 |
| Folk singers of Tangsa community with Jim Ankan Deka |
Folk traditions rarely disappear all at once. They fade quietly—one song no longer sung, one story no longer told, one language slowly replaced, and one generation growing up without hearing the voices of those before them.
It is with this understanding that OK North East, as part of its ongoing efforts to document and preserve the folklore, folk music and oral traditions of Northeast India, undertook a field documentation journey to Jairampur in Arunachal Pradesh.
The journey was made possible through the invitation and support of Mr. Laisam Simai, MLA of the 51 Nampong Constituency, who invited the documentation team to record some of the endangered folk songs and traditions of the Tangsa communities.
On August 24, 2026, the team comprising musician and music producer Jim Ankan Deka, filmmaker Tse Ring La, and intern Bullo Tunu, travelled approximately 650 kilometres from Shergaon to Jairampur.
What began as a documentation trip soon became an immersive cultural experience.
Seven Days of Music, Stories and Hospitality
The team was warmly welcomed by Lekhandu Thungon, ADC, Jairampur, who generously offered his bungalow as a place to stay during the field visit. Over the next seven days, the team travelled to nearby villages, including Manmao and Honkap, meeting traditional artists, elders and community members and learning about their cultural practices.
The hospitality extended to the team was as memorable as the songs themselves. Every visit brought new people, new food, new stories and new conversations.
The documentation team had the opportunity to meet and record several prominent folk and traditional artists, including Tusam Longri, Rangtu Ronrang, Nangchoi Simai, Phenngi Ronrang and L. Lungtu Musang, along with around twenty other artists and community members.
Together, they helped document a diverse range of traditional musical forms and practices, including nature songs, harvest songs, paddy-pounding songs, war songs and traditional dance songs.
These are not simply songs performed for entertainment. Many of them are deeply connected to everyday life, agriculture, spirituality, community relationships, memories and the transmission of knowledge from one generation to another.
Songs That Carry Knowledge
One of the most important aspects of folk music documentation is understanding what exists beyond the melody.
A harvest song can carry knowledge about agriculture. A prayer song can reveal a community's relationship with nature. A war song can preserve memories of a time when communities had to defend themselves. A paddy-pounding song can reflect the importance of collective labour, unity and celebration.
During the field visit, the team also encountered fascinating traditional stories that seemed almost like fairy tales—stories that have travelled orally across generations and continue to carry the imagination, values and worldview of the communities.
Many of these stories and songs have never been formally recorded.
Once the people who carry these traditions are gone, there is a very real possibility that these cultural memories may disappear with them.
Discovering the Diversity Within the Tangsa Communities
Jairampur and its surrounding areas are home to diverse Tangsa communities and sub-tribes, each with their own languages, musical traditions and cultural expressions.
During the visit, the team got a first-hand glimpse into the lives and traditions of communities including Pangwa Ronrang, Tikhak and others.
While the languages and certain cultural practices differ between communities, there are also remarkable similarities in their traditional knowledge, stories, values and ways of passing information to younger generations.
The region also reflects a rich coexistence of different faith traditions, including indigenous animist beliefs, Buddhism and Christianity.
For the documentation team, experiencing this diversity first-hand was an important reminder that the cultural landscape of Northeast India cannot be understood through a single narrative.
Every community has its own voice.
And every voice deserves to be heard.
The Urgency of Documentation
Across Northeast India, modernization, migration, changing lifestyles and the rapid transformation of traditional social structures are affecting the way oral traditions are transmitted.
Folk songs that were once part of everyday life are increasingly being performed less frequently. Traditional stories that were once shared around community spaces are not always being passed on to younger generations. Languages and traditional forms of expression are also facing pressures from changing patterns of communication.
Documentation cannot stop cultural change—and it should not.
Cultures naturally evolve.
But documentation can ensure that the songs, stories and knowledge of one generation are not completely lost before the next generation has the opportunity to discover them.
This is at the heart of OK North East's ongoing folklore and folk music documentation initiative: to travel into communities, listen to tradition bearers, record their songs and stories, and create an archive that can serve researchers, musicians, communities and future generations.
More Than a Recording
The Jairampur field visit was not merely about placing microphones in front of singers and recording songs.
It was about building relationships.
It was about sitting with people, listening to their stories, understanding the context behind their music and experiencing the everyday life of the communities who continue to carry these traditions.
The team returned with hours of recordings, photographs, videos, conversations and stories—but perhaps more importantly, with a deeper understanding of the people behind the traditions.
The documentation from this journey will be shared gradually through OK North East's platforms, including recordings of rare folk songs, stories and insights from the communities.
There are many more stories to tell.
And many more songs to listen to.
A Journey Made Possible by Many
OK North East extends its heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Laisam Simai, MLA, 51 Nampong Constituency, for inviting and supporting this documentation initiative, and to Lekhandu Thungon, ADC, Jairampur, for his generous hospitality and support.
We are also deeply grateful to Ngawang Thungon, AC of Manmao DK Thungdok, Gombu Tsering Thungon and Tsangey Thungon, whose friendship, encouragement and practical support helped make the field journey possible.
Most importantly, we thank all the artists, elders and community members who opened their homes, shared their food, sang their songs and trusted us with their stories.
Their voices are the archive.
We are simply here to listen, document and help carry those voices forward.
