Abstract
During the summer of 2020, at a time when most of the world was in a varying degree of lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of scholars from Northeast India met periodically via ZOOM to discuss some of the pertinent aspects of Christianity in the region. These seminars on “Christianity, Ethnicity and Cultural Identity in Northeast India” were initiated by Marina Ngursangzeli Behera, Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS), as a research project to develop our own voice as Christians/researchers from the region. The main focus of the discussions in the seminars was on the influence of ethnicity of the communities of the Northeastern tribals and on identity questions in the context of them becoming Christians. The essays in this issue of Transformation were originally papers presented in those seminars, which were further developed and updated with inputs from the discussions and a peer review.
Northeast India, a landlocked region between three international borders—with Bangladesh in the west, China in the north and Myanmar in the east, and connected to the rest of India by a small land corridor—is the home of many tribes. The usage of the term tribe in India is etymologically derogatory and is associated with primitivism and othering (Dangmei, 2014: 95; Xaxa, 1999: 3589). However, in Northeast India, it has come to be used as an affirmative term within the discourse of the ongoing negotiations over ethnic/cultural identity. The Census of India 2011 mentioned 135 recognized (scheduled) tribes in the region. The number, however, is subject to change as seen in the recognition of Tikhir as a tribe in 2022 (Morung Express, 2022) and the demand for the recognition of the Meitei community as a tribe that caused widespread violence in Manipur in 2023 (Dhillon, 2023).
The studies presented in the seminars, and hence in this volume, were limited to works on two tribal communities—Mizo and Naga. While many Mizo and Naga inhabit the Indian states of Mizoram and Nagaland, respectively, the sense of oneness within these tribes extends beyond the particular geopolitical and/or territorial entities. Rather than being confined to these entities within the Indian political setup, the sense of community in both cases extends to wider geospatial concepts fondly identified as “Greater Mizoram” and “Greater Nagalim.” Greater Mizoram encompasses parts of Tripura, Assam and Manipur within India, and large swathes of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Likewise, Greater Nagalim also encompasses parts of Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh within India, and large parts of Myanmar across the border. This geospatial distribution of the tribes and the reification of their ethnicity and socio-cultural identity, first in British India and later in Independent India, was a major factor in forging new identities.
The introduction and dissemination of Christianity in Northeast India starting from the early nineteenth century occurred within this larger context of geospatial mapping and identity formation among the tribal community. In the not-so-distant past, these tribes were, for all intents and purposes, village communities that were constantly at war with one another. Even adjacent village communities who had a vague sense of common origins hardly refrained from fighting each other. Christianity played a leading role in bringing these warring villages and communities together and helped make them coalesce into “super tribes” such as Mizo, Naga and so on. Christianity was responsible not only for the cessation of hostilities among closely allied ethnicities, but the history of its growth among these tribes is also a story of the redrawing of the ethnic landscape. And this was no mean task. It was achieved largely through the forging of a common Christian identity along tribal lines, reinforced by unifying factors such as the introduction of a common dialect which was disseminated through the translation and publication of scripture and hymns. Among the Mizo, it led to a union of people transcending the former dividing line between the tribal communities. Among the Naga, it led to the co-existence of church and tribe and hence a multiplication of churches along the separating line.
However, the sense of identity of a tribe is not as straightforward as might be presupposed. There are internal dynamics of segmentation within the tribes with other competing identities such as clan, village, family and regionalism forming powerful units within the “super tribes.” In Mizoram, the north-south divide was reinforced by the comity agreement among Christian missions in the region that resulted in Presbyterian and Baptist missionaries working in the north and south, respectively. Further geopolitical and economic developments such as making Aizawl (located in the north) the capital of the state and accessibility to other parts of India make it advantageous to be in the north. In “Partition, Partisanship and Inter-Church Relations in Mizoram,” John Lalnuntluanga argues that the strained relationship between the Presbyterian and Baptist churches in the region should not be seen merely as a struggle for denominational dominance; rather, it is a manifestation of the larger struggle between competing ethnonational identity assertions within the Mizo community. The Naga society is a conglomeration of tribes (such as Angami, Ao, Sumi and so on), each speaking a distinct language and with their unique traditions. Thus, there is an inherent fault line of segmentation in the Naga society (Jamir, 2020). Conflicts between various tribes, popularly known as “tribalism” in Naga society, have manifested in various forms, including in the church. In “The Politics of Language,” Daniel Tikhir discusses how Christianity was implicated in the politics of ethnicity and language in articulating pan-tribal identity in the Tikhir-Yimchunger conflicts in Nagaland.
