Preserving heritage, exploring change: the Poumais of Manipur
- Guwahati: North Eastern Social Research Centre, 2019.
- xii, 282p.: hbk.: 21cm.
- Women and Tribal Customary Law Series, Vol. 9 .
Includes Glossary, References, & Index
This book, Preserving Heritage, Exploring Change: The Poumais of Manipur must be situated in the context of the recent debate about customary law and women’s rights, political or otherwise. Given the close link between assertions of tribal identity and customary law, the demands for change have been labelled ‘non-tribal’ even though there are multiple dimensions of customary law which are dynamic and ever changing. Against this backdrop, we study 14 tribal communities from Northeast India—two each from the seven states—to help generate for our readers a nuanced understanding of the status of women within the purview of customary laws in the region. In the current volume, we look at Poumai women and attempt to understand how their daily lives are shaped and influenced by the Poumai customs, practices and their customary laws as well as increasing modernisation and inter-cultural interactions.