Impact of Christianity and Modern Education on the Bujuur Society

Abstract

The Bujuur is one of the indigenous and Christianized tribes from the state of Manipur in India and Sagaing in Myanmar. Like all the Christianized tribes, the Bujuur also underwent a social transformation culminating in both positive and negative changes. The article explores and discusses the social discourses within the Bujuur as a result of Christianity and accompanying modern (western) education. The objective of the article is to present the nature of social changes within the Bujuur with regards to cultural and traditional sustainability, as well as to analyse the present state of the Bujuur if the underwent transformation liberated the society or has put them in a new social prison, with Christianity and modern education as the premises. Ethnographic method was used for the study with interviews, discussions and anecdotes of individuals with lived experiences as the main components. The study finds that the Christianity and modernity herald social changes and outlooks including reorganization of clan system, better literary and occupations and village administration, while at the same time the cultural heritage are at risk of being forgotten and there is identity quandary within the society over the tribe’s nomenclature. It is concluded that Christianity and Modern Education failed the Bujuur society in preserving their pre-Christian cultural heritage, traditions and knowledge, and there is a need to re-look and re-assess the society’s future pathways in order to cultivate a sustainable space wherein Christianity, modern education and cultural heritage co-exist.