Khararchan Kahāng as a Decolonial Practice of Belonging
Publication information:
Abstract
In the pre-colonial context of the Tangkhul Nagas, khararchan kahāng (storytelling), a key aspect of oral tradition, served as a medium for the sharing of Indigenous knowledge across generations. With the arrival and gradual dominance of the colonials in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Euro-American knowledge and its text-based system—established through the planting of churches and the establishment of faith-based schools—were prioritised, while Indigenous knowledge and its mediums of sharing was neglected or disregarded. However, I argue that the tradition of khararchan kahāng, which embodies an inclusive approach to pedagogy, offers a means to develop a sense of belonging within a community-oriented society. This tradition conveys khararchan (story) by weaving together lived experiences and the singing of hao laa (folksongs/poems)—with aspects of performance or the performing of pheichak (folkdance)—as khararnao (elders) share their experience and knowledge to khanuithot (youngsters).
Presenter Biography
Taimaya Ragui is an Indigenous researcher-theologian from Ukhrul, Northeast India. He serves as Registrar for the MA in Christian Studies and MA in Religious Studies programmes at the Oxford Centre for Religion and Public Life. He is the author of Confessing Community (Fortress, 2023), which serves as an entryway to the interface of theological interpretation of Scripture and contextual theology (tribal theology). His current research engages Indigenous knowledge systems, decolonial thought, and digital theology, with particular attention to Indigenous communities in Northeast India.