Negotiating Spaces Hermeneutics

Integrating Mutual Philosophies of the Mats of the Ao-Naga and iTaukei

Abstract

This essay presents a hermeneutical tool that integrates the worldviews of the Ao-Naga and the iTaukei
communities and is rooted in the “mutual philosophies” of weaving indigenous mats. While these
communities belong to different geographical locations and ethnicities, indigenous mats are significant
to both. Mats are woven to express their ways of life and symbolise the existence of relationships and
interdependence that represent and reflect nature, humans, and God’s coexistence. Weaving mats is also
considered a sacred practice among these communities, and there are deeper philosophical derivations of
mats in their sociocultural milieus. The tool of the weaving process provides the theoretical framework
called the interwoven spaces framework, and the mutual philosophies embedded in the indigenous mats
are revealed as their principles. The development of the ‘negotiating spaces hermeneutics’ aims to
strengthen indigenous identities and values and embrace its resources. Researchers may adopt this
framework and hermeneutical tool while approaching or interpreting critical contextual issues that
remain crucial to the communities with a ‘whole of life’ relevance.