Homegrown: Anthology of New Writings From Nagaland

The newly released publication Homegrown: Anthology of New Writings from Nagaland (2023), brings together an extraordinary range of indigenous writings from across the state. These literary artefacts explore core indigenous concepts such as the relations between land, culture, language and community and the continuities between oral and written forms of expression. From short stories to poetry and prose poems, to personal narratives and academic essays, to allegorical tales and works in translation of local language authors— this book celebrates the strength of heritage and the liveliness of innovation. The strength of this book lies in the prioritisation of the voices included, in the honest way these powerful and creative individual voices are introduced and presented with all their complexities, vulnerabilities and identities. Most impressive too, is the mixture of texts and variety of narrative forms which establish simultaneously, an indigenous and a global perspective. Rich in insight and bold in execution, the anthology proclaims the diversity, vitality and depth of 21st century Naga writers, writing in English.

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Collaboratively curated and edited by writer-scholars Sentinaro and Vizovono Elizabeth and published by Penthrill Publications, this hybrid anthology is a collection of thirty five voices spanning several Naga tribes and at least, three generations of artists. The book brings together the voices of individual authors from a society caught in the cross current of their political and historical inheritances, personal tragedies and cultural ambivalence. From established luminaries like T Senka Ao, Avinuo Kire, Sentilong Ozukum, Mmhonlümo Kikon, Vishü Rita Krocha and Agnes Tepa, to award winning authors such as Kethoser Aniu Kevichusa and Neikehienuo Mepfhu-o, the collection includesmoving, brilliant storytelling from rising artists, newly come into prominence such as T. Keditsu, Tialila Kikon and Emisenla Jamir anda completely new and compelling generation of young emergent writers from across Nagacountry. This work displays the various ways in which these writers navigate the evolving realities of the Naga world to create literature. Works of literature at their best provide a kind of blueprint of human society: more than just a historical or cultural artefact, theycan serve as an introduction to a new world of experience.In Homegrownreaders are invited to see through thelenses of each of the contributors — to look for a moment with different eyes so as to possibly shift their perspectives, even just a little, for good.

This anthology asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative, and intellectual efforts of the indigenous Naga today, particularly, the young Naga. The collection was designed with the hope that the selected writings would “reflect and represent what Naga writing is, as of today.” Hence, the editorial decision to focus “exclusively on the new writings that reflect the gradual evolution of the Naga literary scenario, particularly from writers who are ‘homegrown’ in Nagaland” makes sense. In this regard, the editors have done diligent, thoughtful, and generous work— themselves having contributed finely crafted pieces to the compendium. Although they assert that no theme as such was specified for the contributors, these anthem-like lines from Neikehienuo Mephfü-o’s  poem which opens the collection, can be taken to set the tone of the book:

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Where do I belong? (Youth Culture)

There follows explorations of this theme in different and varied ways as key milestones in Naga history are revisited through stories that bear witness to the repercussions of one of the ‘longest standing conflicts’ in the world. Similarly, narrative events that are shaped by unresolved existential inter- generational traumas; personal narratives articulating the meaning and idea of home, homeland and nation; articles debating language loss and language death; heartfelt expositions into the painful realities of present day Nagaland and poignant reflections of love, friendship, history, family and self— all find their way into the pages of this anthology emphasising a specific subjectivity and the continuation of oral traditions. It must be pointed out that subject matter and concerns presented in the collection do not focus primarily on confrontation, conflict and alienation, but also dwell upon survival and continuance and the possibility of healing from the wounds of history.

That Nagas are still making a transition from oral to written literatures and that imaginative writing marks an important phase in their society’s transition from orality to the literary should be recognised. Naga writers are still attempting to find a voice as well as to discover a sense of what their own voices represent. The term 'transition' does not mean that oral traditions are left behind or lost in the discovery of written ones. Rather, it suggests the continued influence of the past which changes the arena into which it moves and should be seen as a process in which new ways of seeing are possible. In this anthology, factual experiences and accounts are moulded by time within the framework of the present, bridging the gap between the old and the new. In considering the connections between literature and lived experience, the editors of Homegrown have created a narrative space that allows these writers to tell stories of everyday experiences (social, cultural, political) and the tribal worldview they associate with. They are encouraged to tell their stories in their own ways, showing readers the beauty, the humour,  the pain, the joy, the romance, the growing pains — and the pride of where they’re from, who they and their charactersare and what they’re longing for. And because these narratives incorporate other literary forms such as songs, tales, myths and origin stories, they also provide an opportunity to study forms, functions, unique linguistic registers, stylistic devices and techniques characteristic of Naga indigenous literature.

