K.T. Thomas Rengma
That tourism enriches was not an unknown concept even to the ancient Nagas. Illiterate Nagas of old were tourists in their own unique way. They traveled from village to village bartering their goods. Their articles of trade were their agricultural produce which they exchanged for things which they did not produce or produced in lesser quantity. They also did business with their agricultural tools, handicrafts ornaments, and sundry other heirlooms.
Cattle and such prized livestock like Mithun (bos frontalis) were also traded. They also traveled long distances by walking for days together to places like Assam and bartered cotton and other agriculture items for salt and metals for making their weapons, tools and implements.
Later on, when they mastered the ropes of cash economy, they traveled to places in search of trade and commerce. It was a great surprise for me, when I traveled to Khambhat (Cambay) in Gujarat in the late eighties, in search of cornelian and agate, Khonoma traders had preceded me there by three generations as they had gone there during the grandfather’s time of my host who was then over fifty years old. Thus Nagas were business tourists even in those days. This cross cultural exchanges enriched them not only economically but gave them new insights!
During the first world war, when Naga Labour Corps were sent to France by their then British rulers to rebuild roads which were strafed in the war, they (Naga labourers)did not go out of their own volition, but were simply coerced into it, nevertheless, they came back wiser and much more enriched both monetarily and mentally. It is said that the seeds of Naga Nationalism and their desire to have a national identity of their own were sown then. Travel broadens one’s horizon and changes one’s outlook. As one travels, one begins to appreciate and admire other cultures. There is a mutual exchange and the hosts’ cultures also undergo changes wrought by tourists.
Better understanding between peoples of different races and cultures and a sense of cohesion and harmony is engendered. Today tourism industry which is often termed as an industry without chimney and the resultant industrial smog is one of the major industries in the world. It is one of the largest employment generators and holds enormous potential for employment of all kinds. When tourism develops, it helps stop ecological degradation. Villages set aside their community forests and keep it as a Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) with a view to attracting eco-tourists in the future.
There is now a new enthusiasm driving the communities to keep aside some of their community forests as their village community sanctuaries where there is a complete ban on hunting and other forms of bio-prospecting. Our villages like Khonoma, Tuophema, Sendenyu, Ghosu, Lozaphuhu…come to mind here.
Thanks to the tourists who are in search of community or ethnic tourism, where they want to experience living and working with the local people, many traditional customs and practices are being revived again.
Realization has slowly dawned on the communities and some of them are reverting to traditional handloom and handicrafts, agricultural practices, architectural styles of house construction with locally available materials, such as, bamboo, wood and thatch and in the process, are becoming examples of sustainable communities with conservationist bent of mind. They know that this is what the tourists want to see, feel and experience when they visit their land. Thus tourism helps preserve the local cultures and would further act as an impetus for its survival.
The almighty tourist dollar or rupee will help boost our tottering economies to get their bearings. The foreign exchange earned through tourism would help develop the place.
In order to earn more money and attract more tourists, people in tourism trade would upscale their assets and standardize their units by bringing better hygienic conditions. This would bring about a cleaner and healthier environment.
I saw this during my travels to Sikkim where even in the interior rural villages; toilets and surroundings were very clean. This is because they have developed a self interest to promote their place to further enrich themselves.
Tourism enriches in other ways as well. For those spiritually inclined, going on a pilgrimage is such an enriching and spiritually uplifting experience. People go on a pilgrimage to places like Jerusalem, Lourdes, Mecca, Varanasi... to get such ‘unearthly experience’.
One may wonder, if “Tourism enriches individuals, families, communities, and the entire World,” as this year’s theme for World Tourism Day says, why are we in Nagaland not able to reap its full benefits?
There are many factors for this. But we would not go into the details. It is sufficient to say that because of bad publicity and sensational reportage Nagaland suffers from an ‘image problem’. In the past, because of the peculiar nature of its problem, it suffered from ‘situational problem’ as well.
Nagaland was also painted as a ‘violent place’ with ‘hostile people’. This lingering image still carries on among many people.
“I thought Nagas were wild savages living in the jungles but when I saw them they were gentle, fair and good looking people and are very well dressed,” said a Hindu monk Swami Yogeshwara Nand Giri from Haridwar in Uttaranchal, September 17 to this writer at Tourist Lodge, Dimapur. “My impressions have completely changed after I met and interacted with them.”
“Travel removes one’s preconceived notions and biases as often reality is quite different from hearsay and make-believe,” added Swami Giri who was on a North East India tour.
Also, there are other constraints such as the ‘permit systems’ which discourage tourists from visiting the state. Factors like less frequency of flights, bad conditions of the roads, fear of the unknown etc. also acts as impediments.
It may not be out of place to say here that what we read and hear becomes much clearer and more memorable when we ourselves set foot to the place.
Travel, even if it does not enrich us in the way we want, at least would leave a ‘I had been there feeling’.
On ‘I had been there feeling,’ I’m reminded of a Naga soldier in the Assam Regiment who had come home on leave. He had many tall tales to tell his village school children who had gathered around him to hear about places he had been posted to.
“I was in Shillong for one year,” he said. “Then I had been at Allahabad for two years. I had been in Jammu and Kashmir for three years. I had been to Sikkim for two years. I also have been in Arunachal Pradesh recently for three years.”
After a while, a boy who was studying then in Class V, in the village school said, “Uncle, you know a lot of Geography”. At this, our Assam Regiment sepoy blurted out:
“Yes, I was posted at Geography for six months.”
