インド北東部における焼畑農業の現代における実践 : ナガランド州モコクチュン県の事例から

Present status of Shifting Cultivation in Mokokchung District, Nagaland, Northeast India

[ABSTRACT] The Naga people reside in the hills along the border between northeastern India and northern Myanmar. Historically, the Nagas have engaged in upland rice cultivation in jhum fields (where slashand- burn farming?also known as shifting cultivation?takes place), rice cultivation in paddy fields, hunting and gathering, and breeding of poultry and livestock (mainly pigs). However, in recent years, because of the rapid population increase since the 1950s and the influence of social change, the Nagas’ livelihood has changed. The purpose of this paper is to record current farming practices and farming tools used in cultivation, which is the main living industry of the Nagas that is changing. The authors conducted a field survey in Mokokchung District, Nagaland, Northeast India, from December 29, 2017 to January 3, 2018 to record farming practices and tools used in shifting cultivation in modern times. Our survey found that the jhum cycle, the shape of tools used, and the cultivation crops had experienced no noticeable changes over the past several decades. However, we did observe an increase in the number and size of permanent fields where cash crops such as litchi and coffee were cultivated; additionally, while shifting cultivation is still carried using the traditional ten-year cycle of two years cultivation followed by eight years fallow, these cash crops were operated as permanent fields, and they were not incorporated into the cycle of slash-and-burn farming. As has been pointed out in many previous studies, jhum cultivation is vulnerable to issues caused by rapid population growth on limited land. However, if there is continued expansion of permanent fields where cash crops are cultivated, increase of settlements due to the population increase, and expansion of jhum fields used by the settlements, there is a high probability that these issues will oppress the limited forest resources of the Naga Hills. Given the relationship among population increases, limited resources, and environmental problems, it is necessary to determine ways to deal with the ever-increasing population of Nagaland while maintaining the sustainability of shifting cultivation in the future.

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/105933/

https://opac.ll.chiba-u.jp/da/curator/105933/S21857148-20-P287-WAT.pdf

千葉大学ユーラシア言語文化論講座

Chiba University Eurasian Society

Departmental Bulletin Paper

21857148

AA11256001

千葉大学ユーラシア言語文化論集 = Journal of Chiba University Eurasian Society

20

287

297

2018-12-25

10.20776/S21857148-20-P287

publisher

Journal of Chiba University Eurasian Society