Becoming Modern: Transitions in Everyday Culture, Naga Hills, 1890s-1950s

Abstract

"The thesis examines the cultural transitions that occurred in the everyday life of the Nagas, especially the Sumi Nagas from the late nineteenth century to mid-twentieth century, and the extent to which such transitions became crucial for the construction of the modern Naga self. The cultural transitions in everyday life, which was mediated by British administrators, American Baptist missionaries and the larger aspirations of the Nagas to become ‘modern’, has been examined by tracking the changes that occurred in the domains of clothing and bodily practices, food and dietary practices, habitation and spatial practices."