ABSTRACT
This chapter starts with the notion of the body as 'being toward the world' is helpful in elaborating the 'corporeality' of the Angami concept of ruopfu. It introduces Atsa and her husband Apfutsa, both octogenarians, residing just outside the clan area. Atsa's home sits on the northwestern slope of Kohima village, just below one of the many roads crisscrossing the hill. Atsa's sense of belonging centres on her relationship with the 'hearthen economy' which she continuously nurtures. Atsa's friendships with vendors, construction workers and other individuals not connected in any way with the Kohima clan family, indeed her connection with the broader 'hearthen economy' of relations, is mostly through her homemade dish, dacie, or what is more widely known as akhuni. Atsa's continued participation in the 'hearthen economy' of relations also allows her to distribute her marginality. Atsa lives at the tail end of a complex history of personal and familial challenges.
