier times, during the existence of the dormitory system, the art of weaving was believed to be taught inside the dormitory house by the elder woman to young girls. Even at present, it is commonly noticed that village girls pick up the knowledge of weaving by giving a helping hand to their mothers or elderly women. This is usually the way of transmitting the knowledge of weaving in Monsang society.

Weaving in the Monsang society is regarded as a feminine skill. Though there is no hierarchy of status, an expert weaver is always considered praiseworthy. The materials involved in weaving are many including Roh (bamboo) Echa (cane) and Ruta (a kind of smooth wood). The tools employed are also many in number, but a few may be mentioned e.g. Chiimpu (big knife) Tangsi (a small knife) and Shiru (drill). Women weave traditional piins (shawls) and enhii (kilts) in different colours.

There are different varieties of women enhii (kilts) such as Echang enhii, Chanka enhii, Edung enhii, Savang enhii, Lungvin enhii, Eethii enhii, Aakar enhii, Jiina enhii, Luku Enhii and Phuwrang enhii.  The difference is mostly in the pattern and design. They are woven on different occasions and festivals. This finished product also supports their subsistence economy.

Attires and Ornaments

The identification of tribes or communities through objects used as symbols of portraying tribal identity in their day to day life has been emphasized in ethno- archaeological studies of material culture from different parts of the world. For instance, Ian Hodder’s study of the material culture in the Baringo district of Kenya talks about how people themselves know very clearly whether at any one moment they are identifying with the Pokot, Njemps or Tugen, through the identification shown overtly in terms of dress, particularly ear decorations (Hodder 1982:16).

The point is, although such symbols are not in use in everyday life among the different tribes in Manipur in particular, however, the fact that each tribe has its own distinctive and unique traditional shawls and kilts distinct from each other is an undeniable fact. Such materials in the form of traditional shawls and kilts have become an object of identification of one’s tribe during feasts and festivals.

The Monsang women’s aesthetic aptitude and artistic skills are manifested in the traditional clothes which they weave. The traditional attires include Lamtong piin, Piin-ta, Piin rang, Rangam piin and Ruwngshin piin. Lamtong piin is perhaps the oldest, which is a simple white cloth with blue strips. Lamtong piin and Piin-ta are rare and found occasionally. Piin rang, Rangam piin and Ruwngshin piin are common. Rangam piin in blue and black strips is commonly represented as the traditional shawl of the Monsang tribe.

Ruwngshin piin is also commonly used nowadays. Most of the traditional shawls are worn by both sexes. The above items of attire along with ornaments are worn in the performance of folk songs and folk dances during functions and festivals.

For the men or boys, the head is covered with a headgear of feathers. There is spear or chiim (knife) in his hands according to the significance of the dance portrayed. The women or girls on the other hand, wear tunics, headgear, necklaces, earrings, and ornaments made of shells, ivory, feathers etc.

In the past, according to the village elders, the traditional clothing of the village chief during any feast or festival was different from that of his fellow villagers. This holds true for performers of traditional feasts such as Aekam (Feast-of-Merit). This throws light on how attires or other material or cultural artifacts were used as a symbol to reflect one’s status and position in the society.

Conclusion

Nature has endowed the Monsang villages with rich vegetation and natural landscapes. The rivers, streams, fields and forests around them have been a source of sustenance for people’s livelihood in one way or the other. Shifting cultivation in Monsang society continued for many years. With the adoption of wet-rice cultivation since the early twentieth century, the economy of the Monsang Nagas was based on a mixed-economy.

The shift from dry-fields to the wet-fields also brought sedentary settlement closer to river-belts. Most of the present Monsang villages sprouted up on the foot-hills close to the Chakpi river and Maha river belts in the early decades of the twentieth century. This phase in particular marks the advent of Christianity in and around the Monsang country.

The coming of Christianity sometime in the 1920s and conversion to the new religion brought-forth many changes in the socio-economic and material culture of the Monsang Nagas. Despite the many positive contributions of Christianity to Monsang Naga society, it has at the same time dismantled some of the rich traditional practices and material artifacts consciously or otherwise. Though the utility of such cultural artifacts have relatively declined in most present villages with the changing socio-economic condition of the people, they however are the only few remnants of the past and are symbols of the cultural identity of the Monsang community

Concluded...