Gendered Politics of Death: The Chakhesang Funerary Practices in Pre-Colonial Society

This study examines mortuary practices in pre-colonial Chakhesang Naga society, reconstructed through oral histories and ethnographic evidence, to analyze how death rituals organized social and cosmological life. Focusing on funerary meat distribution (Thuphre), intrapartum maternal death, and memorial stone construction, it argues that mortuary practices do not constitute a uniform response to death but instead differentiate social groups through practices of inclusion, exclusion, and ritual obligation. Thuphre operate as a ritual economy through which clan affiliation, economic status, and social reciprocity are materially reproduced via sacrifice, exchange, and consumption. In contrast, intrapartum maternal death is associated with danger, pollution, and cosmological disruption, leading to ritual suspension and spatial exclusion. Memorial stone construction generates gendered prestige, visibility, and public remembrance. Together, these practices demonstrate that Chakhesang mortuary rituals do not merely respond to death but actively produce and sustain social hierarchy, gender relations, and cosmological order.