The Aos of Nagaland

As I begin work on this book, I had a strong feeling this was going to be a great adventure. It turned out to be a fantastic learning period and as history unfolded before my eyes—it is rather difficult to reason the age old tradition, the myths, the social norms and practices and the ethical values that seems so deeply rooted and so dearly cherished. Land is one of the most important component of life support system. Unfortunately land has been over used and even abused over the centuries. In a predominantly agricultural society it is more important to use land judiciously, as careless use can damage the soil that result into reduction in quality, soil erosion and degradation, etc. Our dependence on natural environment is so great that we cannot continue to live without protecting it. A typical community maintains itself more or less in equilibrium with the prevailing condition of the environment. Land is the basic resource of human society and the Aos solemnly perceive and revere it as Mother. Though modernization has made an impact on the community, the Aos still exhibits great regard and distinction in upholding environment ethics they have inherited long before.

Wangshimenla Jamir, (b. 1974) is a faculty of Geography Department, Nagaland University, with specialization in Remote Sensing & Geographical Information System. She graduated from Kohima Science College, Jotsoma, did her Post Graduation from North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong and her Ph. D Degree from Nagaland University. She is the life member of National Association of Geographer India, Institute of Indian Geographers, Indian Society of Remote Sensing, Indian Science Congress. She has published numerous National and International articles in books and Journals.