Mokokchung, September 9 (MTNews): Under the aegis of Nagaland Education Mission Society, Samagra Shiksha Nagaland, an Orientation Program for mentors of Arju Centers was organized by Ao Students’ Conference at Magnus Hotel on Friday.
The 10-month pilot project program was attended by members of 12 Arju centers – two villages each from six ranges that include Aonokpu, Longjang, Longkhum, Longpayimsen, Mangmetong, Merangkong, Moayimti, Mongchen, Mongsenyimti, Sungratsü, Waromung, and Yajang C.
On day 1 of the two day orientation program, resource persons Y. Nuklu Phom, Team Leader Lemsachenok Society, spoke on relevance of traditional learning center in modern times and Sentilong Ozükum, SDO (C) Mokokchung spoke on self and society.
Earlier, Shilula Imchen, Associate Pastor Women (MTBA) pronounced the word of God while Chubala Yaden, Youth Mentor, FAC Union Church led the Vesper.
Concept of Arju Centers
The institution of Arju or the traditional male dormitory is an age-old practice of the Ao Nagas which is equivalent to an academy where young males were taught art and handicraft by their seniors, they were narrated the brave exploits of the heroes of their village and tribe.
They were also taught the history and tradition of the tribe and village, the correct way of addressing and public speaking, narrating stories, singing songs and dances, they were given experiential learning for community work, food gathering, art of warfare and assigned tasks as found deemed suitable by their seniors.
Concerns for community welfare, symbiotic relationship with nature and various indigenous skills were also taught in this institution. It is in this Arju, where young boys had a foretaste of community life and their responsibilities as a citizen, this was done under the able and strict supervision of the elders who had been previously trained in the same way
Likewise, girls after attaining a particular age resided in a common dormitory known as “Tsüki’, where they were taught handicraft, social etiquette, songs, importance and relevance to various religious and social events. This institution was supervised by a senior unmarried woman. The Arju and Tsüki served as traditional repositories of rich oral literature, history, culture, and traditional knowledge.
In modern times, the revival of the Arju and Tsüki would serve as a supplementary learning institution to inculcate joyful traditional and apt modern-day life skills to enhance comprehensive holistic education to students from rural areas which will also ensure retention of school dropouts complementing the New Education Policy 2020.
The traditional education system will be called as the Arju’ solely for the nomenclature convenience as it is a more commonly used term without any gender biasness. However, both boys and girls will be provided with equal opportunity to learn from the amalgamation of tradition with modern education system.