Besides the internal factors, the tribal communities in Northeast India have also experienced external forces that both divide and unite them. The tribes’ experiences of British colonialization and integration into the Indian Union subjected them to the mapping and redefining of the respective spaces of the tribes. These experiences challenged the tribes in various ways contributing to the formulation of collective identity and thoughts of nationalism among them. Both Naga and Mizo witnessed the emergence of movements of nationalism in the 1920s and 1960s, respectively. The Mizo political issue was resolved with the Government of India and the Mizo National Front (MNF) signing an agreement that led to the establishment of the Mizo Hills as a Union Territory in 1972 and eventually achieving statehood in 1987. A similar arrangement establishing the state of Nagaland in 1963 did not resolve the Naga political issue and it remains unresolved even today. In “From Humiliation to Christlike Humility,” Villo Naleo discusses the Naga experience of humiliation caused by long-lasting domination at the hands of the British colonizers, Western missionaries and Indian rulers. He argues that rather than being dominated or retaliating, Naga Christians should reevaluate humility (inspired by Christ's kenosis, Phil 2) as a tool for reconciliation. The Naga political impasse has resulted in an endless cycle of violence and unending negotiations for a solution, which has taken a huge toll on the social life and security of people in society (Outlook, 2022). Thus, there is a desperate desire for lasting peace in the Naga society. Toward this, in “Breaking the Cycle of Violence,” Chongpongmeren Jamir suggests that the Naga churches can provide an alternative to the geopolitical solution by offering a space for dialogue between the warring parties toward restorative reconciliation, justice and forgiveness.
Tribal quest for identity in society is mirrored in the church as it sought to assert what it means to be a tribal (or a Mizo, a Naga and so on) and a Christian. The approach the Christian tribals adopted was both historical and theological. First, through a rereading of the mission history of the region, they sought to reclaim the story of early tribal Christians as active agents participating in the Christianization of the tribal community. This involves a shift from colonial/missionary historiography to postcolonial/tribal historiography (“subaltern,” Walutemjen, 2011; “socio-cultural,” CHAI, 1974). It has resulted in highlighting the agency of the tribals (evangelists, teachers, church elders, the “Bible Women” and so on) and their contributions to Christian missions in the region. In “Schooling the Gospel,” Marina Ngursangzeli Behera discusses the often overlooked but foundational role played by the schoolteachers, whose ability to work within the structures of the village (culture) made vital contributions to the Christianization of the Mizo society. A cultural approach that looks at mission history from the angle of the appropriation of the faith within a cultural tradition has taken tribal historiography beyond its earlier focus on the anti-colonial and anti-missionary approach. It calls for an approach to history that pays close attention to the cultural dynamics and symbolism within which the faith is appropriated. Following this line of thought, in “Trajectories of Mizo Tribal Historiography,” Lalfakawma Ralte proposes tribal historiography to integrate all spheres of the community and individual lives including the use of native language, women's issues and diaspora studies.
Second, through engaging in a theological quest, particularly through the school of Tribal Theology, tribal Christians in Northeast India have produced a whole assortment of theological treatises on identity questions in the context of tribals becoming Christians. Tribal Theology has taken a liberative approach toward addressing the identity crisis of tribals in the light of their confrontation with various external influences and change (Keitzar, 1995; Thanzauva and Hnuni, 2002). However, in recent years Tribal Theologies’ connectedness with and relevance to the faith community (the church) has come under scrutiny (Tikhir, 2015: 9). Taimaya Ragui's “Cultural Interpretation as a Theological Task in Northeast India” and Lalruatkima's “Theology and Politics in Northeast India” address this issue and provide constructive suggestions. Two points come across pointedly in these essays. First, a need for an interpretative approach to Christian theology, whereby the interpreter (in contrast to a legislator) pays attention to the voices of the concerned faith community. It follows, secondly, that Christian theology needs to be rooted in the faith community and play an inquisitively prophetic role.
The restraints of a global pandemic that necessitated their virtual meetings reminded the participants of the Northeast Studies seminars of their connectedness with the global community. In discussing Christianity, ethnicity and cultural identity in Northeast India, the participants (being from the region themselves) were primarily involved in a self-reflective exercise and production of knowledge about “ourselves.” Nevertheless, the questions arising out of the tribal experience also speak to issues in global Christianity pertinent to identity and ethnicity, colonialism and Western missionary work, and indigenization and culture.
