The role of the morung age groups in expressing and transmitting agricultural knowledge in Nagaland, with particular reference to Khonoma Village

Agriculture is the predominant economic activity in the state of Nagaland in northeast India. In Naga villages, agricultural knowledge is one of the aspects of the community’s cultural heritage that is passed on from generation to generation through the age groups that are associated with the bachelors’ or men’s houses known as morungs. This paper takes the Angami Naga village of Khonoma as the case study to examine the role of the age groups in the agricultural life of the village. It investigates how the age groups acquire agricultural knowledge through practical activity, and how agricultural knowledge, including knowhow, skills, practices, rituals, festivals and values, is expressed and transmitted by the age groups. It demonstrates how this knowledge is used by the age groups to navigate the economic and social life in the village.