GUWAHATI, June 19 - A seminar-cum-workshop was organised recently by the Institute of Research and Documentation of Indigenous Studies (IRDIS), Assam, under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, on �The culture and the threatened cultural traditions of the Tiwa community� on the premises of the Jagiroad Higher Secondary School, Morigaon district.
Dr Deepa Dutt, Executive Director, IRDIS, in her introductory remarks, said that this seminar-cum-workshop was the first of a series to be organised by IRDIS with the involvement of various ethnic communities in the different districts of the State and cultural experts at the grassroots level to deliberate on their ancient cultures and to bring awareness of the threat perception to their rich cultural heritage.
Dr Dutt elaborated on the various aspects of the Tiwa culture and applauded the various initiatives taken up by the Tiwa community for the revival and resurgence of their traditional culture and practices.
The two sessions of the seminar-cum-workshop were chaired by Lalsing Madar, president, Tiwa Sahitya Sabha and Bidyut Senapati, general secretary, Tiwa Sahitya Sabha respectively, stated a press release.
The resource persons Moheswar Pator, ex-president, Tiwa Sahitya Sabha, Jursing Bordoloi, researcher and cultural expert and Ramuthi Amsi, educationist, dwelt on the various cultural traditions practiced by the Tiwa people in the past and expressed their apprehensions at the changes that have crept in with time and which may lead to the extinction of their true cultural practices, traditions and beliefs. They further expressed the need for such deliberations with a view to unearth the manifold threats to their culture and traditions and to strive unitedly for the revival, restoration and the depiction of Tiwa cultural practices in their right perspective.
The interaction session which followed laid particular stress on these distortions and the wrong depiction of their cultural practices and beliefs and resolved to spread awareness of this problem through such discussions so that remedial measures could be taken to reverse the process.
The seminar was widely attended with participants from the districts of Morigaon, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong and Kamrup. Special guests at the seminar Subhen Bordoloi, president, Tiwa Cultural Society and Apurba Jibon Baruah IPS (retd), advisor to IRDIS, stressed the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of the Tiwa community in its pristine form and lauded the initiative of IRDIS in its unique endeavour to deliberate at the grassroots level, the various aspects of Tiwa culture in order to bring about awareness and document for posterity their rich heritage. The vote of thanks was offered by Sanchita Bora Rongpipi, secretary IRDIS.
