Reimaging of the Angami collective cultural identity: kenyü and customary law in the select Angami folktales

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although various studies have focused on the formation of ethnicity in Nagaland, little is known about specific aspects of collective cultural identity derived from the folktales of the Angami tribe. There is a lack of research in understanding the cultural analysis of the forms of kenyü (an Angami expression representing a ‘proscription of behaviour’ 1 ) and its role in the wider social process, owing to the folktales as narratives in the representation of the ethnic identity of the Angami. Selecting four folktales from the Angami tribe provides a useful way of conceptualising the relationality of kenyü and the collective cultural identity. This paper undertakes a textual analysis of the selected folktales and applies Stuart Hall’s concept of ‘cultural identity’ and Anthony Smith’s idea of ‘ethno-symbolism’ to foreground the identification of the concept of kenyü in understanding the folktales to reimagine collective cultural identity as a key aspect of ethnic identity.