AMRAPAALI January 2015 | Page 12

12 Amrapaali / January 2015 WORDS According to the United Nation’s ‘Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities’ 1992, states shall be responsible for protection of the existence of national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and also encourage and promote the identity of such groups/communities. The UNESCO’s report should be taken seriously and immediate necessary steps should be taken by the state government as well as by NGOs/autonomous bodies to safeguard the Tarao tribe community from being extinct. The tribe possess some rare art of weaving and cultural indulgence on their arts and heritage (please see the included photos). Photo above: Aimol - Ponchial Rulpuiyek / Purum (Chothe) Leiyengphi / Tarao - Leijing Rituals Connected To Tradition "Since remote past, in the tribal societies of Manipur, womenfolk have been weaving cloths needed only for their own use in loin looms" Source: e-pao.net "Mutua Bahadur's book on "Tribal hand woven fabrics of Manipur" Photo on right: A Tarao tribe couple imaged on a T-shirt by PEdron Creations Source: Facebook Being with over few thousands of living Tarao, we still have some time to implement adequate process for its healthy existence.