Indigenous narratives of mental illness: narratives from Naga tribes

Native viewpoints on mental illness, particularly those based in relational, spiritual, and communal worldview have been historically denied space in mainstream psychiatric discourse. This article examines how the northeast Indian Naga people think about and treat mental distress, privileging healing as a cosmological, communal process over an individual, biomedical one. Drawing on narrative accounts and ethnographic knowledge, we seek to critically interact with indigenous epistemologies of mental health and demand a more plural, culturally sensitive framework in mental health discourse. As a team comprising a Naga scholar, a psychologist, and a researcher in indigenous knowledge systems, our perspectives are shaped by both lived experience and academic engagement. This multi-disciplinary lens informs our commitment to critically engaging with indigenous epistemologies and mental health narratives.Psychopathology may usually be the biological picture; but for mental illness to be truly understood, it has to be culturally sanctioned and accepted. Among the Naga tribes in northeast India, mental illness is far from a problem pertaining to neurotransmitters or diagnostic nosology; it is a spirit-fueled communal experience. Our contention is that, far from being an inferior conception of mental illness, the traditional Naga healing practices constitute a culturally coherent model of emotional distress and recovery. The real worth of these healing practices rests not just on historical grounds but in the prospect that they may contribute meaningfully to present discussions on mental health (Longkumer, 2010).Mental health among the Naga communities is deeply embedded in cosmological beliefs, clan-based responsibilities, and reciprocal social relationships. Illness is not viewed in isolation but as a disruption in the moral, spiritual, and social order. Shamanic interventions, ancestral rituals, and communal participation are central to addressing mental distress reflecting an understanding that healing is a collective process. Such practices, often dismissed in mainstream psychiatric discourse, offer alternative paradigms of care that prioritize meaning-making, social cohesion, and spiritual balance over pharmacological intervention. Ignoring these systems risks not only epistemic injustice but also the loss of context-specific insights into human suffering and resilience (Bhakuni rather, they are explanations based on hundreds of years of lived experiences (Ao, 2009). Mental disturbance is viewed as something that disrupts social and spiritual harmony; it is not some flaw that is strictly internal to a person (Kumar, 2005). The difference from Western pathology lies in the fact that the former really do emphasize interconnectedness instead of individualism.Nagas believe in the spirit world, soul loss, or wrath of ancestors on grounds of a coherent cultural system in which mental disturbance results from a disruption in spiritual harmony (Longkumer Ritu, 2025).From our perspective, the traditional psychopathological model of the Naga tribes stands not only for an alternative way of understanding mental illness but also challenges Western dominance over psychiatric narratives. It makes us realize that mental health can no longer be considered as merely biochemical; it becomes existential and communal. It is time for us as researchers, mental health workers, or simply as fellow humans navigating distress to learn from models that embrace complexity, community, and culture. The future of mental health hinges upon our willingness to listen, whether it be to the doctor or to the traditional healer (Gone, 2013;Kumar, 2005). Indeed, the traditional healer is still considered viable. Many rural and some urban residents in Nagaland still view traditional healers as effective sources of mental health care, particularly for spirit-related afflictions. (Longkumer & Rao, 2019). Integration is being proposed, with only 40 percent of healers supporting such models if there is mutual respect and safeguard of intellectual property (Longkumer & Rao, 2019). WHO (WHO Strategy 2025-20234) has implemented policies to take forward the development of evidence based practice of traditional medicines, we really hope there will be more scientific integration of indigenous traditional healing practices to mental health care.