Dr. Joy L K Pachuau shared her experiences while collecting photographs to recover the past and present of Mizoram
Oral Traditions: Continuity and Transformations, Northeast India and Southeast Asia, Shillong (1st-4th February, 2016);Conference
Description
Dr. Joy L K Pachuau shared her experiences while collecting photographs to recover the past and present of Mizoram, and the reactions of local people towards the display, and understanding of the need behind collecting/displaying these photographs. During her research from the community members, she encountered a lack of knowledge and interest among the students about their own past, which compelled her to explore these aspects. She said that many communities in the northeast lack actual records, or are unaware of any kind of visual representation of their histories of even a hundred years ago, a fact which is true of the Mizos. She substantiated her observations by stating that the photographers or ethnographers during the colonial period did not explore Mizoram the way they explored Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. In this context, she said, the past becomes an even more fertile ground for imagination as can be seen from the displays on clothing in the Mizoram State museum. The lack of material culture and its representation was exacerbated, in the case of Mizoram, due to the ‘grouping of villages’ carried out as an anti-insurgency measure by the Indian Army during the time of the ‘troubles’ (1966-1986, when Aizawl and many other villages were bombed).
Project Title
Oral Traditions: Continuity and Transformations, Northeast India and Southeast Asia, Shillong
DOCUMENT TYPE
image
Identifier:
SC_33
Related Term
Oral Traditions
Related place
Shillong
USE RESTRICTIONS
In Copyright
RIGHTS HOLDER
INTACH
