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Performing the Landscape: Orature around Loktak Lake and the Love Story of Khamba Thoibi

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Usham Rojio

Department of English, Central University of Karnataka, Gulbarga, India.  Email: rojiousham@gmail.com

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-12. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne38

First published: June 30, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

The present paper explores the rich system of orature (Ngugi wa Thiong’o, 2007) revolving around Loktak Lake and Moirang. Orature indexed orality as a total system of performance linked to a specific idea of space and time. It emphasizes that the nature of orality has a complete system in its own right. The richness of orature revolving around Loktak and Moirang is immense. The available stories of Moirang in Manipur like Moirang Saiyon or Moirang Kangleirol, including the last episode of Khamba and Thoibi, according to some scholars like E. Mangoljao, A. Khongnang, etc. are believed to have been the incarnations of Panthoibi and Nongpok Ningthou. Today we find the performative traditions or orature revolving around Moirang Kangleirol in varied forms, namely Moirang Sai, Moirang Parva, etc. The paper shall explore the relations between landscape and performative traditions, its aesthetic mysticism revolving around Loktak Lake and Moirang.

Keywords: spiritual landscape, Loktak Lake, Moirang, Khamba-Thoibi, Moirang Kangleirol

Moirang was a prosperous ancient kingdom that flourished in Southeast Asia in ancient times. Today, Moirang is a tourist city located 45 km from Imphal. Moirang was considered ‘a land of legends’. Among the famous nine incarnation folk stories of Moirang, people in Manipur and surrounding places still prominently remember the romantic story of Khamba-Thoibi till today. It is also famous for the majestic ancient temple of the deity Ibuthou Thangjing. The ancient Moirang contributes to the bulk of Manipuri literature and folklore. Such folklore has intimate relations with its landscape, namely the beautiful freshwater lake ‘Loktak’, which is rich in flora marine life and is considered one of the prominent locations for bio tourism worldwide.

The present paper explores the rich system of ‘orature’ (Ngugi wa Thiong’o, 2007) revolving around Loktak and Moirang. Orature indexed orality as a total system of performance linked to a specific idea of space and time. It emphasises that the nature of orality has a complete system in its own right. The richness of orature revolving around Loktak and Moirang is immense. The available stories of Moirang like Moirang Saiyon or Moirang Kangleirol, including the last episode of Khamba and Thoibi, according to some scholars like E. Mangoljao, A. Khongnang, et al are believed to have been the incarnations of Panthoibi and Nongpok Ningthou. Today we find the performative traditions or orature revolving around Moirang Kangleirol in varied forms, namely Moirang Sai, Moirang Parva, etc. The paper shall explore the relations between landscape and performative traditions, its aesthetic mysticism revolving around Loktak and Moirang.

At an earlier stage of civilization and cultures without the tradition of writing or without the kind of writing familiar to Europeans, such as hieroglyphs, pictographs, or characters, were seen as backward. Similarly, oral narratives were seen as inferior to written literature. Oral narratives are preserved in human memories, passed down from generation to generation. European thinkers saw epics, such as Homer’s Iliad or the Germanic Beowulf, sung before they were written down as precursors to written literature. This distinction produced a binary between orality and literacy—what anthropologists called the “Great Divide,” a divide that is sometimes called a “relic of academic colonialism” (Jack Goody qt. in Finnegan, 2006, p. 270). These binary privileges literacy over orality and makes it easy to dismiss the oral-based cultures.

The categorical division between orality and literacy endorsed the idea that oral traditions as suitable only for children, rather than a system for transmitting important philosophical and moral concepts. These traditions taught important social and cultural principles, such as the importance of hospitality and respect. In his influential book, Orality and Literacy (1982), Walter J. Ong argues:

Oral cultures indeed produce powerful and beautiful oral performances of high artistic and human worth, which are no longer even possible once writing has taken possession of the psyche. (1982 or 2006, p. 14, emphasis added)

Academics are increasingly focused on numerous levels of engagement with cultural expression rather than just literature as they move beyond the dichotomy between orality and literacy. For instance, listening to oral performances has the potential and is now used to inform scholarship. To remedy the bias against orality, scholars use the term ‘orature’ to refer to speeches, oral tales, and other narratives as an analogous word for literature (Gingell and Roy, 2012, p. 5). Why orature?

Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1998) stresses a subtle distinction of meaning between “orature” and “oral literature.” Ngugi notes, “the term ‘orature’ was coined in the sixties by Pio Zirimu, the late Ugandan linguist” (Ngugi 1998: 103). Ngugi observes that although Zirimu initially used the two terms interchangeably, he later identified “orature” as the more accurate term, indexing orality as a total system of performance linked to a very specific idea of space and time. The term “oral literature,” by contrast, incorporates and subordinates orality to the literary and disguises the nature of orality as a complete system in its own right (ibid/1998, pp. 103-127). For this reason, “orature” is the preferred term in this study.

Materiality: Loktak and Moirang

The materiality of Loktak and Moirang in the art and culture of Manipur is vibrant. Loktak Lake is known for its circular floating swamps called phum[i] in the local language. Resembling miniature islands, these phums are found in numerous forms floating on the lake. With an area of almost 300 square kilometres, Loktak Lake is a lifeline for many people living on the phums and around the lake, particularly Moirang. Today, other than being the source of income for many fishermen who largely depend on the lake, the Loktak Lake also serves as a source of hydropower generation, irrigation, and drinking water supply in the region. In the west of Moirang, there is a range of hills known as Thangjing hill. Thangjing Koirel is believed to be the founder and protector of Moirang principality. It is believed that he was a historical king who was later deified and worshipped as the divine progenitor of the Moirangs. He was supposed to have descended from heavens and made the range of hills to the west of Moirang— the Thangjing hills his abode. Hills surround the kingdom on one side, and the Loktak Lake on the other is his realm where he presides as the deity.

Earlier, Moirang was an independent principality, which had its own kingdom. The Ningthouja clan subjugated Moirang in the 15th century (Arambam 1991:58). Now Moirang has been regarded as the cultural centre of the Meetei (Imokanta, 2005, p. 58). The reference to Moirang as the cultural epicentre of the state is not new; one can assume that it originated during the process of consolidation of the Meetei Kingdom. Hence, symbols of religious and ritualistic importance are quite closely connected to the entire Meetei, in fact so closely connected that it has been chosen as the authentic epicentre of the Meetei culture through its slow, subtle, and successful subjugation.

Moirang’s contribution to the culture of Manipur is immense. Apart from its great contribution to art and literature, Moirang’s contribution to the repertoire of anoirol[ii] (the language of movements) is significant. Some of the techniques of dance as mentioned in Anoirol are as follows:

  1. Dancing by lifting the slightly bent arm is called liru/lirung jagoi. This dance form is probably composed by Thingkol Moribicha of Moirang,[iii] as speculated in Anoirol (lirung sana noiye) (Yaima, 1973, p. 32).
  2. Dancing with the alternate four fingers of the two hands touching each other and the two thumbs crossing each other is called lairu-saba. This dance form is also probably composed by Thingkol Moribicha of Moirang, speculated in Anoirol (lairu sana noiye).[iv]
  3. Dancing together in a group led by someone, without much practice in a regular rhythm by observing the leader, is called leplou saba. In Moirang Anoirol, this is described as khubak khuna noiye, chako sana noiye,/ leplou sana noiye, samu thinna noiye (Dance by clapping hands/dance the chako / dance the leplou / dance rhythmically stomping like an elephant) (Yaima, 1973, p. 31).
  4. Dancing together in a circle like a meandering dragon/snake is called tubu saba. Again in Moirang Anoirol, “maikei lakna noiye / tubu sana noiye / mathek sana noiye, / lirung sana noiye; / lairu sana noiye / noikhuthekpu noitamye” (dance at every direction, / dance the tubu, / dance the gestures, / dance the lirung, / dance the lairu, / present the hand-gestures in dance form).

As we see, the nature of dance as developed in the land of dance has a close affinity with its extant landscape and nature. The materiality of landscape envelops both the spatial and the temporal. The following study emphasises the intertwined historicity and spatiality of cultural production and reproduction to theorise the importance of landscape in performative traditions and orature.

