Manipur’s folk-rock band hits the right notes

 “Who are you and where do your roots lie?”

This simple question triggered Augustine Horchuingam’s quest to discover his roots and it all started at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai in 2012. 

Augustine was helping his friend Asa Kazingmei who was showcasing his creation, ‘Immortal’ at the Lakme Fashion Week as a gen next designer. Asa’s designs were inspired by the exuberant shawls and skirts of their tribe Tangkhul, an ethnic Naga tribe that lives in Ukhrul and Kamjong Districts of Manipur in India’s northeast and the Somra tract in Myanmar.

In order to blend with the theme of his friend’s designs, Augustine had sported a hao kuiret – Tangkhul Naga haircut that resembles a tomahawk – and decorated his head with feathers. Impressed by Asa’s creation on the ramp and intrigued by Augustine’s peculiar hair style and headgear, people at the show were curious to know about the culture they were representing.

No knowledge of one’s roots 

Augustine was struck by how oblivious he was to the culture and traditions that had shaped the journey of his community, once described by the outside world as no better than savages notorious for practising headhunting. 

Western education and Christianity first arrived to his tribe in 1896 through the Christian missionary William Pettigrew and it brought with it moral and ethical cleansing based on western standards. For a tribe with no written historical script of their own, the assimilation into a new culture dealt a huge blow to the oral traditions which comprised the only account into their lives and origin. This led to the ethos of the Tangkhul Nagas suffering many irreversible losses and Augustine was experiencing a knock-on effect of that amnesia. 

Born in Ukhrul but brought up at Dimapur in Nagaland, Augustine’s only connection to his roots had been the folksongs and folktales his grandmother had sung and narrated to him when he was young. Being part of a generation that had a certain disenchantment towards the supposedly old traditions of the past, Augustine was dumbfounded when he was asked about his roots in metropolitan Mumbai. 

“It hit me then how little I knew about my own roots,” confessed Augustine, reflecting back on that day. “It was ironic that someone from the other side of the world made me realise the importance of my culture and my roots. It was like an epiphany and I knew I had to do something to promote my culture.” 

A music band to promote culture

Four years after the Bombay trip, Augustine founded the band Featherheads Haokui in 2016 with an aim to safeguard and promote the culture and oral traditions of the Tangkhul Naga tribe. The band met on weekdays for their jam sessions and performed in churches on Sunday mornings. People loved the vibe they brought on stage and started approaching them to perform in events outside the church. 

Initially, Augustine was the sole vocal of the band and the band’s quest for a female lead ended when Chon Shimray was recruited in 2017. The chemistry between Augustine and Chon extended beyond the stage and they soon became a couple. 

“She’s been a saving grace for me and the band,” expressed an emotional Augustine who now has two beautiful children with Chon. 

With band’s popularity comes cultural scrutiny

The popularity of the band also took off as they performed in music festivals across the country before they made their international debut at the Northeast India Festival at Bangkok Thailand in 2019. However, as their popularity grew, so did the scrutiny as to how they were portraying the Tangkhul culture.

“Our aim is to appeal to the younger generation to our culture and most renditions of folksongs we sing have a bit of rock element infused in it. The younger generation love it but we have been met by backlash by sections of the conservative older generations who staunchly believe in traditions as something that cannot be altered,” said Augustine, speaking of the band’s style of music. 

When asked if this has deterred the band, Augustine responded in a measured manner, “I believe culture isn’t a fixed entity, we’re always adding to it and as long as we’re not misappropriating our culture, my conscience is clear. The naysayers will always be there.”

The bigger challenge for the band has been their inability to record most of the beautiful folksongs they sing. Many folksongs are tied to certain seasons and can only be sung in accordance to the seasons. For example, a folksong about harvest can only be sung during the harvest season. As such, recording these songs and putting them out there would be breaking the customary laws.

“Our only hope is that singing these songs in our shows will help promote it.” he added regretfully. 

Remaining rooted 

The past few years have seen a huge shift in the interest of the Tangkhul Naga youths towards their roots thanks to the rich portrayal of the tribe’s tradition and culture by the band in their performances and music videos. The band’s music has also helped people from other communities and countries to take an interest in the Tangkhul Naga culture. 

And although Augustine is too modest to take credit for this change, he cannot hide his delight in the fact that the band’s aim to promote their culture is shining through and believes the work is cut out for them to do more. 

“We’ve taken it as our calling to promote our culture and the support from the society has further driven us. We feel now that it is our responsibility to carry on the work we do so that our cultures and traditions remain alive,” he told Village Square. 

Apart from the folksongs, the band is known for their lively stage performances and original songs that have cultural and environmental messages embedded within. Augustine hopes that the songs of the band can act as breadcrumbs for the listeners, Tangkhul or anyone else, leading them back to their roots. 

The band recently released an EP on Spotify with the music video of the single Haonao released on YouTube. Featherheads Haokui currently performs across the country in various festivals with around 15-20 shows annually. 

The lead image shows the Featherheads Haokui band with fans after their performance at the Just Hangout 2.0 Music Festival (Photo Courtesy Just Hangout 2.0) 

Worngachan A Shatsang is a freelance journalist based in Ukhrul, Manipur. He writes about football, rural life, farming and environmental issues. He is a Rural Media Fellow 2022 at Youth Hub, Village Square.