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STORIES OF PEACEMAKING
#1. Indigenous concept of Peace, Justice and Human Relationship.
#1. Indigenous concept of Peace, Justice and Human Relationship. For the indigenous Naga, the importance of dignity of human relationship based on harmonious co-existence cannot be overstated. Anything that does not confirm to this guarded peace of community living is seriously viewed and taken cognizance of immediately by the village elders and the chief. Perhaps our understanding of ideal community living can be best illustrated by the customary mode of dispensing justice. In the event of the dispute arising between the individuals, the families of the concerned persons try to settle/the case among themselves. If this attempt fails, the matter is taken up by the clans and finally to the village elders Council, who will then decide to deliver proper justice. Even if the dispute concerns two individuals, it is viewed as a matter that concerns the entire community in the close knit Naga family. In the case of two individuals belonging to two different villages, the village council of both the villages tries to settle the case with wisdom in the interest of maintaining neighborly and good ties with each other. In the traditional Naga customary court, establishing the truth is the most important thing. Under customary law, the truth is obtained by appealing to the "conscience" of the wrong doer. The village chief presiding over a just concluded dispute pronounces: "May those who uphold the truth be blessed with all things good; and may those who profess falsehood be damned and cursed through eternity' It is a direct address to the higher power following which the group at fault and those who purposely conceal the truth will have to face the irreversible consequence of ill-fortunes and calamities. This curse follows if the accused (and presumably guilty) denies the allegations because he/she is made to testify his/her innocence by taking an oath: "I invite punishment upon me and my clan's people if I have willfully lied under oath". The only way to avoid calling upon oneself such a catastrophe would be to speak the truth, seek forgiveness and bless the victim family, the guilty person will then have to face the penalty imposed by the village chief (according to customary norms) whether in terms of compensating the victim/victim's family or excommunication (usually in the murder case) for a certain period depending on the gravity of the crime. Such was a form of restorative justice amongst the indigenous Nagas. However with India and Burma's occupation of Naga country and the imposition of alien culture, the age-old traditions and custom of the Nagas are slowly declining. The establishing of legal courts, alongside the customary court, poses a unique conflict and problem in the judiciary system. Among other problems, the fundamental discrepancies in the dual justice systems are the pursuance of goal in dispensing justice. The legal courts seek legal solutions and the matter ends there. But the customary courts seek an amicable solution so that th5 conflict is efficiently transformed and the human relationship is restored. After delivering justice, strictly determined by truth, peace must be restored by building trust between the conflicting group/individual. A case in point can be cited to explain this. A conflict arose between the villagers of Chupfuketa (Phek District of Chakhesang tribe) and Vishepu (Zunheboto district of 5umi tribe) over the felling of trees by the Vishepu villagers. The felling of trees from the forest located at Vishnu village disturbed the natural flow of water that flows to the neighboring villages of Chupfuketa and nourishes their paddy fields. The matter was taken up by the village councils of both the villages who agreed that since the cutting of trees denied the inhabitants of Chupfuketa the basic source of their sustenance, Vishepu villagers should stop cutting trees from that forest. Hypothetically speaking, if this was taken to a legal court, ruling would most probably favor the villagers of Vishepu as immovable property Acts and other such law will come into play as a result of which undesired animosity may arise between the two villages. However the magnanimity of Vishepu villagers in respecting the genuine need of Chupfuketa villagers would go a long way in forging friendly ties between. In obtaining such amicable solution that upholds natural justice and restores good human relation between the conflicting group/individual, the mediation process, which engages a Third group, is of prime importance. The mediation role is normally played by village elders (jury members) who mediate between the two conflicting group/individual to reach an amicable settlement that will be acceptable and binding to both. To ensure a fair outcome of impartiality an oath is administered to the (jury) members. Thus the wisdom of delivering justice in the Naga customary court is also to restore the human relationship that breaks down in a conflict. Justice at the expense of human relationship is avoided but this doesn't mean that justice is compromised for the sake of restoring relationship. This is made possible because justice is largely determined by the acknowledgment of truth by the wrong doer. If this acknowledgment takes place, the victim or the victim's family is willing to compromise and punishment becomes secondary. This nature of the Naga culture explains our high regard for truth and honesty on which lays the basis of Justice, mutual respect and peaceful community living.
