Book on Galo folktales released


RONO HILLS, Jan 12: A book titled ‘Yopum - Galo Lok Kathaye’, authored by Gumpi Nguso, Hindi Officer of Rajiv Gandhi University, was released at the Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies (AITS) conference hall here today.
The book release event was attended by JNU professor Vir Bharat Talwar as chief guest through virtual mode, RGU Vice Chancellor Prof Saket Kushwaha, Registrar Dr N T Rikam, Joint Registrar Dr David Pertin, Galo Welfare Society (GWS) president Tanga Kena, Asstt Prof (Hindi) Dr Abhishek Kr Yadav, among others.
Prof Talwar, in his speech, mentioned the significance of the book as a representative of the millions of tribal people scattered around the country, relating it to the tribal society as much as it is to the mainland people with the two great epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Prof Kushwaha, in his brief speech, said tribal society is not only a society but a religion. He exhorted for cultivating good deeds for the society to uplift the traditional culture by highlighting the issues that matter in the society.
Author Gumpi Nguso, in her deliberation, shared the traditional way of greeting each other with ‘churgen’ and explained its mesmerizing details about how it is close to the nature.
Highlighting the reason of having her book named as Yopum, she said, “This resembles feminism and the power to be able to work at any region, and to be a girl as from any other region.” “This book not only covers Galo society but also talks about Abotani, Nyishi community and other tribes of Tani clan.  I have tried my best to capture the real story and tried to avoid the biasness,” she said.
Registrar N T Rikam highlighted the necessity of promoting one’s culture and tradition through various other creative ways. “One should not only be confined to the theoretical part of the learning process but also explore and find a way to preserve our old decaying tradition,” he said. GWS president Er Tanga Kena also spoke and talked about the importance of preserving traditional knowledge.