Although Homegrown is not the first anthology to be published on Naga indigenous writings in English, perhaps it is the first to showcase the voices and perspectives of the younger emerging writers of the state from whose writings we can deduce an idea of the evolution of Nagaland’s literary growth and its present milieu. More so because their writings display a definite “shift in focus” in the themes and subject matter from the writings of the previous generations. The collection is therefore a significant marker of the literary development of Naga writing. It also demonstrates that anthologies have a role to play in indigenous writing because they emphasise community voices over individual work and a view of life and reality that is different from mainstream reality. As such, the words of the authors in this anthology should challenger readers to confront and break down all the stereotypical beliefs they might hold about indigenous Nagas and their communities. In a place and time when indigenous people often have to contend with representations that marginalise or devalue their intellectual and cultural heritage, this book is a testament to the resilience and creativity of Nagaland’s by.m‘homegrown’ writers.

Perhaps it would not be too out of context to consider here the place of anthologies and their use as a part of the process of canon formation. In contemplating the notion of anthologies, a wide questioning of their place and role in the constitution of literary corpuses or on the impact they have on societies, would show that their role has always been central in the birth of literature. Anthologies are to be found in any written tradition and are probably one of the most ancient forms of literary criticism: either texts have been deemed acceptable or representative and so have entered an anthology; or have failed to do so, constituting their demise. The focus here is only to highlight the fact that essentially, good anthologies must have a clear purpose: their most important function being, to hand down literature from one generation to another in order to preserve it from oblivion and secondly, to widen the readers’ horizons. Consequently too, anthologies have been used to endorse causes, highlight ideas and attitudes, illustrate particular literary movements, accentuate places and regions, acquaint readerswithmeaningful encounters with literary texts and more. Most of these objectives appear to be part of the editorial methodology of Homegrown.

It is significant that in India, Indian writers found a legitimate place in the literary canon and an original take on English, as the term Indian Writing in English increasingly came into vogue and contributed to the core of Commonwealth and Anglophone literatures. As the notion of postcolonial India was being written by powerful and influential writers with access to multinational publishers, the position of the North-east as peripheral to the nation became reinforced. Literature from this region is often missing from the usual sites of literary canonisation, such as syllabi of Indian writingand is rarely promoted by booksellers. This tendency has also, until recently, been compounded by the minimal representation of our own indigenous writers in the curricula, literature and academic environments of our educational  institutions. The absence of North-Eastern, and by extension, Naga voices, points to the systemic exclusion and erasure of this region from the national imagination. In such a scenario, anthologies in general, have power and status within the dominant culture and can be used effectively as a tool by the margin to challenge and re-formulate views of 'otherness' maintained by the canon and often reflected in certain representations of national identity. Thus specialised anthologies such as Homegrown can signify by their very production, the gaps that exist in mainstream anthology by intentionally including works specifically aimed at redressing the problems of exclusion. Further, they can destabilise and interrogate the values which construct a mainstream canon by creating and generating work that challenges and negotiates the 'representative' nature that the mainstream values. Keeping this in mind, writings from Nagaland, both old and new, by Naga writers writing in English must be received as voices that are involved in developing and contributing to a larger literary consciousness that needs to be recognised and interrogated. When all is said and done, they are not just attempts at writing back to the mainstream from the margins, more importantly, they are a means of writing into the consciousness of a nation.

Written with generalist readers in mind (both indigenous and non- indigenous), but addressing issues of interest to specialists in the field, Homegrown: Anthology of New Writings from Nagaland welcomes new audiences to Naga indigenous literary studies. A well presented volume that is unreservedly recommended for both communityand academiclibrary collections and supplemental reading lists, this seminal work should be on our shelves, our reading lists or our syllabus — or better still, on all three.

Edited by Sentinaro and Vizovono Elizabeth @penthrill

Reviewed by Kevileno Sakhrie