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REVIVING THE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF THE TENYIMIA NAGAS IN EASTERINE KIRE’S WHEN THE RIVER SLEEPS
Corresponding Author(s) : Panchali Bhattacharya
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews,
Vol. 8 No. 1 (2020): January
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of the research is to acquaint the readers with the ideological episteme of the Naga theological dialectic which has always been suppressed by the dominant pedagogy of mainstream India. The study also aims to offer lessons in the management of complex land resources and livelihood through the consciously preserved and transmitted, cumulative, multigenerational Indigenous knowledge of the Naga community.
Methodology: The methodology is text-based interpretation, supported by the associated theoretical premise. A detailed critical analysis of Easterine Kire’s When the River Sleeps based on the theories of folk study and Indigeneity has been undertaken in the article.
Findings: The study brings to limelight the Indigenous knowledge base of the Tenimiyas and unveils the inviolability and regard these native people harbor towards their knowledge system. The paper provides a local answer to the global conundrum of perennial subjugation of traditional Indigenous knowledge. It also tries to legitimize the novelist’s tenability behind showcasing the necessity and relevance of Indigenous knowledge as a means to ensure the durability of the human race.
Implications: The new ethos propagated through my research will give primacy to the revival of the marginalized cultural ideology. Besides, a detailed study of Kire’s novel will enable critics and theoreticians of Indigenous studies to endorse the re-emergence of local knowledge of the aboriginal communities of Nagaland, since traditional Indigenous knowledge has always been perceived as inferior and naive by scientific developmental theories.
The novelty of the study: The readers get an opportunity to accustom themselves with a promising literary work from North-east India which evinces an inherent cultural resilience to preserve the body of knowledge that has been considered credulous, primitive and uncritical since ages. The paper also offers glimpses of the immensely rich and powerful folklores explicitly reflected in the narratives written by Indigenous Naga writers that form an intrinsic part of their collective archetype.
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- Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G.G. (2009). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning.
- Ahmed, K. S. (2016). Writing Trauma and Reconstructing Identity in Temsula Ao’s Blood of Others and Easterine Iralu’s Bitter Wormwood. In N. Pathak & L.K.Gracy (Eds.), Women’s Writing from North-East India (1st ed., pp. 18-30). MRB Publishers.
- Ao, T. (2006). These Hills Called Home. Penguin Books India.
- Balantrapu, M. (2015). Folk Tale from Nagaland [Review of the book When the River Sleeps, by E. Kire]. The Hindu.
- Baral, K. C. (Ed.). (2005). Earth Songs: Stories from Northeast India. Sahitya Akademi.
- Biswas, P, &Thomas, C. J. (Eds.). (2012). Constructions of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative, and Discourse. Sage Publications.
- Chiang, J. (2017). Take me to the River. Span, 58 (3), 36-38.
- Daftuar, S. (2015). No division between spiritual and physical Nagaland [Review of the book When the River Sleeps, by E. Kire]. The Hindu.
- Deka, M. (2011). Folklore and Northeast Indian History. Sociology Mind, 1 (4), 173-176. https://doi.org/10.4236/sm.2011.14022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/sm.2011.14022
- Dorson, R. (1963). Current Folklore Theories. Current Anthropology, 4(1), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1086/200339 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/200339
- Eisler, R. (1988). The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. HarperOne.
- Greaves, T. (1996). Tribal Rights. In S.B.Brush & D. Stabinsky(Eds.), Valuing Local Knowledge: Indigenous People and Intellectual Property Rights (1st ed., pp. 25-40). Island Press.
- Imsong, I. (2018). Greening the Imagination: An Interview with Easterine Kire. The Criterion: An International Journal in English, 9 (5), 170-176.
- Kennedy, D. (1965). Folklore and Human Ecology. Folklore, 76 (2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587x.1965.9716994 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.1965.9716994
- Kire, E. (2004). Lecture notes on ‘Should Writers Stay in Prison?’. International PEN Conference, Tromso, Norway.
- Kire, E. (2007). Barcelona Dreamtime. Poezija: Poetry Magazine.
- Kire, E. (2014). When the River Sleeps. Zubaan.
- Lincoln, V. (2000, September 1). Ecospirituality: A Pattern that Connects. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 18 (3), 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F089801010001800305 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/089801010001800305
- Mandal, S, & Singh, S. (2019). Culture, Oral Narratives and “Monomythâ€: Projection of the Archetypal Hero in Easterine Kire’s When the River Sleeps. International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities, 7 (2), 1374-1389.
- Misra, T. (2011). The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India: Fiction. Oxford UP.
