The first anthology of writings from a variety of debut and established writers in the state of Arunachal Pradesh, India.
A first of its kind, Inheritance of Words brings together the writings of women from Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. Home to many different tribes and scores of languages and dialects, and once known as a “frontier” state, Arunachal Pradesh began to see major changes after it opened up to tourism and after the Indian State introduced Hindi as its official language. In this volume, Mamang Dai, one of Arunachal’s best-known writers, brings together new and established voices on a wide variety of subjects: identity, home, belonging, language, Shamanism, folk culture, orality, and more. Many of these stories have been handed down orally through festivals, epic narratives, and the performance of rituals by Shamans and rhapsodists who are revered as guardians of collective and tribal memory. This book captures those vivid, enduring oral stories here in the words of young poets and writers, as well as artists and illustrators, as they trace their heritage, listen to stories, and render them in new forms of expression.
A first of its kind, Inheritance of Words brings together the writings of women from Arunachal Pradesh in Northeast India. Home to many different tribes and scores of languages and dialects, and once known as a “frontier” state, Arunachal Pradesh began to see major changes after it opened up to tourism and after the Indian State introduced Hindi as its official language. In this volume, Mamang Dai, one of Arunachal’s best-known writers, brings together new and established voices on a wide variety of subjects: identity, home, belonging, language, Shamanism, folk culture, orality, and more. Many of these stories have been handed down orally through festivals, epic narratives, and the performance of rituals by Shamans and rhapsodists who are revered as guardians of collective and tribal memory. This book captures those vivid, enduring oral stories here in the words of young poets and writers, as well as artists and illustrators, as they trace their heritage, listen to stories, and render them in new forms of expression.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction - Mamang Dai
A Man I Know - Samy Moyong
I AM - Samy Moyong
Revelations from Idu Mishmi Hymns - Mishimbu Miri
I Am a Tree - Ayinam Ering
Offspring - Ayinam Ering
Tradition: An Illusion of Continuance - Rinchin Choden
Night and I - Nellie N. Manpoong
Dying Lights - Ponung Ering Angu
The Tina Ceiling - Ronnie Nido
Home is This and Much More - Stuti Mamen Lowang
The Wooden House - Gyati T. M. Ampi
My Ane’s Tribal Love Affair - Ngurang Reena
Which Part of Me - Kolpi Dai
The Interpreter of Dreams - Tongam Rina
From the Jungle Series - Bhanu Tatak
Scribbled Pages - Kolpi Dai
Doused Flames - Leki Thungon
The Room and I - Rebom Belo
Indigenous Tribal Languages of North East India:Strategies for Revitalization - Toko Anu
Those Idle Days - Jamuna Bini
The Darkest 5 Days - Tolum Chumchum
Evocation - Chasoom Bosai
The Spirit of the Forest - Subi Taba
Feels Like Something is Lacking - Nomi Maga Gumro
Lullaby - Mishimbu Miri
I Am Property: A Photo Essay - Karry Padu
Little Life - Doirangsi Kri
Pseudo Life - Doirangsi Kri
Linguistic Transitions - Yaniam Chukhu
The Sun - Omili Borang
From the Jungle Series - Bhanu Tatak
The Spectre Dentist - Millo Ankha
Waves of Irony - Tunung Tabing
Among the Voices in the Dark - Ponung Ering Angu
A Ballad of the Adi Tribe - Ing Perme
Lost Souls - Subi Taba
Bards from the Dawn-lit Mountains - Yater Nyokir
The Summit: Speaking to Tine Mena - Mamang Dai
Notes on Contributors
Glossary
Introduction - Mamang Dai
A Man I Know - Samy Moyong
I AM - Samy Moyong
Revelations from Idu Mishmi Hymns - Mishimbu Miri
I Am a Tree - Ayinam Ering
Offspring - Ayinam Ering
Tradition: An Illusion of Continuance - Rinchin Choden
Night and I - Nellie N. Manpoong
Dying Lights - Ponung Ering Angu
The Tina Ceiling - Ronnie Nido
Home is This and Much More - Stuti Mamen Lowang
The Wooden House - Gyati T. M. Ampi
My Ane’s Tribal Love Affair - Ngurang Reena
Which Part of Me - Kolpi Dai
The Interpreter of Dreams - Tongam Rina
From the Jungle Series - Bhanu Tatak
Scribbled Pages - Kolpi Dai
Doused Flames - Leki Thungon
The Room and I - Rebom Belo
Indigenous Tribal Languages of North East India:Strategies for Revitalization - Toko Anu
Those Idle Days - Jamuna Bini
The Darkest 5 Days - Tolum Chumchum
Evocation - Chasoom Bosai
The Spirit of the Forest - Subi Taba
Feels Like Something is Lacking - Nomi Maga Gumro
Lullaby - Mishimbu Miri
I Am Property: A Photo Essay - Karry Padu
Little Life - Doirangsi Kri
Pseudo Life - Doirangsi Kri
Linguistic Transitions - Yaniam Chukhu
The Sun - Omili Borang
From the Jungle Series - Bhanu Tatak
The Spectre Dentist - Millo Ankha
Waves of Irony - Tunung Tabing
Among the Voices in the Dark - Ponung Ering Angu
A Ballad of the Adi Tribe - Ing Perme
Lost Souls - Subi Taba
Bards from the Dawn-lit Mountains - Yater Nyokir
The Summit: Speaking to Tine Mena - Mamang Dai
Notes on Contributors
Glossary