Mortuary Rituals and Indigenous Cosmology: Understanding the Death Customs of the Sümi Naga

Ngutoli Y Swu

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.71148

Mortuary Rituals and Indigenous Cosmology: Understanding the Death Customs of the Sümi Naga

Author(s)	Dr. Ngutoli Y Swu
Country	India
Abstract	Death rituals represent one of the most significant expressions of cultural identity and social organisation in human societies. Among the Sümi Naga of Nagaland in Northeast India, mortuary practices reflect deeply rooted cosmological beliefs concerning the soul, the afterlife, and the relationship between the living and the dead. Prior to the advent of Christianity in the late nineteenth century, Sümi society practised a complex system of funeral rituals grounded in animistic beliefs, ritual taboos, and communal obligations. These customs regulated the treatment of the deceased, the conduct of mourning relatives, and the symbolic severance between the living and the spiritual realm. This paper examines the traditional death rituals and customs of the Sümi Naga and analyses how these practices have evolved in response to religious and social change. Drawing on oral testimonies from community elders as well as existing ethnographic literature, the study explores Sümi beliefs about death and the afterlife, the classification of different types of death, burial rituals associated with social status, and rituals of separation between the living and the deceased. The paper also investigates the transformation of these practices following the spread of Christianity among the Sümi community. The study argues that although Christian conversion brought significant changes to Sümi mortuary rituals, many traditional elements continue to survive in modified forms. This reflects a process of cultural negotiation in which indigenous beliefs and Christian practices coexist and interact. Sümi death rituals therefore illustrate broader processes of cultural continuity, adaptation, and identity formation within indigenous societies undergoing religious and social transformation.
Keywords	Sümi Naga, death rituals, indigenous culture, Nagaland, funeral customs, Christianity, anthropology of death
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-13
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.71148

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Mortuary Rituals and Indigenous Cosmology: Understanding the Death Customs of the Sümi Naga

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