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Reform, Identity and Narratives of Belonging This page intentionally left blank Reform, Identity and Narratives of Belonging The Heraka Movement of Northeast India Arkotong Longkumer Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane 11 York Road Suite 704 London SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © Arkotong Longkumer, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-0-8264-3970-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Longkumer, Arkotong. Reform, identity, and narratives of belonging: the Heraka movement in Northeast India/Arkotong Longkumer. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN-13: 978-0-8264-3970-3 (HB) ISBN-10: 0-8264-3970-5 (HB) 1. Zeme (Indic people)–India–North Cachar Hills–Religion. 2. Heraka movement. 3. Group identity–India–North Cachar Hills–History–20th century. 4. Nationalism–India–North Cachar Hills–History–20th century. I. Title. DS432.Z46L66 2010 2009025023 299.5'4–dc22 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group Temeim Oja aser Oba atema This page intentionally left blank Contents List of Illustrations xi Acknowledgements xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 Heraka 1 The Zeme Nagas 2 Nagas and the British 6 What is in a Name? 7 Reform and Identity 10 Religion and Religious 12 Wider Literature on the Movement 14 Aim of the Book 16 Resources 17 Fieldwork 18 Off to Fieldwork 19 Walking and Writing 22 Tahulung 23 Chapter Outline 25 Chapter 2 Circling the Altar Stone: Bhuban Cave and the Symbolism of Religious Traditions 27 The Pilgrims: Do Categories Matter? 28 The Edge of the World 29 Temples and Myth: The Evolution of Bhuban 32 The Cave Ritual: Life, Death, Life 34 Enumerating Ritual Space: Poupei Chapriak and Heraka Dynamics 39 Analysis: Reform and Discourse 40 Cave Experiences: Coalescing Religious Traditions 41 Pilgrimage: Authenticity over Communitas 44 Conclusion 45 viii Contents Chapter 3 Millenarianism and Refashioning the Social Fabric 47 Beginnings: Jadonang and Gaidinliu 48 Millenarian Songs: The World has Changed 52 Inventor of Religion 53 Understanding the Problem 54 The Burdens of Social Rank and Communal Wealth 55 The Organization of a Village: Habitats and Conditions 57 Cycle Migration and Kuki Immigration 58 View from Afar 61 Heraka: Religious Modernizing? 63 Centrality of Power: Concentrated Wealth 64 Summary 65 Rubbing off History? 66 Oral Narratives: Making of a New History 67 Revival of a Village: Name is Everything 68 The Past is Made Present by the Future 69 Illness and Renewal 70 The Village and Its Heart 72 Constructing Villages 72 The World has Changed 73 Enumerating History 75 Assessing the Field: Reworking Village Organization 76 Conclusion 76 Chapter 4 Changing Cosmology and the Process of Reform 78 The Past 79 Beginnings of the Reform: A Cosmology in the Making 81 The Great Transformation 83 Mirroring a Cosmic Reality 83 Rationalization of Cosmology? 85 Creation Stories 86 First Creation Narrative 87 Second Creation Narrative 88 The Heraka Creation Story 88 Birth of the Gods 89 The Match 90 Divine Hierarchy: An Analysis 91 Contents ix Summary 95 Note on Concepts 96 Abolishing Gods and Sacrifi ces 96 Generational Change 97 Interpretation 98 Hingde Book 99 The Healer: Herakandingpeu 102 Interpretation 103 Heraka Hingde 103 Mirase 104 The Sacralization of Space 105 Analysis: Purity and Danger 108 Revolving Centre: The Right and Left of the Kelumki 109 Relation of the Two Houses 111 Heliengi: The Harvest Festival 113 Embodying Practice 114 Conclusion 117 Chapter 5 Negotiating Boundaries 119 The Village 119 Boundaries and Imagined Realities 120 Historical Niceties: Conquest of Reason and Faith 122 Zeme Christians 125 Reasons for Converting 126 Food of the Gods: Boundary Makers 127 The Zao Story 129 Realm of the Naked 132 Hindutva and Heraka: Marriage of Convenience? 134 Vanvasi: Dweller in the Threshold 137 Naked and Hindu: Refl ections of a VHP Worker 139 Religious Boundaries: ‘Loss of Culture is Loss of Identity’ 140 Conversion Stories 141 Naga Nationalism 143 Nagas and India 145 Rani Gaidinliu: Naga/Indian 147 To be or Not to be, That is the Answer? 