Orality - Memories from an Onomastic perspective
Channel: Tetso College
Date: 2020-10-20

Orality – Memories from an Onomastic perspective
The practices of naming have probably followed humans since the development of rudimentary language. Yet, they vary considerably from case to case and from one time to another as responses to questions: why, in particular, would humans bother to adopt names? What kinds of choices are available in each case? What kinds of roles do names play in social life? Why do traditions of naming vary from one context to another and from one epoch to another? For a society without an indigenous script, orality has been the primary medium for the preservation and transmission of knowledge, beliefs, practices and history of the Nagas from generation to generation. Anthroponymy, a sub-field of onomastics can be a potent tool to revitalize and amplify our understanding of a past. Past stories can demonstrate how anthroponymy helps in identifying memories associated with names that were specific and unique to particular communities or clans. In doing so, it also reconstructs events that have never been recorded in history books, those which survive as subaltern subjects in the contemporary world. More so, this anthroponomastic approach may open up many possibilities.

Speaker Profile
Dr. Temjenwabang is currently the Head of the Department of History, as well as the convener of the Research Committee at Unity College Dimapur. He has done extensive research in Colonial and Post-Colonial Naga Historiography as well as the perception on and representation of the Early Nagas.

Webinar held on 19th October 2020.