“Relationality and Method in Indigenous Context: Reflections from Mizo Peoples’ Titi”
By
Dr. Ringngheti Khenglawt
Guest faculty, Department of Sociology, Mizoram University
Date: 3 September 2026 (Thursday) | Time: 2:00 pm (IST)
Link to join the talk: https://tinyurl.com/ym2z2p3r
Abstract: Titi, a vernacular Mizo term that roughly translates to unstructured conversation, has always been part of everyday Mizo social life. Even though titi has been used in previous Mizo scholarship as rapport-building and researchers’ interaction with participants based on it (but not reported back as such), it has rarely been recognised as an independent research method. The methodological possibilities of titi emerged unexpectedly during a two year ethnographic fieldwork in Aizawl, Mizoram. The field interactions brought out reflections on the importance of relationality in research and the impact methodolatry can have on both the researcher and the people who take part in research. This talk explores titi through Mizo oral tradition, relationality, humour, reciprocity and relational accountability. In giving precedence to the communities' situated knowledge through their own Indigenous standpoint, this talk highlights the importance of taking into account context, relationships and culturally grounded ways of knowing, being and doing which enable meaningful ways of doing research.
About the speaker: Dr. Ringngheti Khenglawt currently serves as a guest faculty member in the Department of Sociology at Mizoram University while pursuing her independent research on urban spaces and Indigenous communities. She completed her PhD in Sociology from CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru. Her doctoral research was an ethnographic study of media, culture and everyday life among Mizos where she engaged with questions of identity, memory, masculinities and transnational cultural encounters.