Indigenous Rhythms in Mamang Dai’s The Black Hill

Abstract

Indigenous rhythms are new genre which mainly focuses on tribal literature. Indigenous people are referred as tribal in India, are ethnic group of people whose members share a cultural identity that has been shaped by their geographical region and they generally regarded as the original inhabitants of a territory or region. Indigeneity displays a strong association between people and their rootedness to their surroundings, material or emotional connection to the land. The bioregionalist thinkers and practitioners help human beings to reconnect themselves with the land and places because they are part of them and without them survival is not possible. Mamang Dai belongs to Arunachal Pradesh, a state inhabiting Northeast India. Her novel The Black Hill captures the forgotten tales and terror of history in the Abor and Mishmi hills. The novel covers the time and space of both the pre-colonial and the post-colonial world. By this she gives a glimpse of the changing situations and atmosphere of the places which is an interesting part of the study. Land is considered as a precious asset, sacred and revered among the tribal people of Northeast India. The land is not simply a surface but it is a home and pride of the tribal people. Even before the period of colonization, different tribes were at war with each other because of land inheritance, fishing and hunting. The love for their native land which they called home is the first thing the people protected when the British troops migluns tried to take possession as unused underused or empty-areas of rational deficit. This study focuses on the land, folklore, language, presence of evil, status of women and resistance of foreign rules.