Kohima: A documentary titled A Sacred Place hits Dimapur on September 4. The screening runs from 2 pm to 3:30 pm at The Lighthouse Church in Hill View Colony. Mao Naga Hoho Dimapur and The Morung Express are co-hosting the event, which is free for the public.
Directed by Naga anthropologist Dolly Kikon, the film examines Makhel. This village in northern Manipur holds deep spiritual value. It tracks intergenerational storytellers and their bond with the earth. The film uses visual ethnography and oral tradition to explain the region.
It highlights local geology too. Ancient sandstone monoliths show ties between spirits and people. The area also features salt springs trapped in shale for 50 million years. These springs once sat under an equatorial ocean. Kikon noted, "Naga ancestors regarded these geological features as abodes for spirit custodians and cared for them."
The project stems from Lithic Worlds, a research initiative involving Kikon and geologist Neivikhotso Chaya. It merges science with ancestral knowledge. Kikon is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her credits include Abundance: Living with a Forest and Seasons of Life. Music comes from N Yanpothung Ezung, with cinematography by Renthungo Shitiri.
Debajit Gayan handled sound design, while Hirak Jyoti Pathak managed editing and color. The film debuted April 18 at the Asufii Christian Institute. It reached the US on April 21. Nagaland University showed it on April 25. St Edmund’s College in Shillong hosted a screening August 17 featuring writer Janice Pariat.
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