- Rao, S. S. (2006, June). Indigenous Knowledge Organization: An Indian Scenario. International Journal of Information Management, 26, 224- 33.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.02.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.02.003
- Rueckert, W. (1996). Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. In C. Glotfelty & H. Fromm (Eds.), The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (1sted., pp. 105-123). University of Georgia Press.
- Sekhose, J. L. (2012). The idea of Evil and Fear of the Supernatural among the Nagas with Special Reference to Angami Tribe. In P. Biswas & C. J. Thomas (Eds.), Constructions of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative, and Discourse (1st ed., pp. 128-131). Sage Publications.
- Weiguo, Qu. (2013). Dehistoricized Cultural Identity and Cultural Othering. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13(2), 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.770864 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.770864
- Xaxa, V. (1999). Tribes as Indigenous People of India. Economic and Political Weekly, 34 (51), 3589-3595.
References
Abrams, M. H., & Harpham, G.G. (2009). A Glossary of Literary Terms. Cengage Learning.
Ahmed, K. S. (2016). Writing Trauma and Reconstructing Identity in Temsula Ao’s Blood of Others and Easterine Iralu’s Bitter Wormwood. In N. Pathak & L.K.Gracy (Eds.), Women’s Writing from North-East India (1st ed., pp. 18-30). MRB Publishers.
Ao, T. (2006). These Hills Called Home. Penguin Books India.
Balantrapu, M. (2015). Folk Tale from Nagaland [Review of the book When the River Sleeps, by E. Kire]. The Hindu.
Baral, K. C. (Ed.). (2005). Earth Songs: Stories from Northeast India. Sahitya Akademi.
Biswas, P, &Thomas, C. J. (Eds.). (2012). Constructions of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative, and Discourse. Sage Publications.
Chiang, J. (2017). Take me to the River. Span, 58 (3), 36-38.
Daftuar, S. (2015). No division between spiritual and physical Nagaland [Review of the book When the River Sleeps, by E. Kire]. The Hindu.
Deka, M. (2011). Folklore and Northeast Indian History. Sociology Mind, 1 (4), 173-176. https://doi.org/10.4236/sm.2011.14022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4236/sm.2011.14022
Dorson, R. (1963). Current Folklore Theories. Current Anthropology, 4(1), 93-112. https://doi.org/10.1086/200339 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/200339
Eisler, R. (1988). The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future. HarperOne.
Greaves, T. (1996). Tribal Rights. In S.B.Brush & D. Stabinsky(Eds.), Valuing Local Knowledge: Indigenous People and Intellectual Property Rights (1st ed., pp. 25-40). Island Press.
Imsong, I. (2018). Greening the Imagination: An Interview with Easterine Kire. The Criterion: An International Journal in English, 9 (5), 170-176.
Kennedy, D. (1965). Folklore and Human Ecology. Folklore, 76 (2), 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587x.1965.9716994 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0015587X.1965.9716994
Kire, E. (2004). Lecture notes on ‘Should Writers Stay in Prison?’. International PEN Conference, Tromso, Norway.
Kire, E. (2007). Barcelona Dreamtime. Poezija: Poetry Magazine.
Kire, E. (2014). When the River Sleeps. Zubaan.
Lincoln, V. (2000, September 1). Ecospirituality: A Pattern that Connects. Journal of Holistic Nursing, 18 (3), 227-244. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F089801010001800305 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/089801010001800305
Mandal, S, & Singh, S. (2019). Culture, Oral Narratives and “Monomythâ€: Projection of the Archetypal Hero in Easterine Kire’s When the River Sleeps. International Journal of English Language, Literature in Humanities, 7 (2), 1374-1389.
Misra, T. (2011). The Oxford Anthology of Writings from North-East India: Fiction. Oxford UP.
Rao, S. S. (2006, June). Indigenous Knowledge Organization: An Indian Scenario. International Journal of Information Management, 26, 224- 33.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.02.003 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2006.02.003
Rueckert, W. (1996). Literature and Ecology: An Experiment in Ecocriticism. In C. Glotfelty & H. Fromm (Eds.), The Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology (1sted., pp. 105-123). University of Georgia Press.
Sekhose, J. L. (2012). The idea of Evil and Fear of the Supernatural among the Nagas with Special Reference to Angami Tribe. In P. Biswas & C. J. Thomas (Eds.), Constructions of Evil in North East India: Myth, Narrative, and Discourse (1st ed., pp. 128-131). Sage Publications.
Weiguo, Qu. (2013). Dehistoricized Cultural Identity and Cultural Othering. Language and Intercultural Communication, 13(2), 148-164. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.770864 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2013.770864
Xaxa, V. (1999). Tribes as Indigenous People of India. Economic and Political Weekly, 34 (51), 3589-3595.