Survival Phrases in Nagamese: the Lingua Franca of Nagaland

Nagaland in the north eastern frontiers of India is a linguist’s paradise where not less than 23 different indigenous languages are spoken in full vigor. Though English is the official language in Nagaland, It is Nagamese (a pidgin/creole arising out of Assamese, Hindi, English and various Naga languages) which rules the roost across the state. Though the origin of Nagamese is unknown, it is evident from the accounts of Lt. Bigges (Tour Diary 1841) that this pidgin was in vogue before the British soldiers set their feet in the Naga Hills. The earliest record of Nagamese is found in Hutton (1921) with a few lexical items and phrases in the pidgin. Hutton (1921) says

‘the Assamese as spoken in the Naga Hills is peculiarly well adapted for the reproduction of Naga idioms as a vehicle of interpretation. It makes a better lingua franca for the Hills than Hindustani or English would, the substitution of which for Assamese has been occasionally suggested.’

Hutton is referring to Nagamese when he is writing of Assamese of Naga Hills. Similarly Haimendorf (Von Furer Haimendorf, The Naked Nagas, 1939, London) writes

‘Fortunately many people including children spoke fluently Nagamese, the lingua franca of entire Naga Hills’.

The spread of Nagamese according to Sreedhar (M.V. Shreedhar, 1985, Standardized Grammar of Naga Pidgin, Mysore) is due to several factors. He cites the construction of roads, penetration of Marwari traders in far flung areas, and various state and central agencies bringing Non-Nagas in Nagaland as the primary reason for the spread of Nagamese. It is absolutely clear that neither colonization nor subjugation was responsible for the birth of Nagamese.

Today Nagamese is used for diverse inter-lingual communication situations such as Schools, markets, hospitals, legislative assembly, and even in churches. Moreover the emergence of a unified Naga identity irrespective of tribal affiliations has led to situations where it has acquired the role of a mother tongue for the children born out of wedlock of people from two different communities. Nagamese is increasingly used in informal conversation though formal discourse is still done in English or any other indigenous language. Youth use it profusely among themselves on the streets of Kohima, Dimapur, Mokukchung and outside Nagaland etc.

Knowing a little of Nagamese in Nagaland comes handy when one decides to visit this beautiful state in the Far East. Nagamese is like a song you would like to sing time and again.

Here are some SURVIVAL PHRASES in Nagamese based on Dr. N. Khashito Aye’s book titled Nagamese: the Lingua Franca of Nagaland, 2007 (published by Christian Education Ministry, Sugar Mill, 5^th Mile, Dimapur- 7977112, Nagaland).

SURVIVAL PHRASES in NAGAMESE

English	Nagamese	Hindi
Please come in	aahibi	आईए।
Please sit down	bohibi	बैठिए।
Where do you live?	aapuni kot thaake?	आप कहाँ रहते/रहती हैं?
My house is in Agra	mor laagaa ghar Agrate aase	मेरा घर आगरा में है।
What is your name?	aapuni laagaa naam ki aase?	आपका क्या नाम है?
My name is Prakash	mor laaga naam prakaash aase	मेरा नाम प्रकाश है।
How are you?	kenekaa aase?	आप कैसे हैं?
I am alright	Bhaal hi aase	मैं ठीक हूँ।
What happened?	ki hoise?	क्या हुआ?
What is the price of this?	itu kiman dam ase?	इसका दाम क्या है?
lower down the price	olop kom koribi	कुछ कम कीजिए।
That will do	hoise	हाँ यह ठीक है।
I don’t want	amaake naalaage	मुझे नहीं चाहिए।
At what time you will come?	aapuni kimaan baajite aahibo?	आप कितने बजे आएंगे।
I will come tomorrow at 8 o’clock	aami kaali aat bajite aahibo	मैं कल आठ बजे आउंगा।
Please drive the car	gaari chalaabi	गाड़ी चलाईए।
Drive slowly	aaste chalaabi	धीरे चलाईए।
Stop	rukhibi	रोकिए।
Turn it	ghuraabi	घुमाईए।
To the left	left phaale	बाईं ओर।
To the right	right phaale	दाईं ओर।
This way	itu phaale	इस तरफ।
That way	hitu phaale	उस तरफ।
Which way?	kun phaale?	किस तरफ?
Go straight	sida jabi	सीधा जाईए।
Do you like it?	aapuni itu bhal laage?	क्या यह आपको पसंद है?
Where are you going?	aapuni kot jabo?	आप कहाँ जा रहे/रही हैं?
I am going to market	moi market jai aase	मैं बाज़ार जा रहा हूँ।
Where has he gone?	taar kot jaise?	वह कहाँ गए/गई हैं?
I will come tomorrow	aami kali aahibo	मैं कल आउंगा।
Vitsaho and kitoka have come	vitshao aaru kitoka aahise	वित्साहो और कितोका आए हैं।

And I end this piece with a Nagamese Love song by Kevilinuo Vizo:

Moi laagaa darling

Moi laagaa darling bishi sunder,

Tai laagaa bosti moi najaane,

Beraai beraai kenaa thing bekhaaise

Biyanpabi salam di aase

Ek din noholie, dui din noholie

Love kuribo etu time te koi dibo de,

Eki logote rastaa rastaa beraabo,

Itu din rukhi aase darling.

