Tracing the ‘Savage’s’ Voice: Life Histories from Twentieth Century Naga Hills

Description

Page: 638-642

Arenmenla Jamir (Department of History & Archaeology, Nagaland University, Kohima, Nagaland)

The experience of the colonial and the missionary intervention in the Naga Hills left long-lasting impacts on the communities that peopled these hills. The changes that followed the establishment of the colonial government and the Mission, manifested in the form of getting modern education for the first time, getting converted, joining government service or getting involved with the rising ‘nationalist’ movement in the Naga Hills. Set against this background, this paper attempts to trace the people’s voices. Often labelled as ‘primitives’ in colonial, and ‘savages’ in missionary records, the voices of the locals often tend to be subdued and pushed to the background in the colonial and missionary narratives. However, this paper argues and attempts to show the nuances that can be brought to the study of the Naga Hills by incorporating the local voices.