On Tradition, Modernity, and Tribal Art The Case of the Ethnic Nagas in North-East India

The art of the ethnic Nagas in north-east India is still enmeshed with the colonial portrayal of tribal life. What is enacted as tribal art by "insiders" has a quality of "staged authenticity," while "outsiders" appraise the fast-changing traditional art as if suspended in time. Here, the stakeholders that mediate the production and representation of Naga art and aesthetics exacerbate the inconsistency. The boundary between an insider and outsider is blurring in other areas of social and cultural life, but traditional art is appropriated to reinforce the dichotomy. In this context, identity polemics and tourism industry are posited as prime movers shaping the contours of contemporary Naga art and aesthetics. Along this argument, this article draws upon Erving Goffman's dramaturgical analysis to analyse Naga art life as a process of continuity and change. [Nagaland, Naga tribes, north-east India, Christianity, colonialism, headhunting, tribal art]