Post photo courtesy: http://miyzone.blogspot.com/2007/08/different-houses-nagaland-heritage.html

The Nagas…!

Kohima_Cathedral Nagaland

The State of Nagaland was formally inaugurated on December 1^st, 1963, as the 16^th State of the Indian Union. It is bounded by Assam in the West, Myanmar (Burma) on the east, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam on the North and Manipur in the South. The State consists of seven Administrative Districts, inhabited by 16 major indegenous communities (offically tribes but since tribe has colonial hangovers, I avoid it) along with other sub-tribes. Each tribe is distinct in character from the other in terms of customs, language and dress.

It is a land of folklore passed down the generations through word of mouth. Here, music is an integral part of life; folk songs eulogizing ancestors, the brave deeds of warriors and traditional heroes; poetic love songs immortalizing ancient tragic love stories; or the modern tunes rendered exquisitely to set your feet a-tapping.

Each of the 16 odd indigenous communities (tribe in colonial sense)  and sub-communities that dwell in this exotic hill State can easily be distinguished by the colorful and intricately designed costumes, jewelry and beads that they adorn. The traditional ceremonial attire of each indigenous coomunity  is in itself, an awe inspiring sight to behold; the multicoloured spears and daos decorated with dyed goats hair, the headgear made of finely woven bamboo interlaced with orchid stems, adorned with boar’s teeth and hornbill’s feathers, elephant tusk armlets….. You name it! In days of yore every warrior had to earn each of these items through acts of valour, to wear them.

Nature could not have been kinder to Nagaland, sometimes referred to as the Switzerland of the East; the exquisitely picturesque landscapes, the vibrantly colourful sunrise and sunset, lush and verdant flora… this is a land that represents unimaginable beauty, molded perfectly for a breath taking experience.

Its people belong to the Indo-Mongoloid stock, whose ancestors lived off nature’s abundant gifts, blessed with sturdy formidable dispositions. Above all, the people here are warmhearted and extremely hospitable! Nagas, by nature, are lovers of fun and frolic and here life is one long festival. In all there are 16 different officially recognized indegenous communities viz Angami, Ao, Chakhesang, Chang, Khiamniungan, Kuki, Konyak, Lotha, Phom, Pochury, Rengma, Sumi, Sangtam, Yimchungru and Zeliang among others.

The Nagas with their joie de vivre, dance and songs are a part and parcel of all their festivities. Most of their dances are performed with a robust rhythm

All the major Naga indegeous coomiunities have their own language. In actual practice, the language, even within one tribal area, varies from village to village. There are about thirty languages. The multiplicity of Naga languages is mainly because of the living condition in the past, when villages were isolated and there was little of friendly inter-communication between them.

Naga languages in the Tibeto-Burman family is divided into three groups; the western sub-group, the central sub-group and the eastern sub-group. The western sub-group comprises Angami, Sema, Rengma and Chakhesang languages; the central sub-group include Ao, Lotha and Phom languages; while the eastern sub-groups is made up of among others, Chang and Konyak languages.

It is interesting to find that some Naga indegenous communities have borrowed Sanskrit words in their Assamese form.

Nagamese is a pidgin/creole used in Nagaland. Since Nagaland is inhabited by people belonging to different Naga indegeeous communities speaking languages, which are mutually unintelligible, Nagamese is the preferred form of communication for all. It is used in the Nagaland Legislature, as a means of explanation in Nagaland schools and in mixed households.. It does not follow any strict rules of grammar and is easy to pick up. Nagamese has no script. The missionaries rendered signal service to the Naga languages. They wrote the first grammar books and compiled vocabularies. The missionaries used the Roman script.

Hindi is well understood in Nagaland – even in the interior areas. The state Assembly, in a resolution adopted on18 September 1967, recommended that English be used for all official purposes within the state of Nagaland indefinitely, and that English be included as one of the languages in the VIII schedule of the constitution. But, only a fraction of the population in the state speak or write English with some degree of accuracy.