Stories from the field

It is very difficult to gain the trust of a marginalized community as they have experienced many deceptions in the past. Some of the questions they put to me were that ‘how will they know that whatever they share with me will not be distorted?’ In the past, many people have come and do research about them but when they publish, they totally write a different story or even some people take the idea and used for their advantage. Therefore, all they asked of me was at least give a reference that that information is collected from them so that in future if anybody wants to know about them let them come to us.

… I was feeling uneasy to go to Langthabal Chingkha village as I’m not accustomed to their culture and I know not even to a single person in the village but I was compelled to go to them because this is the only village who still practices the age-old tradition called TIngkao-Raguang-Kariak (TRK). I was wondering what language should I use to communicate to them because they are little different from the common population in the Zeliangrong region mainly because of their religious practices (They might think that I might condemn their faith because I’m Christian and many Christian do). Therefore, I took some friend to accompany me during my first visit. To my surprise, I find that they are the kindest people I ever meet thus far in my entire life, I observed that younger one give utmost reverence to the elder in the Morung (it is where I do the most interaction). For example, when I asked some question about their practices addressing to my age group who are present there, even if they know if someone who is older than him present in our midst he will simply say ‘may the elder speak’ or in case if he to answer he will start saying something like ‘though there is a respected elder’ and answer the query.