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A review by apoorvasr
The Many That I Am: Writings from Nagaland by
4.0
The Many that I Am, edited by Anungla Zoe Longkumer
A collection of stories, essays and poems and more.
A rare culmination, as the editor says this representing a new advent of literature of Nagaland.
Bringing together the stalwarts of Naga voices with the new budding writers , this book was a joy to read.
Stories are diverse, some feud for lands, some cherish folk songs..
There is acceptance of the new religions while remnants of the old remains..
For the tattooed, in this case beauty lies in the eyes of the beholden. The Ao-Naga.
Old man’s story being my favorite. Love heals the cracks and anneals. Like pottery of Azao Temsu.
Then comes the tale of the storyteller. Some folks stay ordinary . Some become custodians of culture.
Languages may be lost. But love is suffused during the Japanese occupation.
There has been culture and love.
Then this book gets real.
Civic unrest , underground troops. Disappeared men.
History repeats. Domestic abuse and rape . Who has the last word ?
The power this book holds is in the number of voices who have contributed to it. Feminist at its core , it reimagines how folk songs are patrilineal limiting women to child rearing.
It also envisages a bright and inspirational age of women who have embraced the old world customs with grace.
After all, it remains with the young to adapt and re - twine the adages as before , and keep the Naga fire alive.
Full points to the completeness of the book in terms of crediting authors and providing glossary.
A collection of stories, essays and poems and more.
A rare culmination, as the editor says this representing a new advent of literature of Nagaland.
Bringing together the stalwarts of Naga voices with the new budding writers , this book was a joy to read.
Stories are diverse, some feud for lands, some cherish folk songs..
There is acceptance of the new religions while remnants of the old remains..
For the tattooed, in this case beauty lies in the eyes of the beholden. The Ao-Naga.
Old man’s story being my favorite. Love heals the cracks and anneals. Like pottery of Azao Temsu.
Then comes the tale of the storyteller. Some folks stay ordinary . Some become custodians of culture.
Languages may be lost. But love is suffused during the Japanese occupation.
There has been culture and love.
Then this book gets real.
Civic unrest , underground troops. Disappeared men.
History repeats. Domestic abuse and rape . Who has the last word ?
The power this book holds is in the number of voices who have contributed to it. Feminist at its core , it reimagines how folk songs are patrilineal limiting women to child rearing.
It also envisages a bright and inspirational age of women who have embraced the old world customs with grace.
After all, it remains with the young to adapt and re - twine the adages as before , and keep the Naga fire alive.
Full points to the completeness of the book in terms of crediting authors and providing glossary.