RETURN OF THE SACRED DRUM

Endangered primary peoples

An episode from the series THE FORGOTTEN VOICES

Synopsis

The Nagas are fearsome headhunters who, until recently, lived in isolation in the mountains that separate north-eastern India and Burma. Over the past few years their cultural heritage has been endangered by unbridled evangelism and raids from the Burmese army.

Visier Sanyu, a Nagan historian, sets out to cross the mountain barrier to seek out his cousins from one of the most isolated tribes in Burma, the Khiamnugan Naga, the People of the Great Sources. Through the Laimke ritual he plans to seal a pact of friendship.

The return of the sacred drum in the village is the symbol of a cultural renaissance.