#2. A Story About Roosters A group of freedom fighters got used to the habit of asking the people of a particular village to serve cooked roosters for their meals. Soon the villagers had difficulty with reproducing chickens because of the diminishing number of roosters. One time when the freedom fighters came to the same village and asked as they usually did, a young man of the village brought a hen to the freedom fighters and requested them to mate with the hen themselves as they no longer had roosters to mate the hens in the village. He also assured them that the village people would be able to provide them roosters in the future once the hen they mate produces more chickens. After that the freedom fighters stopped asking for roosters.
#3. The "Tsutemmong" The practice of "tsutemmong" among the villages in Ao tribes of Nagalim assigns an elderly man every day to watch over the affairs of the village. The man who takes this role is called a tsutemmonger. The tsutemmonger stays in the community hall of the village throughout the day and often patrols around the village. People in the village are mandated to report any incidents of death, accident, emergency, conflict or unpleasant happenings that occur in the village. The tsutemmonger is expected to respond to the situation by taking appropriate steps. For example, it will be the responsibility of the tsutemmonger to send messengers to call back relatives of the dead person who may have gone to the rice fields. During emergencies, the tsutemmonger will be instrumental in instructing the people in the village to sound the "log drum" to gather all the village people to the community hall. He will also be expected to get across a message to village elders if a certain situation requires their urgent presence. The practice of tsutemmong is used very effectively to prevent any unexpected conflict that might arise during the course of the day. The tsutemmonger is responsible to watch intruders and suspicious movements of people. He must alert the village and sometimes the freedom fighters, if enemies are seen around and especially if the Indian Army is seen to be approaching to the village.
#4. The "Lenchetlemyemba" The practice of resolving conflict between two villages is the lenchetlemyemba. In this, both villages will appoint one competent personality from the entire village authorizing each of these individuals to speak and mediate on behalf of the village. This person is called lemchelemyemer. The two appointed elders can meet in any of the villages as and when required. These peacemakers have immunity and protected status in both villages and they have freedom of movement to and from each village in order to help settle the dispute. It is believed that any act of disrespect done to them will invoke curse and cause chaos to the entire village.
#5. The "Akangjungshi" The Akangjungshi among Ao tribes in Nagalim is a peace-pact practised between tribes, clans, groups or individuals in order to maintain strong positive relationships. Akangjungshi cannot be bridged by anybody and parties are required to renew it from time to time. The following are the most common elements involved in akangjungshi: narration of ancestral history and the past relationship between the parties, exchange of folk tales and folklore specific to both parties, community meeting, exchange of traditional artifacts, shawls, pieces of meat to the elders of both parties, and most commonly, a meal.
#6. Women as Peacemakers Naga women play a crucial role in preventing and solving conflicts. During the period of heightened and factional tension engineered by the Government of India and some local elites in Nagalim, many women used to ask the freedom fighters to hand in their guns and return them only at the time of their departure from the village. This helped greatly in preventing unwanted conflicts between the factions. Here is s story:
In another story, when the Indian Army comes to arrest individuals from the village, the women can effectively prevent this from being carried out by locking arms and sitting in front of the military vehicles, using their bodies to prevent the vehicles from leaving and shielding the victim from being beaten up.
#7. Solidarity Communitarian solidarity is a strong practice in Nagalim. When houses are burnt in a village, the responsibility of building new houses for the families rests upon all the members of the village. This customary practice involves contribution of materials for the new house, resource, finance and food for sustenance. In the recent past, a village was burnt leaving only a few houses. It was beyond the capacity of the small village to recover from this massive disaster. The entire village would have to live for decades in abject poverty and difficult human conditions if they did not receive support from outside. This message spread to different parts of Nagalim and loads and loads of materials and resources began to pour in immediately form all parts of Nagalim. Many people from nearby villages came to the village to help re-construct houses and community halls of the village. The village recovered soon from the crises and started to lead their lives as before. In the past we used to have local people employed as 'village guards'. These village guards were employed by the government of India to act as agents and aid the Indian army in fighting against the Naga freedom fighters. In one of the incidents, the Naga freedom fighters went to the station of village guards and confiscated their weapons. The Indian military was very angry and demanded that the local guards return the weapons or else pay for them. Since the village was a very poor one, the villagers could not do this. In retaliation, the Indian military began threatening and torturing the people of the village. Another village nearby heard about it, and since they were better off financially, they took money from their village fund and helped pay off the military in order to protect their neighbors from further harm. In return, the first village gave the second village the use of a piece of land as a token of respect. This kind of solidarity action has been very effective in helping many villages cooperate on important issues.
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