Cooperative Networks in Megalith Construction: Ethnoarchaeological Insights from Maram Khullen Village in Manipur, Northeast India

Abstract

Although the tradition of building megaliths among a few tribal communities in Northeast India has attracted scholarly interest in South Asia due to its archaeological significance, there is a lack of understanding regarding the social support networks involved, particularly in communally sponsored projects. This study addresses this knowledge gap by presenting insights from a case of monolith construction sponsored by the villagers in Maram Khullen, a Maram Naga (a Tibeto-Burman ethnic community) village in Manipur, in 2023. The study reveals that village clans and wards contributed resources in the form of cash, kind and labour. This differs from the undertakings sponsored by individual households, where the hosts bear the expenses to gain a higher status in society. During the event, villagers distributed shawls and meat to clan and ward leaders and spears to village chiefs from surrounding and distant villages. They also organized a community feast to strengthen support networks. Based on these results, I argue that social support networks in the past may have been similar, with such endeavours reinforcing social cohesion within villages and among neighbouring communities. I also contend that the mobilization of resources for such projects was primarily clan-based and driven by strong clan solidarity, with labour centred in village wards.