The Centre for Naga Tribal Language Studies, Nagaland University, Kohima, is organising a two-day International Workshop on the Indigenous Folkloristics: Methods and Approaches on August 13 and 14. The workshop will feature three distinguished external resource persons: Dr. William Westerman, Fulbright International Scholar and Associate Professor at New Jersey City University, USA; Dr. Theyiesinuo Keditsu, renowned educator, poet, and scholar, working as Assistant Professor at Kohima College; and Dr Sentinaro, folklorist, and cultural expert, serving as Assistant Professor at Baptist College. Together, they will serve as subject experts, offering critical insights into the study of Indigeneity and Folklore, particularly in the context of a rapidly changing global landscape.

The inaugural ceremony was held today at Nagaland University, Kohima Campus, and was chaired by Dr Imlienla Imchen, who delivered the welcome address to the gathering. The session outlined the vision and objectives of the workshop.

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Convenor, Dr Yanbeni Yanthan, stated that the goals of the workshop were to: (a) explore how other Indigenous communities across the world navigate the realities of cultural hegemony and change; (b) encourage Nagas to engage with their own folklore and oral traditions through a multifaceted lens that fosters greater inclusivity and dynamism in current approaches to folklore studies; and (c) advance the call to “put the folk back into folklore”, reframing it as both a scholarly, cultural and social imperative, and as a step towards the broader project of decolonisation.

The session ended with a note of thanks from Dr Laishram Bijenkumar Singh.