India is a land of various tribes and ethnicities. The aboriginal people,who are original inhabitants of the country, are called ‘Adivasi’ or ‘tribe’. The Bengali word ‘Adivasi’ is a translated version of the English word ‘tribe’. The English word ‘tribe’ derives from the Latin word ‘tribas’, meaning a community carrying a consistent lineage. We are all aware of the fact that the Constitution of India was adopted on the 26th of November, 1949 and became effective on 26th January, 1950. The Constitution regards the Adivasis as the Scheduled Tribes. Most of these people either belong to the Proto-Austroloid group or the Negro-Mongolian group and most of them live in the craggy landscapes, jungles and hilly areas of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, Tripura, Manipur, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Sikkim, Mizoram, Maharashtra and other states. The occupation of Adivasis depends on hunting animals and birds and collecting fruits, leaves and other minor forest produce. A large section of them is engaged in Jhum plantation i.e. shifting cultivation and they also practise cattle rearing mainly cow, goats, sheep, pigs, oxen, cats, and dogs.
India has the second-largest tribal population among all countries in the world. In terms of tribal population, India is next only to Africa. According to the census, there are three hundred and fifty communities of tribal people living in our country. As 
a result, they play a pivotal role in maintaining the harmony of Indian society and culture. From the days of  The Ramayana and The Mahabharata, we get a glimpse of the role of Adivasi in our culture. Valmiki, the creator of the primary epic The Ramayana, utters: “Maa Nishada Pratistham Tvamagamahsasvati Samaa / Yat Kraunchamithunaadekam Avadhi Kaamamohitam!”, meaning that he has cursed the ‘Vyadha’ (hunter) for killing the bird called 'Kraunch'. The word “Nishada” refers to the son springing from the union of a Ksatriya and a Sudra woman. Valmiki represents the relationship between higher castes and lower castes, between royal personages and Adivasis, in the hermitage scene of Matanga monk where a tribal woman is waiting for Ramchandra or in the character of Ram’s friend Ghuhak Chandal. Vyasa’s primary epic The Mahabharata sets up the Dalit Eklavya as a big-hearted person through representing his self-sacrifice and his honesty and loyalty towards his Guru Dronacharya. The epic also shows how six Adivasis were burned in the forest of Khandava by the warrior-heroes.
 From the days of Charyapada to the works of Chandimangal and  Dharmamangal, Bengali literature represents the trials and tragedies of Sabar, Dome, Chandal, Bydh race etc. Though Sanjib Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Palamou is considered to a travelogue, it becomes a scathing critique of Adivasi life in forests. Abanindranath Tagore’s Rajkahini gives us a perennial picture of Bhil caste and their existence for struggle. In the 19 th Century Bengali literature, Swarnakumari Devi’s Mibarraj (1887) and Bidhroho (1890) depict the surface reality of Adivasi life. Sailajananda Mukhopadhyay’s Kaylakuthi depiets the lives of Adivasi labours where sympathy and emotion have been associated with reality. Bibhutibhusan Bandyopadhyay’s Aranyak (1939) describes two contrary pictures of our country. One group of people is trying to set up their version of India, a space in which the ‘other’ group has no role to play. The literary oeuvre of Bibhutibhusan is filled with figures such as the women leaders of Adivasi.
