REVIVING THE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE OF THE TENYIMIA NAGAS IN EASTERINE KIRE’S WHEN THE RIVER SLEEPS

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.