Beyond the Ritual Landscape

 In the study of Moirang Haraoba, it is important to note the importance of the physical landscapes of Thangjing Hill and Loktak Lake, which are represented as sacred through oral and textual narratives. Soibam Haripriya (2017) has argued that the two sacred sites correspond to the notion of the divine body. While the aspect of the divine body vis-à-vis the physical element is significant in imagining the idea of the divinity of the King Thangjing Koirel and his body, the physical elements that comprise the landscape —earth, water and so on—are also thought to be elements that comprise the human body and mirror each other (Haripriya, 2017).

 It is also important to keep in mind that in Moirang and the adjacent area of Loktak, what constitutes a livelihood and a sustaining worldview depends on continuous negotiations between the communities and the landscape comprising the hill and the lake. By rendering and re-rendering the past and the present, humans and nature together reshape their existence. In this instance, the landscape serves as more of a flowing place where fresh interpretations are conceivable rather than static depictions in religious ceremonies. A spatial centre and a place where a sense of community is being produced and generated are formed when the hill and the lake are coupled as a pair. Apart from these landscapes, today, the newly developed Moirang Keithel (market) in the town of Moirang has also created and generated a new economy and worldview.

 It is also critical to note that Loktak Lake and Thangjing hill as specificities cease to represent themselves. Haripriya, in her study, has demonstrated the manifestation of the sacred, the sanctity of which is reinforced by certain oral and textual traditions (Haripriya, 2017, p. 43). One can understand the connection between physical landscapes, sacredness, human and divine bodies within the narratives in which the ritual framework of Loktak Lake is created. While water bodies as sacred have been reflected in various mythologies, they are further localised in the imageries of the specific context of the creation myth, as it exists in Meetei cosmology. For instance, the chronicles of the Moirang kings, Moir?ng Ningthourol Lambub? has the following invocation:

Prayer to thee O Th?ngching, Lord of the

Universe and creator of the Moir?ng clan.

Thou art the source of all living beings, the

fount of time, the presiding god of heaven,

the defender of the region standing like

an iron rail, the protector of all animals

both domestic and wild, the vanquisher

of enemies and the omnipresent Lord

both in the sky and on the earth. Thou canst also

make thine abode in the tender care of a

lotus to remain ever fresh and charming and

issue forth from the azure sky most probably

from inside the transparent moon. As a child

Thou wert ever dauntless, grew up healthy as

a luxuriant oak plant … I pay obeisance

to Thee and Thine consort, Th?ngching Koirel

Leim?, pure as the white cotton and also the

repository of all souls.

                                  (Manihar 1996, pp. 75-76)

 The prayer refers to Lord Thangjing as Thangching, a variation of the name (ching meaning hill). Thus the invocation collapses the divine King and the hill, his abode. The invocation also contains an effusion of words that describes the region’s landscape. Lord Thangjing, with his abode on the hill, is paired with his consort in the sky, Th?ngching Koirel Leim?, with the sky described as ‘pure as white cotton’. Loktak Lake reflects the sky and the hill in its waters and is visually and metaphorically seen as the site of the union of the sacred deities. One can imagine that this figuratively enhances the idea of the lake reproducing fertility and reproducing community. The point is not that the supernatural inscribes meanings on the landscape; rather, the landscape itself inscribes the supernatural and the divine.

 Another song of Moirang Haraoba is the Yakaiba (yakaiba means ‘to awake’), as the name suggests, a song sung in the early hours of dawn waking up the deity. Here is the opening line of the song:

The day breaks in the region of Moirang

When uthum, the water cock

Sweetly sings, ‘Tum Tum’

In the thick bush by the lake.

                                                                        (Manihar, 1996, p. 18)

 This song, performed to pena accompaniment, relates to local tales while expressing an enthralling vision of how the day begins in the region. Simple word choice and a well-balanced rhythmic and tempo arrangement distinguish the tune. The lake’s beauty is metaphorically portrayed in the way that it becomes the landscape that connects with life and legends, which has a shared significance for those whose lives are fundamental to the landscape itself. It should be noted how the neighbouring country Burma (known as Senbi to Moirang) is interspersed with the regional legends. While the song metaphorically alludes to the beautiful parrot on the side of Burma that protects her parent’s paddy field, it also calls for the same responsibility of the Moirang people to protect their paddy fields for the prosperity of the society.

