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Chapter Twenty-seven. Return to Nagaland |
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daily routine of life in Wakching and other villages little changed |
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Despite the changes in political outlook and religious belief and practice, the daily routine of a Konyak village such as Wakching has remained very similar to what it was a generation ago. The women's household chores of fetching water and firewood and of pounding rice are unchanged, and the men engage as of old in the making of baskets and mats, the repairing of implements, and the periodic rethatching and rebuilding of houses. Agriculture remains the basis of Konyak economy, and there is no significant improvement in the techniques of tillage. Slash-and-burn cultivation on hill slopes is the sole method of growing rice, millet, (253) taro, and vegetables, and nowhere in the Konyak country does one find any attempt at terracing or irrigation. For the time being the Konyaks still reap sufficient grain to meet their requirements and hence there is no urge to depart from the traditional method. |
