DIMAPUR: Indigenous knowledge systems are not remnants of the past but living traditions that continue to offer vital lessons for addressing contemporary environmental, cultural and social challenges. This was the central message of the two day Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) sponsored National Seminar on “Sustaining the Future: Indigenous Knowledge and Historical Narratives in Northeast India”, organised by the Department of History, Tetso College, in collaboration with Northeast India Indigenous People’s Archive (NEIIPA), on June 25 and 26.
Delivering the inaugural keynote, Prof. Amarjiva Lochan, Professor, University of Delhi and Council Member of ICHR, emphasised that indigenous communities practised sustainable living long before sustainability became a global concern. Referring to the ceremonial watering of the “Tree of Wisdom”, he said such traditions reflected a worldview where people regarded themselves as caretakers and partners of nature rather than its owners. He cited the renewed interest in traditional medicine during the Covid 19 pandemic as evidence of the enduring value of indigenous healing practices, urging scholars to document oral histories, ecological knowledge, folklore and medicinal traditions before they disappear. Prof. Lochan further encouraged young researchers to reclaim ownership of their histories and cultures, stressing that modernity should not come at the expense of indigenous identities, languages and customary practices.
In her welcome address, Dr. Hewasa L. Khing, principal of Tetso College, challenged participants to reflect on identity and belonging, describing indigenous knowledge as a living resource rather than a vestige of the past. She called for decolonising historical narratives and urged participants to become active storytellers of their own histories. Dr. Khing also highlighted NEIIPA’s digital initiative documenting oral histories, folklore, traditional knowledge, recipes and community memories from across Northeast India.
At the valedictory session, keynote speaker Dr. Alino Sumi, Adjunct Lecturer at Flinders University, Australia, described indigenous knowledge as a living system rooted in the relationship between people, land, ancestors and community. She observed that scholarship on Northeast India has often privileged external interpretations over indigenous voices, and urged researchers to create spaces where communities could tell their own histories in their own languages and on their own terms. Drawing from personal experiences of learning from her grandmother, she stressed that indigenous knowledge is dynamic, community centred and passed down through everyday life rather than formal institutions.
Dr. Sumi called for ethical, community centred approaches to research, emphasising that indigenous knowledge should receive equal recognition alongside academic knowledge, with communities empowered to narrate their own histories.
Across four technical sessions, scholars and researchers presented papers on diverse themes including oral traditions, ecological knowledge, ethnoarchaeology, governance systems, architecture, food systems, religion, gender, identity, customary institutions and sustainability. Presentations covered topics such as Khiamniungan folklore, women’s transmission of ecological knowledge, festivals and cultural memory, jhum cultivation, traditional Naga architecture, changing narratives of headhunting, legal pluralism, indigenous food systems, health epistemologies, oral traditions as counter history, indigenous governance, Vaiphei beliefs and Christianity, and traditional hornet rearing.
The inaugural programme, chaired by Dr. Mercy Baite, included invocation by Talinungsang Lemtur, Assistant Dean, School of Computer Science & Skill Development, the College Anthem and the ceremonial watering of the Tree of Wisdom. A cultural segment featured a folk fusion performance Tsüngremmong Tsüngsangtepro by Imlibenla Imchen and Limeka Yepthomi.
The valedictory programme featured a cultural dance by BA students of the Department of History, distribution of certificates to paper presenters by vice principal Dr. Rosy Tep, a vote of thanks by Seminar Coordinator Dr. Tatongkala and benediction by Asst. Prof. Lothunglo P. Murry.
