Let me take a photo with the Shabaken: Reflections on Ikam among the Bujuur Naga
Let me take a photo with the Shabaken: Reflections on Ikam among the Bujuur Naga
Ethnography, Ahead of Print.
Feasts of merit were integral to the Bujuur traditional socio-cultural lives. Ikam was one such feast. Despite traditional significance, the celebration of Ikam abruptly ended with the Bujuur’s conversion to Christianity. The re-celebration of Ikam in the year 2018 is ethnographically discussed in the article in terms of changes in the spatial perceptions and attitudes with reference to Christianity and modernity’s effects on Ikam and the larger Bujuur identity. The objective is to assess the nature of cultural rejuvenations through an insider’s participatory path to present a critique on the dynamics and issues with cultural rejuvenations, perceived modernity and contemporal chauvinism. The article is premised within the Bujuur universe so that the dilemmas, observations and presentations are reflective of the narrations from within.
Feasts of merit were integral to the Bujuur traditional socio-cultural lives. Ikam was one such feast. Despite traditional significance, the celebration of Ikam abruptly ended with the Bujuur’s conversion to Christianity. The re-celebration of Ikam in the year 2018 is ethnographically discussed in the article in terms of changes in the spatial perceptions and attitudes with reference to Christianity and modernity’s effects on Ikam and the larger Bujuur identity. The objective is to assess the nature of cultural rejuvenations through an insider’s participatory path to present a critique on the dynamics and issues with cultural rejuvenations, perceived modernity and contemporal chauvinism. The article is premised within the Bujuur universe so that the dilemmas, observations and presentations are reflective of the narrations from within.