Craft:
An occupation or trade requiring manual dexterity or artistic skill, Skill in planning, making, or executing, Articles made by craftspeople.

Culture:
The customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group. The characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time. The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization. The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity, or societal characteristic.

Artifact:
An artifact may be defined as an object that has been intentionally made or produced for a certain purpose. Often the word „artifact‟ is used in a more restricted sense to refer to simple, hand-made objects (for example, tools) which represent a particular culture. (This might be termed the “archaeological sense” of the word.) In experimental science, the expression „artifact‟ is sometimes used to refer to experimental results which are not manifestations of the natural phenomena under investigation, but are due to the particular experimental arrangement.




Naga People:
• The Society:
The Nagas were a simple, straightforward, hard-working and honest people with a high standard of integrity. They had a strong sense of self-respect and rarely submitted to anyone who roughshod over them. A hallmark of their character was their hospitality and cheerfulness. The Nagas had an egalitarian society, and the village is a closely-knit unit consisting of households of different clans.

• The village:
Nagas traditionally live in villages. The village is a well-defined entity with distinct land demarcation from neighboring villages. Each has a dialect of its own and as such there is a strong sense of social solidarity within it. The people in it are held together by social, economic, political and ritual ties. The villages have their own identity but not in isolation as there are interdependent relationships with neighboring villages. The impact of modernization is slowly but steadily eroding the centrality of villages as a social unit as large commercial towns are rapidly coming up in every region of the Naga hills. This is bringing about drastic changes in the values, lifestyles and social setup of the Nagas.



• The family:
The family was the basic unit of the Naga society. Marriages were usually monogamous and fidelity to the spouse was considered a high virtue. Marriage within the same clan is not permitted and it amounts to incest. Incestuous couples used to be ostracized from the villages. The family was the most important institution of social education and social control. There used to be a deep respect for parents and elders. Material inheritance, such as land and cattle, is passed on to the male offspring with the eldest son receiving the largest share (indicating that the society was pseudo-egalitarian).

In the classless, casteless Naga society, women have traditionally enjoyed a high social position, with a pivotal role in both family and community affairs. However, being a patriarchal society with strong warrior tradition, it is considered an honor to be born as a man. The traditional culture and customs expect a Naga woman to be obedient and humble; also expect her to perform the roles of wife, mother, child bearer, food producer and household manager. She also supplements the household income by weaving colorful shawls, an activity which is done exclusively by women. Women are highly respected and given a great deal of freedom, however, they are traditionally not included in the decision-making process of the clan or the village.

• The Morung system:
The Morung, or the bachelor dormitory system, used to be an essential part of Naga life. Apart from the family, it was the most important educational set up of the Nagas. The Morungs are grant buildings, constructed at the village entrance or a spot from where the village can be guarded most effectively. On attaining the age of puberty, young boys and girls were admitted to their respective dormitories. The Naga culture, customs and traditions which were transmitted from generation to generation through folk music and dance, folk tales and oral tradition, wood carving and weaving, were conveyed to the young in the Morungs. Announcements of meetings, death of a villager, warnings of impending dangers, etc., were made from the morungs with the beating of log drums. With the onset of modernity, the Morung system is no longer in practice among the Nagas.

• Headhunting:
One of the most striking social characteristics of the Nagas was the practice of headhunting. Ursula Graham Bowers described the Naga hills as the "paradise of headhunters. Most villages had a skull house and each man in the village was expected to contribute to the collection. The taking of a head is symbolic of courage and men who could not were dubbed as women or cows. There is nothing more glorious for a Naga than victory in battle by bringing home the severed head of an enemy. There is however, no indication of cannibalism among the Nagas. This practice is now entirely eradicated with the spread of modern education and Christianity in the region.

• Culture art and craft:
The Nagas are expert craftsmen. Their dwellings are made of wood and straw and these are ornately carved and arranged. Each tribe has a unique way of constructing their huts. A common thing about all the tribes is that they decorate the entrances of their dwellings with heads of buffaloes. The Nagas love colour and this is evident in their colourfully designed shawls and headgears. Here again, the designs on the costumes are unique to each tribe. Nagas use beads with variety, profusion and complexity in their jewellery along with a gamut of materials like glass, shell, stone, teeth or tusk, claws/horns, metal, bone, wood, seeds, hair, fibre, etc.

According to Dr.Verrier Elwin, the arts and crafts of the Nagas reflect their self-sufficient lifestyle - “they have made their own cloth, their own hats and rain-coats; they have prepared their own medicines, their own cooking-vessels, their own substitutes for crockery. The various craftwork done by the Nagas include basketry, weaving, wood carving, pottery, metalwork, jewellery and beadwork. Weaving of colourful woolen and cotton shawls is a central activity for women of all Naga tribes.

One of the common features of Naga shawls is that three pieces are woven separately and stitched together. Weaving is an intricate and time consuming work and each shawl takes at least a few days to complete. Designs for shawls and wraparounds (commonly called meghala) are different for men and women. Among many tribes the design of the shawl denotes the social status of the wearer. Some of the more known shawls include Tsungkotepsu and Rongsu of the Ao tribe; Sutam, Ethasu, Longpensu of the Lothas; Haora, Changkhom and Raivat of the Tangkhuls; Supong of the Sangtams, Rongkhim and Tsungrem Khim of the Yimchungers; the Angami Lohe shawls with thick embroidered animal motifs etc.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce has filed an application seeking registration of traditional Naga shawls made in Nagaland with the Geographical Registry of India for Geographical Indication.

• Folk song and dance:
Folk songs and dances are essential ingredients of the traditional Naga culture. The oral tradition is kept alive through the media of folk tales and songs. Naga folks songs are both romantic and historical, with songs narrating entire stories of famous ancestors and incidents. There are also seasonal songs which describe various activities done in a particular agricultural season. The early Western missionaries opposed the use of folk songs by Naga Christians as they are perceived to be associated with spirit worship, war and immorality. As a result, translated versions of Western hymns were introduced, leading to the slow disappearance of indigenous music from the Naga hills.

Case Study Downloads:
Kraftemporary - Contemporary Furniture - pdf