Folksongs of the Misings and the Making of their Ethnic Identity: An Analysis of their Mnemocultural Practices

Abstract

The ‘Misings', erstwhile called as the ‘Miris' are one of the aboriginal ethnic tribes of the Northeast India, who can boast of possessing a rich repertoire of oral narratives, which have been transmitted down from generation to generation through their collective racial memory since time immemorial. However, among the diverse genres of such narratives the folksongs, especially the AÌ„:baÌ„ngs, of the tribe can be considered as both representation and perpetuation of their unique cultural worldview and ethnic identity that have been conditioned since the past and nurtured till the present. Like other archetypal parallels, their folksongs too record both individual as well as collective bitter-sweet past experiences through racial reminiscence and collective social responsibility, which function as a dynamic force for perpetuation of their vibrant cultural legacy. Right from the etiological narratives pertaining to the cosmogonic and origin myths of the race and the prophetic shamanistic rhapsodies to the fun and frolic of common men and women, all their folksongs endeavour to capture the joys and sorrows, loss and bereavement, aspirations and disappointments, triumphs and tribulations the community shares alike through the kaleidoscope of their mnemocultural praxis. This paper, however, tries to undertake an analytical research on the possible thematic and philosophical implications embodied in the AÌ„:banÌ„gs of the Misings adopting a hermeneutical approach.