Understanding traditional belief systems in Northeast India: revisiting the oral world through literature

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe life of tribal groups in the Northeast India abounds with the tradition of folklore, myth, superstition and a strong belief in the co-existence with the supernatural world. Writing in English has offered a global ground for the Northeast writers to express their rich culture, beliefs and knowledge, which in the past was limited to the community. The act of writing also serves another purpose as well, to preserve them. In the wake of mass conversion and political tension, certain beliefs and rituals of the oral past are perishing and in some parts of the region, lost. Therefore, the writers of this region are representing the fading tradition of their respective tribes prior to conversion to Christianity and the arrival of the script. This paper is an attempt to show the transition and, at the same time, to revisit and understand the important bearings of that oral past through their works.