Social Identity of an Ancestral Religious Group: A Study of the Hamai People in Northeast India

Abstract

An ancestral group, with a native religion, views its religion from a strictly confined group’s identity perspective. This narrowly confined identity narrative of their origin, rooted in their relationship with their proto-ancestor’s creator, contributes towards their belief systems that naturally precludes all other groups and thus results in a cautiously guarded religion of their ancestral group. The social identity process of religion shields it from evolving into a more universal belief system that cuts across cultures and languages. Nevertheless, the social identity process of the religion of an ancestral group is certainly a phenomenon that allows one to better comprehend the various intricate dynamics within an ancestral group and their inter-group dynamics. The article is contextualised within an ancestral group known as Hamai who come under Zeliangrong, an organisation formed for the socio-economic and political objectives of a section of the Hamai people of Manipur, Nagaland and Assam.