Tarasankar’s Kalindi, published in 1940, shows how the industrialist Bimal Mukherjee butchers and batters the primitive lifestyle of the Santali people of Kalinidichar. Mainak alias Sailen Bandyopadhyay depicts the struggle of the oppressed and depressed people of Manbhum in his novel, Subarnarekhar Tire. Prafulla Roy’s Purbaparbati (1956) describes the  indigenous culture and heritage of Naga race, particularly their revengeful nature to their enemies, their bestial attitude, their “Sardar” custom, their various personal and community festivals etc. Mahasweta Devi’s literary career centres on the trials and tragedies of subaltern people of the 20 th Century. She wrote, “We and they live in the same world; but their world is completely different from us”. Her novel Aranyer Adhikar (1977), based on the revolt of Birsa Munda against the dominant hegemonic discourse of colonialists, establishes Birsa as the hero who fights for their equal rights. In another work, entitled Choti Munda evam Tar Tir (1980), Choti Munda becomes not the hero of the ‘Ulgulan’, but a symbol of tribal aspirations. Her short story “Venkatmani o Nario” depicts the oppression of the elder daughter's family; “Doulti” makes a scathing critique of the tradition of bonded labour through pinpointing the painful life of a Harijan girl, Doulti, at Palamou; “Bayen” highlights the physical and emotional wounds inflicted by the society on Chandi and shows how the atrocious oppressive mechanism reduces a woman to the level of a witch. In these ways, Devi sometimes traces us back to the Pre-historical Age, she sometimes traces us back to the Mediaeval Era, and she sometimes deals with contemporary scenarios. Through her literary oeuvre, we have been acquainted with various indigenous customs of various places. As Kuber in Manik Bandopadhyay’s Padmanadir Majhi stands at the rock bottom of the society, he is not given any importance. For him, Moyna Deep, an estuarine island covered with a dense forest, holds a fearful fascination. Through connecting the titular character with political consciousness in Dhoraicharit Manash (1951), Satinath Bhaduri creates a space in which the subaltern can speak. Subodh Ghosh’s Satakiya (1958) depicts the trials and tragedies of the tribal peasants of Chotanagpur plateau region. Sunil Gangopadhyay’s Aranyer Dinratri (1968) brings out a vivid pen picture of Santali women. While describing the Santali women’s attitudes towards Santali young men, the novelist writes: “You cannot make out the age of Santali women. But we are  sure that their age ranges from fifteen to forty-five. The girl who wears a blue saree is the youngest of them.” Buddhadev Guha’s Shaldungri illustrates the indigenous lifestyle of Santal and Munda of Chotanagpur plateau region; his novel Koyeler Kache (1970) describes the struggles of tribal groups of Palamou, such as, Chero, Kherwar and Oraon. The novel Kojagari provides a glimpse of the thrilling jungle of Jharkhand as well as of various tribes like Titli, Karoa, Nankua, Tunia etc. In Abdul Jabbbar’s novel Mataler Haat, Rabi Hansda has graduated from Ranchi College in Jharkhand. He is a figure of protest. In his consciousness he visualises modern people, new schools, primary schools in every village, high-schools every two miles, a college within four miles, and a few schools in their tribal area. He dreams of development. Rabi Hansda is a representative of the exploited and deprived tribal people. In the novels Aranya-Purush, Rukmini Bibi and Dhaljhuri Pahare Payrar Basa, set against the background of Dhalbhum, Manbhum and Ranchi, Sudhir Kumar Karan has poignantly depicted the spirit of Munda, Santal, Bhumija, Kahar, and Kurmi communities – a spirit marked by love and struggle, weal and woe.
Besides, writers like Ramapada Choudhury, Narayan Sanyal, Samaresh Basu, Satish Chandra Mukhopadhyay, Shaktipada Rajguru, Samaresh Majumdar, Gunamoy Manna, Asutosh Mukhopadhyay, Saikat Rakshit, Bhagirath Misra, Nalini Bera, and Ramkumar Mukhpadhyay have expanded and enriched the literary spectrum of tribal life. They have successfully brought to light the fundamental challenges faced by the tribal people who have remained perpetually marginalized in the Indian civilisation and culture. Efficient field-surveys have revealed many unknown facts. They have also attempted to provide a realistic projection of the endangered existence of the tribal people. In this discussion, we shall try to understand the central tenets of the Naga people’s way of life by analysing the novel Yaruingam by Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya – a novel that  highlights the struggles and cultural aspects of the Naga people. Novels generally speak of life. Novels not only present various facets of the society, but also make the readers identify with various characters in them. In fact, in any novel, both social portrayal and character-sketches become significant. Therefore, the Naga characters also occupy a significant position in this novel written on Naga society, culture and life. It is well-known that with the passage of time, like other tribes of India, the Naga tribe has also undergone significant changes in terms of their culture and way of life.
Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya (1924-1997) is a renowned novelist in Indian literature. Yaruingam (meaning “Autonomy”) is a remarkable novel in Assamese language. It was written in 1960. It is based on life and culture of indigenous Naga people. This novel is set in a volatile period of Indian history – from the last phase of World War II (around 1940) till the death of Mahatma Gandhi (30th January, 1948). The novel dwells on the catastrophe created by the World War II in Nagaland as well as on the internal strife amongst the Naga people. Yaruingam narrates a series of episodes – the devastation of World War II, the battle between Azad Hind Fauj and Japanese soldiers with the British, the re-capture of Nagaland and Manipur, the end of World War II (14th August, 1945), the Calcutta riots of 1946, India’s Independence, and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The novel’s main plot centres on Bisang who is an educated Naga youth, Sarengla who is an exquisitely beautiful lady, Khutingla, Najek, Phanitphang and Videshelly. Bisang, Khutingla and Phanitphang joined the British army on the condition that if the British recapture Nagaland , they would help in building schools, roads, hospitals etc. in their village. After the British left India, Bisang and his associates wanted to be a part of India for economic progress. But objection comes from Videshelly who had joined the Azad Hind Fauj and was inspired by the ideals of Netaji. He believed in the independent existence of Nagaland. It led to an internal clash which ended with the victory of Bisang and his associates. The hideousness of this fight affected the profound relationship of love between Bisang and Sarengla. Isebra, a Japanese soldier, captured Sarengla and forced her to co-habit. When the British drove away the Japanese, Isebra tried to escape but was killed. Consequently, Sarengla was ostracised. Bisang helped her find the job of a nurse so that she could serve humanity. Khutingla kept on loving Bisang and eventually they married and also gave birth to a child.
On one hand, this novel reflects the conflicts and battles between Christians and non-Christians; the conflict between conservative Nagas like Najek and Videshelly with the liberal Nagas like Bisang and Khating. On the other hand, the novel also illustrates how the Naga tribe maintained their age- old traditions, customs and rituals, and tried to build Nagaland on emerging thoughts and ideas. The novel indeed illumines this period of transition.
This primitive tribe living in Nagaland is superior to other tribes inhabiting other parts of India in terms of courage and fearlessness. They mainly belong to Sino-Tibetan or Tibetan-Burmese group. The Sino-Tibetan has significant contribution behind the formation of Indian tribes. But for a long time, they could not be culturally identified. They came to the Naga mountains way back in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Once upon a time, they were hunters of human head and those who could cut off the heads of enemies were considered valiant. The Naga inhabitants loved their freedom. They inhabited inhospitable mountains and forests. Therefore, for them, everything was controlled by nature. They built their houses with bamboos, trees and sticks. They lived on fruits and other edibles from forests, and also consumed the meat of birds and beasts. They consumed meat of almost all animals – particularly deer, buffaloes, pigs, leopards, dogs and birds. They practised shifting cultivation and produced rice, maize, barley, potato, ginger etc. Wine was their favourite drink. However, their food-habits gradually changed as they came in touch with people from the plains and the Christian missionaries and British soldiers – a fact also highlighted by Yaruingam.
Like other Indian tribes, the Nagas also wore scanty dress. However, during festivals and ceremonies Naga men and women wore gorgeous costumes. Red and black were their favourite colours. Yaruingam tells us that the Nagas did not cover their upper body, and only wore a small piece of cloth around their waists. However, the urban fashionable people like Bisang, Khating and Phanitphang wore shirts, trousers, long pants, and coats and over-coats instead of simple shawls. This novel also talks about some changes in women’s clothes and jewellery. Women now cover their upper body, wore brassieres, and waist-garments. Most of them wear red-white sarees. They also wore ear-rings and necklaces of red and blue stones. The modern women wear blouse or shirts and also colourful garments like skirts. For instance, we find Sarengla wearing “a fine shirt and a colourful cloth around waist”.
Yaruingam also talks about various local festivals of the Nagas. Like other tribes, the Nagas are also fond of song and dance. During various festivals, their gorgeous costumes, song and dance, drinking and revelry become eye-catching. Both men and women took part in all festivities. The festivals of Monglatha, Nabanna and Christmas find mention in the novel: “From tomorrow the festivities of nabanna will begin. Meat is being cooked in the houses. There will be grand feast, wrestling and tug of war.” Since Yaruingam mentions Christmas, it is easily understandable that the Christian missionaries succeeded to a large extent in converting the Nagas into Christians in the mountainous villages. Therefore, the Christian Nagas visit the church to celebrate the Christmas festival along with other people from the villages. However, there is also account of creating divisions and conflicts between Chistian Nagas and non-Christian Nagas by establishing churches. Hence it becomes amply clear that the novel presents a phase of transition. According to Naga traditions, the groom’s side visits the bride’s house with proposal of marriage, carrying dowry for the bride – gorgeous spears for the bride’s father and various ornaments for the bride. However, the wedding of Bisang and Khutingla described in this novel, shows that the wedding took place not according to Naga rituals, but according to Christian norms.
