The program was chaired by Smti. Tenosenuo, Asst. Prof. Dept of History. Paper presentation on “Tracing the Folklore behind the Traditional Attires of Yimchunger Tribe of Tuensang District” was presented by Smti. Dokingla, Asst. Prof. Dept. of Sociology. The Seminar took place at the Seminar Hall at 2:15 PM, on 23-04-2021.
Traditional dress which includes an ensemble of garments, jewelleries, ornaments is rooted in the past that has been owned by an identifiable group of people. Attires which are essentially body covering object are designed, produced and approved by the society.
Her presentation mainly focused on the Yimchunger’s traditional cloths. Their traditional wear have distinct designs and meanings attach to each shawls and wrappers (Mekhala) worn by the communities. The traditional cloths are made in such a way that it should be multi-colored and decorated with many designs to draw attention and be appealing to the eyes. The traditional attires carry the age old tradition that keep the people connected to the groups.
Ignorance of the people has resulted in the fast disappearance of the indigenous usage. The influence of globalisation has also bought a huge impact where the actual story behind the traditional attires is fading away with the passage of time. Therefore reviving the actual meaning through lore related traditional attires in a systematic manner will help contribute in better understanding of Yimchunger people and in understanding their social surroundings.
The Yimchunger people gives a lot of importance to their traditional costumes as these attires and costumes is what identifies and separates them from the rest. Traditionally attires are worn based on their achievements in warfare and one’s richness as it denotes the social status of the wearer. There are also cloths which can be worn by those who have no symbolic status. Those cloths usually have no design. But there are cloths which are exclusively worn by those who have symbolic status in the society which are richly adorned with embellishments.
Women shawl too have its symbolic meaning as one of their shawl has been inspired by the beauty, prowess and riches of a female fairy that came down from heaven and married a Yimchunger man as portrayed in their folklore. Her attire made of red and black in colour influenced the womenfolk and the shawl is named after that fairy.
Her presentation includes the many traditional cloths worn by both men folk and womenfolk and also the wrappers worn by the womenfolk and shawl to drape their young children carries with it the rich meaning of their tribe folklore as it is embedded in their culture and tradition.
The Seminar concluded with comments, queries and suggestions.
Mr. H. David Konyak, Asst.Prof and member of Research & Seminar Committee recorded the Proceeding.
Reported by:
Ms.Tenosenuo Angami
Asst Prof, Dept of History