Social Stratification in Naga Society: A Study of Lotha Society

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Social stratification is a universal phenomenon. Differentiation is the law of nature. Like any other societies, social stratification with some forms of inequality and differentiation is inevitable in Naga society that separates people into different distinctive categories on the basis of age, gender, clan, religion and occupation. In fact the whole problem of distribution of power, prestige and privileges has been operated through different elite group such as social, religious, political, business, intellectual, professional and bureaucratic elite through passage time and situation.

This book traces change from somewhat traditional inequality types of social structure to contemporary social formation of class division as a result of colonial intrusion, expansion of education, introduction of democratic political system, globalisation and many other factors.

The present study has been emphasizes through sociological concept which interfaced to empirical reality towards meaningful social analysis. Social Stratification in Naga society is a book for wide-range coverage from tradition to modernity which will be of immense contribution to academic studies in particular and to the society in general towards understanding the nature, status, prestige, power constraints and prospects of the social stratification among the Nagas.

ATHUNGO OVUNG (b. 1977) is an Assistant Professor in Tribal Research Centre, Department of Sociology, at Nagaland University. He obtained his Master's from N.E.H.U, Shillong and Ph.D. from Nagaland University. The present book is an outstanding research work for the award of Ph.D. in Social Stratification from Nagaland University. Before joining Nagaland University, he also served as a Research Officer in Law Research Institute, Eastern Region, Gauhati High Court: Gawahati for a period of two and half years and as a Lecturer in Sazolie College, Kohima: Nagaland for a period of two years. He also has few Research articles to his credit which have been published in journal and edited volume. He teaches courses on Family, Marriage and Kinship, Perspective on Indian Society and Social Change and Development.

Society rests on the principle of difference which is inherent in the very nature of society. There are no equalitarian societies in the world, like wise Naga society is marked by differentiation in terms of ascribed and achieved statuses. Nagaland. a narrow strip of mountain territory, lies to the east of Assam and to the west of Burma belong to the Indo-Mongoloid stock is inhabited by as many as 16 major tribes and their sub-tribes. The unwritten customs, cultural patterns, conventions, social norms and values had been established by old-age usages and practices by the member of the society However, the basis and nature of differentiation change over time specially with the coming of Christian missionary and British administration, for which comparative studies (traditional and contemporary) has been investigated through survey conducted in village level as well as urban level. In dealing with social differential which placed people at different categories in the society, it also focus the roles and functions of the societies under what criteria individual ranking are used for social evaluation. The present work also explores the position and status of different elite groups which will help us to discover a clear picture of Naga society as well as the extent of social stratification.

The analysis of Naga society and its dynamics features of social stratification in this work is a sociological examination from the frame of traditional Naga socio-structural inequality to contemporary social formation of class division as a result of evolutionary stages of change in the social structure and its consequences on social relation. The whole work has been divided into six chapters. The first chapter deals with the 'Introduction' of the study. Taken different approaches into account, the study has been focused on theoretical framework. its Objectives, Research Method, and Area of study. The main theme of the second chapter is on 'Society and economy of the area under study that deals with social customs (social institution) and economic structure under various sub-units. The third chapter deals with Different social groups' in terms of age, gender, clan religion (ascription) and occupation (achieved) that has been used as bases of understanding social stratification among the Nagas which shape the society as a whole. The fourth chapter deals with Position and status of the elite groups' under which different elite group that operates in Naga society has been examine in order to have clear idea how society are stratified under different categories. The fifth chapter deals with 'tradition to modernity' that deals with various factors that brought social mobility and change in Naga society. The last chapter six deals with summary and conclusion. This chapter is an attempt to present the summary of the major findings of the study and to shed more light on the suggestion received from respondents for further development of the society.

**Contents and Sample Pages**