The Nagas

A while back, I had asked a couple girls (from Kerala) in my econ class if there were any singing groups on campus. (I was starting to feel twinges of withdrawl). They turned around in their seats and pointed to Achi and Asang, two girls from Nagaland, an Indian state about as far North-East as you can go—bordering Burma. Nagaland was Christianized by missionaries and Achi and Asang are part of a group in Hyderabad called NCF, or Naga Christian Fellowship. Long story short—the girls put me in contact with Inakali, the leader of NCF’s Praise and Worship Team, and Ina invited me to join (and was very patient in correspondence as I still had not gotten a phone!). So for the last two weeks, I’ve been practicing (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays) with the P&W team, which leads worship at the NCF services in Hyderabad. It takes an hour to get to the church, which is in a central area of Hyderabad, so with transit, practicing, and of course, lunch breaks (incredible hyderabadi-biriyani!!), practice with the team made worship-team practices back home seem pretty weak. These Nagas have stamina. And an insane amount of talent—they all play self-taught guitar and drums and have perfect-pitched, pure voices like James Taylor.

I also wound up agreeing to provide special music as part of an all-music Sunday we put on last Sunday, so for the past couple weeks, I met with Alem and his mad guitar skills for several evening practice sessions at GOPS on campus (an outside eating commons) to learn this gorgeous folk-y worship song. (I had someone video it for you, mom.)  My roommate Justina and Anu, a girl from Kerala, an econ MA student (who’s been accepted to LSE for this coming fall) were nice enough to come with Achi to the service.

I’ll try not to repeat myself too many times, but the Nagas are such an incredible people. Regardless of whatever faith you subscribe to, you can’t help but be humbled by the genuine and obedient devotion of the Nagas. And even if you don’t claim a particular faith—their friendliness, openness and constant effort to make me feel comfortable and welcomed is so rejuvenating. It’s only Monday evening and I already miss them. (!)

There are around 160 Nagas on the UoH campus, and they come speaking different dialects from their perspective tribes, so Hyderabad is foreign to them as well. Some of the Nagas were telling me about how they had to have bicycle riding lessons when they arrived on campus, and how locals still view them as foreigners because they look more Asian than Indian. They have a tribal kitchen on campus where they can cook their native foods (after illicit hunting and fishing escapades on campus). They’ve had to learn Hindi and English to be able to get around in the South, and only get to make the 3-day train-ride journey home in-between semesters. I got a lump in my throat as one of them was telling me what it’s like to be greeted by all of their families as they get off the train at the end of the journey. In the past several years, however, the UoH Nagas, along with other Naga students in the city have managed to find a sanctuary to use in Hyderabad and have just recently found a pastor to move from Nagaland to Hyderabad with his family and lead the growing congregation. The congregation is mostly students, working on their MAs, MPHILs and doctorates. I have never been in a more friendly and welcoming congregation.

And on Saturday night, I was invited to the Naga Farewell Party—a night to honor the graduating MA students, which includes most of the girls I’ve become friends with. The first two hours were your standard farewell speeches with a couple of group songs (I swear—every Naga could be a recording artist) and then we got to eat a traditional Nagaland meal, prepared by the first-year MA students. Definitely a first time for everything—I got to eat pork (yes—pork! My first pork all semester!) with bamboo shoots, LOTS of steamed rice with a (fish?) daal and a very interesting steamed fish chutney. After the meal, it was “Capers”, Naga-style. They had a good hour of skits (from interpretive dancing in sari drag to a secularized “Bible in 6 Scenes”) and musical performances. Again, MAN can Nagas sing and play guitar.

From what I’ve learned, Nagaland is a richly forested region at the foot of the Himalayas, and much of their lifestyle is still traditional and sustainable. But as strange as it sounds, spending time with the Nagas was like a little taste of home. Their people are primarily hunters and fishermen, and we swapped stories about hunting parties in Nagaland and Pheasant Opener in South Dakota. Their local governments and society are rooted in something very similar to Midwestern Christianity, so the services and bible studies I’ve been attending are mirror images of the church camps I grew up in. I wish I could take them all back with me, so they could fish on Lake Madison and eat some of dad’s steaks off the grill. I really just wish I had more time here to spend with them!