The Importance of Preserving Our Culture Through Our Mother Tongue

Dressed in the latest fashion trending in the market, eating out at Chinese restaurants or KFC while comfortably listening to the most popular billboard songs and conversing in a language we feel is way above our mother tongue with thankfully the last name intact to prove our identity (at least in most of the cases) is the new breed of youngsters we have today – to which I seek no immunity.

We have embraced the culture of the west so passionately that our name and language are emerging as the only visible proof of our identity as a Naga except for the few festivals which we still organise and celebrate in its due season mostly for the sake of keeping the tradition of our ancestors alive. Perhaps, these are the only countable occasions where we get to wear our traditional dress and attires to remind ourselves and those around us about our true identity. How many of us know our own folk dance or folksong is a question I feel embarrassed to answer myself.

The values of integrity, honesty and sincerity which was once considered a prized possession and represented the social fabric of our culture has now been cheapened by the popularity of corruption, easy money laundering and bribery so much so that public officials siphoning off money meant for public welfare and development and utilising those funds for their personal and family development is becoming acceptable as part of our new developing culture; the irony is such that, the best seats or usually the front rows of the church are reserved for the best players of the depressing game. Even more depressing is to realise that corrupt and stupid people are in the majority and it is not easy to underestimate their power.

We have given so much of importance to western culture over our very own and have become so westernised in the process that, naming our children with English names is encouraged and as a consequence the only remnant of our identity has been reduced to our surname.

It is worth mentioning of a 1907 letter of Rabintranath Tagore to his son-in-law Nagendranath Gangulee who had gone to America to study agriculture -“to get on familiar terms with the local people is a part of your education. To know only agriculture is not enough; you must know America too. Of course if, in the process of knowing America, one begins to lose one’s identity and falls into the trap of becoming an Americanised person contemptuous of everything Indian, it is preferable to stay in a locked room” (Page 105.The Argumentative Indian by Amartya Sen )

Literally speaking, culture is defined as certain traits that are peculiar to a particular community or society like language, beliefs, values and norms ,customs ,dress, diet, knowledge and skills etc which is handed down from one generation to another through practice and propagation and sadly we seem to have compromised on most of the traits but all hope’s not lost as in the midst of all these confusion, preserving our mother tongue is one substantial weapon that we have to save ourselves from losing grip of our culture. Let’s face it; it is common these days for children and adults alike especially in towns conversing in nagamese or English with a lame excuse that they are unable to speak their mother tongue properly. So who is to be blamed for this chaos? Is it because of the parents’ shortcomings or the children’s ignorance or is it because of the society in which we live in?

Gone are the days when local artists singing in local dialects were very popular and competitive as they could make reasonable gains through the sale of cassettes but now the advancement is such that a single person in possession of a song can distribute it to the entire state within weeks through technology like Bluetooth, xender, pen drive etc. Now that somehow explains why most of our artists prefer the English language. The same applies for the authors and writers who find more readers and fans in the English language than in their local dialects.

Kindly be reminded , I do not wish that we wear our traditional attires everyday to show that we belong to this and that tribe; nor do I mean that we should listen to only local songs or fill our music devices with only our local songs but what I pray and hope for is that everyone of us in our own circle and family should emphasise on the importance of giving utmost importance to conversing in our mother tongue with our siblings and friends without alienating those who do not speak the same tongue. Fortunately, home is the base for preserving our culture and we must not lose the skill of speaking in our dialect to prove our identity anytime anywhere.

Another feasible suggestion is to conduct our respective tribe’s worship or fellowship in our own dialect albeit it is understandable that our language do not possess very rich vocabulary which makes English unavoidable on most occasions. Lastly but certainly not the least, if only we could really emphasise the importance of naming our children and wards with our own local names, which might cause a temporary disappointment in the young minds but they will learn of its importance or significance in due course of time.

Dear folks, let’s join our hearts and minds together to curb this problem as this is not a one man’s fight or a few tribe’s battle but a common problem which we need to recognise as a reality and fight together and henceforth avoid becoming a Naga by blood but western in taste, style and conduct or even worse – resent anything Naga to the point of assisting the demise or extinction of our mother tongue. Maybe it’s about time we promote our culture so vigorously that others will be genuinely compelled to learn more about our culture. God bless and Kuknalim.

Nyanbemo A Tsopoe Lotha, Change Initiative Team Wozhuro