'Cultural North East India' Dances of the Tribes

An Exposition of the Dances and songs of several Tribes of NE India. Performed in Guwahati, Assam, India as a presentation of the living cultures of the region, in tandem with a three day conference organized by the Janajati Faith and Culture Protection Forum.

The theme was 'Our Culture - A Way of Worship' to remind the World that their Ancient Indigenous Religious faiths and customs are inseparable from their Culture. This region of the world has often been the target of foreign religious groups that attempt to convert people away from their ancestral faith while urging them to maintain their dress, music, art and dances yet in a watered down version that is stripped of its original spiritual context.

During the British rule of South Asia Native preachers of both Hinduism and Islam were forbidden from the promotion of their faiths within North East India. However many foreign missionaries specifically of the Baptist faith were allowed to flood the region and thus today a majority of the Native people no longer practice or have an interest in their ancestral traditions.

Today the efforts to support the Indigenous people's traditional heritage are met with hostility however a strong commitment remains among a minority of the people. Thus today despite being a minority within their own homelands the Traditionalist Natives of the region have continued to practice their ancestral ways. Organizations such as the VKA or Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (Tribal Well Being Society) are at the forefront of the ongoing promotion and protection of NE India's Vibrant Heritage.