149 Ethnicity and Religious Belief 153 Categories of the Mind: Beer and Baptism 155 Conclusion 156 x Contents Chapter 6 Community Imaginings and the Ideal of Heguangram 159 Heguang and Heguangram: Some Conceptual Tools 160 Sacred Geography 162 Fugitives and Gods: The Hangrum War 1932 162 Mirroring the Divine: The Anthropologist and Gods 165 Articulation of a Vision: Heguangram and Its Critics 167 Historical Context and Seeds of Discontent: Heraka and Christian 169 Narrative and Story 170 The Text 172 An Exposition of the Text 173 Blood and Weakness: Gender Issues 178 Gender as Embodiment 179 Divine Liturgy: Ranima as Durga 180 Hangrum Camp 184 The King is the Sun 185 The Event: Meeting the King 190 The King’s Court: Symbology of Power 191 Conclusion 196 Chapter 7 Conclusion 198 Notes 208 Glossary 225 Bibliography 230 Index 243 List of Illustrations Maps Map 1.1 India and Assam 4 Map 1.2 North Cachar Hills District, Assam 19 Figures Figure 2.1 Zeliangrong gods: A Zeme Heraka version 35 Figure 2.2 Bhuban cave area 36 Figure 4.1 Kelumki 107 Figure 4.2 Kelumki and Paiki 112 Figure 4.3 Centrist Model and Vertical Hierarchical Model 116 Figure 5.1 Hsongle village 121 Figure 6.1 Alternative Zeme Heraka + Paupaise version 183 Figure 6.2 Rani Gaidinliu’s pantheon 183 Photographs Photograph 2.1 Poupei Chapriak pilgrims outside the Naga Bishnu Mandir 31 Photograph 2.2 Heraka pilgrims outside the Bhuban cave during the Sunrise Prayer 37 Photograph 4.1 A Heraka Kelumki (prayer house) 105 Photograph 5.1 ‘Hindu’ symbols on an altar inside a Heraka home 136 Photograph 5.2 A picture of Bharat Mata put up in some Heraka homes. The photographs surrounding Bharat Mata are those of ‘tribal’ leaders, including Rani Gaidinliu 137 Photograph 6.1 Volunteers performing the Hangrum Parade 188 Acknowledgements My fi rst foray into the ‘Heraka world’ came through a series of coincidences, least of which was a book on the Nagas by Miladi Ganguli. These wonderful coincidences have continued over the length of my work on the Heraka. My initiation into the Heraka began in Kohima with my conversations with the President of the Zeliangrong Heraka Association of North East India N. C. Zeliang, who sadly passed away when I was undertaking my fi eldwork in 2005. The invaluable discussions I had with him, especially about Heraka history, as well as sharing his small collection of pamphlets and books have been a valuable source of information for this book. In Hafl ong I was fortunate enough to meet many Zeme people who willingly accepted me into their fold and encouraged my research. Mr Ramkhui Newme, the cur- rent President of the Zeliangrong Heraka Association of North East India provided me with helpful resources, clarifi ed aspects of Heraka practice and patiently answered many of my questions. My conversations with I. Zeme over the course of my stay in North Cachar Hills illuminated much of my ignorance and provided a sanctuary for knowledge through his breadth and insight of the history of the Zeme people. I am ever grateful to K. Kuame for sharing with me his unfi nished manuscript on ‘ancient Zeme history’. I am also thankful to Josias and Allan Jeme and their families for their hospitality and helping me on several occasions. My thanks are also due to Abuan Kamei, the former personal secretary to Rani Gaidinliu, for providing me much needed information, and to Catriona Betts who provided me with important Zeme resources from her mother’s (Ursula Graham Bower) library. Travelling around North Cachar Hills and staying in different villages has been of great importance to my own understanding of the dynamics of Heraka life. Everywhere, Heraka and Christian villages, I was welcomed as a brother passing through and their hospitality surpassed my expectations, especially in Herielo village where we were treated to a wonderful feast over Easter. For the people I encountered in this journey, I remain eternally grateful. In the village where I was based, I am thankful to the Baptist Acknowledgements xiii church for letting me stay on their land and to Amanda Bowden for enabling the construction of the hut. Similarly, the Heraka people took me in and did everything within their means to make me feel comfortable and welcome. They answered many questions and provided immense knowledge over endless cups of zao. My heartfelt gratitude to all of them. I especially remember with fondness my time in Hangrum, immortalized by the Hangrum war and the rich history interlaced with a vibrant sense of hope for the future. The place gave me the much needed creativity and realization that there is more than meets the eye. For this, the exceptional youths of the Hangrum parade are to be thanked for making their way to Hangrum especially to meet and share the ‘sacred’ parade with me. Asu-ida! Tahulung has been my shadow ever since he agreed to be my co-worker. His breadth of knowledge, sense of belonging, conviction and the stead- fastness in his Heraka beliefs, has made my time in North Cachar Hills rewarding and my research stronger and better. His patience over incessant questioning, hours upon hours of transcribing interviews, translating songs and managing at the same time to keep his commitments to his community has been inspiring for my own sense of duty and responsibility.