Socio-Cultural and Religious Life of Mao Naga Tribe

This book is about the Maos' concept of good life in general, their vision of man, their religious beliefs and their particular notion of virtues. The affinity between the Maos' notion of good life and that of certain classical philosophers like Aristotle, Kant and the Utilitarians has also been compared. The maos like most other tribal communities live a simple life, close to nature and with strong kinship ties among themselves. There is no visible discrimination based on colour, creed, caste, status, position or power in the traditional Mao community. The Maos value some of the important virtues like bravery, generosity, faithfulness, honesty, wisdom, hard work, etc,. which they link with happiness and good life. According to their moral vision, a virtuous persons will be leading a meaningful life. Their elaborate religious belief system, rites and rituals are discussed along with the moral embodiment in their belief system.

M.Daniel is from Kalinamai village, Senapati District, Manipur. He did his schooling from Model English High School, Mao, Manipur. His Pre-University (Science) was from Raid Laban College, Shillong. He obtained his graduate degree from Manipur University and Post Graduate, from North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, in 1998 and 2001 respectively. He was awarded Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy for the research work on the concept of the good life in the traditional thought structure of the Mao Naga tribe, by the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong in 2004. This book is an edited version of his doctoral thesis. Before joining Department of Studies in Philosophy at University of Mysore in Karnataka state, he taught Philosophy in Raid Laban College, Shillong, Meghalaya.