DSM 401. Blood of Others. Temsula Ao.

Many of the stories in this collection have their genesis in the turbulent years of bloodshed and tears that make up the history of the Nagas from the early fifties of the last century, and their demand for independence from the Indian state"

[They] try to capture the ambience of the traditional Naga way of life... independence from the Indian state.

The poetry of the Northeast is a symphony of folklore, myths, and other elements. Because it bears the cultural history of numerous tribes, Northeast poetry is rich in content. "Collecting and printing one's own community's oral and written literature became part of the nationalist mission of identity assertion." Nagaland is one such land that uses literature to try to resurrect its cultural identity and formation. The old storytelling tradition, which is common to all indigenous peoples' cultures, has been artistically incorporated with modern literary forms to give the literature of this region a distinct identity.

Temsula Ao is another one of those poets who seeks to convey the Naga heritage and oral tradition. Poetry, according to Ao, is the most challenging and gratifying literary genre. Her poetry also demonstrates a strong feeling of opposition to pan-Indian identity. A distinct Naga identity is something that every Naga yearns for. This is an identity that is not synonymous with Indian identity, but it is a monolithic identity of the Naga people.

Northeast poets are attempting to regain their identity via poetry. Ao's writings are usually an attempt to resurrect a lost cultural identity. Her poetry also explores the concepts of centre and margin.

The famous poem Blood of Others by Temsula Ao attempts to illustrate how the people of Nagaland have been pushed to the edges from the pre-independence era, contributing to the development of a sense of cultural loss. The emergence of the Indian nation-state, with its latent nationalist agents, continues to be a restrictive influence over Naga culture. Nagas have been pushed to the periphery as a result of the formation of the Indian nation state, it has made them more aware of their cultural heritage loss, and they have found a voice to express themselves in front of the mainstream nation.

Identity

Temsula Ao is an Indian English poet, ... Read more

Dr Temsula Ao is an Indian English poet, scholar, novelist and ethnographer from Nagaland. Born in October 1945 in Jorhat, Assam, she grew amidst challenging circumstances. Temsula Ao studies and describes the culture of a particular society or group. She is one such accomplished writer who strives to bring about a social change in her region by creating awareness about all the issues.

The impact of emerging literatures of the northeast region.

In the context on the absence of authentic histories of most communities in the Northeast, we also find the creative writers taking the role of cultural historians to provide alternate histories.

Very often or not, we find fictional writings from the northeast being read as alternate forms of history as well.

Writings on the Northeast

Informed by the troubled political climate, the beautiful landscape and the confluence of various ethnic groups

A historically difficult relationship with the Indian state... of various ethnic groups. And this has led to not really a factual kind of a representation.

There is prevent oral culture which is part of most communities and tribal communities of northeast. And there is print culture which is associated with the modern kinds of writing. An amalgamation of these both the oral and print culture is also important to understand the spirit of what it means to write about the Northeast or access the northeast.

This kind of representation has lead to mostly a stereotypical and exotic representation of the northeast.