Lectures and film-screenings on indigenous peoples of Northeast India at the Estonian National Museum

This series of events is aimed at introducing and exploring the indigenous cultures of Northeast India which is made up of 8 states and has a population of about 45 million. There are about 214 different indigenous communities with as many languages, cultural practices and religions. This set of events is made of films, discussions, storytelling, and other media. We hope that through this series, minority groups in India will have a chance to be represented and showcased in Estonia. The events are organised by the Estonian National Museum in co-operation with the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, and Asia Centre, University of Tartu.

Introduction to the 12 September 2017 event:

During the first meeting Margaret Lyngdoh will introduce briefly North Eastern India and its ethnic diversity. Next, we shall watch “Teshel and Moshel”, a film directed by Ronel Haobam, which was made on the Khoibu tribe. At present this community is endangered with only 2700 members left. They inhabit the Manipur State in Northeastern India. The film tells a story of love and is based on a Khoibu folktale. The film was shot in the Khoibu village and ethnographic scenes of everyday community life can be seen in the film. The actors all belong to the same tribe. There will also be an introduction to the film along with discussions afterwards.

More information: Margaret Lyngdoh, Junior Research Fellow at the Department of the Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu, ninilyngdoh [ät] gmail.com; Henri Zeigo, Communication Specialist of the Estonian National Museum, Henri.Zeigo [ät] erm.ee, phone +372 735 0448