SCERT releases 12 Nagaland Heritage based films
Nagaland School Education & SCERT Advisor, KT Sukhalu released 12 Nagaland Heritage based films at Capital Convention Centre, Kohima
Nagaland Heritage based films is the initiative of State Council for Educational Research & Training (SCERT), Nagaland.
This release programme of Nagaland Heritage based films coincide with 3rd batch Graduation Ceremony of the 9 month diploma in School counselling and the induction of the 4th batch.
This short films feature origin of the Nagas, the art of Naga tattoo, The craft of Naga weaving, Megalithic culture of the Nagas, Naga traditional architecture, Naga cuisine, The Naga Morung, Traditional Naga games, Terrace cultivation, Basket weaving of the Nagas, Naga traditional peer groups and Traditional village governance of the Nagas.
These films are meant to educate students to learn, appreciate and preserve the Naga culture, values, customs and practices, to encourage Naga students to know their roots and be proud of their cultural identity and heritage in a world where they are exposed to many different cultures.
These films are also a repository for Naga Heritage as very little documentation has been done to preserve Naga stories and also meant to enrich the curriculum in schools and to encourage learning through different mediums.
These films also envision to make students aware and informed about the rich Naga Heritage, which in turn will develop a new breed of students /youth who have a strong sense of identity, knowledgeable about his or her cultural heritage and a unifying force leading into a culturally unique and developed state carrying forward Naga rich cultural legacy through different generations.
Infuse feeling of pride in one’s identity- Sukhalu
“It is best always to be yourself and be proud to be a Naga,” said Sukhalu while speaking on the occasion.
He congratulated SCERT and the team for coming up with this short film for students. He also thanked Samagra Shiksha for funding this project.
Stating that smart TVs and Smart Classroom has been extended by the government to almost all the schools in the state, Sukhalu requested the head of various institutions to ensure that the film are shown to the children.
Through this, he said, we will be supplementing the art and culture department in maintaining and creating awareness among the boys and girls on the rich culture and traditional practices.
He also encouraged the teachers to give more importance to “our culture and traditions and infuse the feeling of pride in one’s identity.
‘Our culture is our identity’
Kevileno Angami, Commissioner & Secretary for School Education & SCERT Nagaland said “Our culture is our identity.”
A person who does not know about his culture, traditional practices is an ignorant person. If we don’t know about past, our culture, our history, then we are considered as ignorant, she added.
Stating that National Education Policy 2020 talked about the curriculum and pedagogy based on the knowledge of India and the state, she said “ It is important that we teach our children the knowledge of the state, cultural practices, the history to our chidden.”
In this context, she said the SCERT Nagaland has came up with the video on Nagaland Heritage in the state.
Nagaland Heritage Text book has already been introduced in Nagaland which helps children to learn the dialect and language, cultural practices, and poems of different tribes.
“We are hopeful that with the release of this video, it will not only act as an exchange of culture but also knowledge and understanding of the culture between different tribes,” she added.
Nagaland Heritage films to be screened across 16 districts
SCERT director N. Chumchanbeni Kikon said “As a society, we have come to understand the importance of documenting our rich cultural heritage. The rich cultural heritage of the Nagas, the values of our culture, the beliefs and the Naga way of life is what determines our cultural identity.”
She continued that Naga heritage can only successfully be preserved “if only we value it, carefully document it and transmit it to the next generation.”
She informed that SCERT Nagaland has been working very hard towards this end and has, so far, successfully documented a total of 15 Naga heritage based short films, 3 of which were released in the year 2020 and 12 of the films are to be released today.
The 12 Nagaland Heritage based short films are based on customs, practices, values and different aspects of Naga culture which are drawn from the school subject “Nagaland Heritage Studies” based solely on the rich cultural heritage of the Nagas.
‘These films are not only, repository for Naga heritage and for enriching school curriculum, but will also act as a tool for cross cultural exchanges among different tribes of Nagaland and promote appreciation for each other, unity and harmony,” Kikon said.
Pen drives containing the films will be distributed to selected schools in the 16 districts of Nagaland. Schools are encouraged to organize screenings of the films and hold discussions over it.
The films will also be made available on SCERT website, SCERT YouTube Channel and in National educational repositories.
School teachers, leaders, managers and parents have been encouraged to go through the film and carry forward meaningful conversations and discussions.
Temsunaro Aier, Mission Director, Samagra Shiksha Nagaland, Asano Sekhose, chairman of Nagaland Board of School Education and Thavaseelan K, Principal Director (School Education) Nagaland also present at the programme.