The people of the Naga tribe believe in ghosts, evil spirits, reincarnation, heaven, witch, presiding deity of forests, ghosts called ‘rikhus’ and ‘anija’, ojha, incantation etc. Besides, they have profound faith in sun-god, hypnosis, forebodings through dreams etc. The Nagas are valiant; they fear nothing. They only fear ‘anija’ (an evil spirit or ghost). They believe that they must obey Naga traditions and rituals; else ‘anija’ will push them to death. In this novel, Najek – an orthodox respectable person – believes that after his death, his soul will remain in the village till the feast of kamio puja. Besides, the Nagas believe that after death, on the third day, the deceased soul is carried by the crow to kathi kamam and till the feast of kathi kamam stays back in the village. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya has also highlighted their profound faith in ghosts and evil spirits. There are numerous foot-prints on the burial place of Najek. However, with the progress of education, some of them have started raising questions. Phanitphang, who believes in modern thoughts, does not believe the words of Videshelly. The Nagas also believe in heavenly abode. If Kamio is worshipped with devotion, the expired soul becomes fortunate enough to enjoy the company of gods. Najek also had that thought before his death. The Nagas consider the sun and the moon to be gods. They sincerely believe that their fate is determined by the sun-god. After all, the people of ancient times and the sages of the Vedic periods had also worshipped sun-god. In the Savitri Suktam of the Rig-Veda, there is reference to worship of sun-god. Amongst the Naga tribe, there are plenty of folk-tales regarding the sun-god. They believe that if anyone insults or doubts the sun-god, amija becomes offended, and the sun no longer rises.
The clashes and conflicts among the Naga people, their struggle, dreams and disappointments of their private lives, superstitions, emerging thoughts and ideas etc. constitute the critical aspects of Birendra Kumar’s novel. These people, living on the lap of nature, have sustained their life and culture around nature. These tribal people live as a very well-organized community. If required, they demonstrate their ethnic identity, and engage in fights and struggles with their collective identity in mind. However, the people residing in the plains consider the tribal people to be uncivilized, barbaric and primitive. The British identified these people as ‘Tribe’ and ‘Uncivilized’. The high-brow people of the entire world have such hostile notion about them. Since some people have to pay the price for national development, sometimes the ordinary farmers, the Dalits, the tribal people and at other times the all-enduring lower- castes people have to sacrifice themselves. That is why the likes of Arundhati Roy have to shout: “Where is that land? Has anyone discovered machinery for creating and cultivating lands?” Still, the novel Yaruingam, through conversations among different characters, clearly suggests the order and discipline inherent in the Naga society. For instance, hunters must avoid female companionship on the day before hunt; one must purify oneself before going for hunt; punishment for adultery; widowhood after the husband’s death; the entire village-population participating in last rites on someone’s death; male successors being denied inheritance in case they marry outside the community – such norms were prevalent.
In Yaruingam, Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya has presented those experiences which he had about the life and culture of the Naga tribe. Mr Bhattacharya lived in Assam. After India’s Independence, in 1950 he travelled to Nagaland to work as a teacher in Ukhrul High-School. He witnessed the impact of both violent and non-violent movements in other parts of India on Nagaland, the attempt by the Christian missionaries to convert the Naga people into Christianity, the interest among the Naga youths in education; and all these formed the staple of Yaruingam. The novel also depicts how the World War II devastated the lives of the Naga people and how their houses were destroyed by bullets and canons. After the War ended in 1945, the young Naga people devoted themselves to re-build their villages. Schools and hospitals came up. Subsequently, India became independent and Nagaland received the status of an Indian state, paving the way for economic progress. The novel also portrays how the ancient culture and heritage of this tribe are gradually getting extinct and how new thoughts are emerging. The people from the plains, particularly the Christian missionaries, had left their influence on the dress and clothing, manners and etiquette of young Naga men and women. Consequently, their language and culture, religion, costumes, food-habits, songs and dances, festivals, rituals, wedding-ceremonies, beliefs and superstitions, musical instruments, social norms rapidly changed – a change highlighted by the author. It is crystal clear that the novel Yaruingam offers a comprehensive narrative of how the Naga people were gradually moving from a primitive way of life to the modern life-style. The way Birendra Kumar has depicted the cultural transition of these people in his writing is indeed remarkable and laudable