 It is noteworthy to refer to the study of the ritual spaces. Since Arnold Van Gennep (1960 [1909]) studied the connectedness of spatial or geographical movement with the ritual motif of cultural ‘passages,’ many other scholars have developed the idea of ‘ritual space’ in numerous ways. Victor Turner (1982, p. 69) precisely discussed the creation of ‘ritualised space’, focusing on the ritual dynamics of demarcating a ‘controlled environment.’ Further, he also suggests the role of ritualised space in generating the temporal realities of the ritual calendar itself. In this sense, the above song functions beyond the performing space of Lai Haraoba (laibung) but even encompasses the physical landscape of Moirang. A focus on such ritual acts illuminates a critical circularity in the body’s interaction with this environment. Such ritual acts generate the physical space, and it is moulded by it. By virtue of this circularity, society keeps on redefining space and time in a complex ‘socially instinctive automatisms’ (Bell 1992: 99) of the body and the cosmos.

The Moirang Epic Ballad: the Love Story of Khamba-Thoibi

 The re-enactment of the Khamba and Thoibi love legend is a significant component of Moirang Haraoba. The Khamba-Thoibi orature is rich in traditional plays like Moirang Parva and Kao Phaba (an episode of the epic), as well as Moirang Sai singing traditions that are primarily performed by females. Many lovers are thought to have originated in the Moirang region, but the divinely predestined love story of Khamba and Thoibi stands out among them. Thoibi is shown as a woman of beauty, and the warrior Khamba as a man of tremendous macho power. The two are finally united after a long journey filled with strange trials, but they are only meant to be together for a short time. The story is still alive because of the resonance of the diction, excellent characterization, depiction of nature, and use of arresting similes, as ballad singers typically render it with the accompanying instrument, pena.

 The Manipuri poet Hijam Anganghal wrote the epic poem Khamba Thoibi Seireng, which has forty-three cantos and over 36,000 lines, in 1986. It tells the narrative of the love between Khamba and Thoibi. He acknowledged that pena singers, particularly Chungkham Manik, had influenced him. He said the poem just replicates what they chanted (Anganghal, 1986, pp. iii-iv). But without his creative brilliance, the poem would not have reached such lofty heights. The poet portrayed the principal characters as having tremendous talent. He used metaphors that were appropriate for the characters, many of which were derived from elements of nature.

 Although the unending yearning for love and beauty is the song’s major theme, the lyrics are performed in vibrant yet melancholic rhymes. It is a narrative telling of the highest calibre that reflects Moirang’s long tradition. During the epic era, autonomous kingdoms coexisted side-by-side and engaged in fierce conflict. The Kingdom of Moirang, in and around the lovely Loktak Lake, served as the main setting. As described in the ballad, this lake cradled a distinctive culture of love and beauty – a fertile soil for the growth of this epic ballad. In reality, the oral tradition, finding fulfillment in Khamba Thoibi Sheireng, began as the song of Loktak Lake. The entire Manipur, which was created following the union of all the various kingdoms, was embraced by the ballad as it blossomed. The ballad’s human issues transcended beyond Moirang’s borders. The Khamba-Thoibi ballad may have helped Manipur gain national recognition after the fusion of the Salais.

 Moirang and Khuman were neighbouring kingdoms, cradled and nourished by Loktak Lake. Unable to bear family intrigues, a nobleman from Khuman migrated to Moirang. He married a woman of Moirang, and Puremba was born to them. Puremba, in his turn, rose to be a famous courtier of Moirang, peerless in strength and influence. Once, while he was attending the King on a hunting expedition, he saved the King from the attack of seven tigers by catching them all alive. Extremely pleased with his feat, the King gave him in marriage his youngest wife, Ngangkhaleima. Before she became one of the wives of the King, Ngangkhaleima was the lady love of Puremba. When the King married her to Puremba she was with a child already. Khamnu, the elder sister of Khamba and one of the central characters of the epic, was thus born. Although born in Puremba’s house, she was of royal blood.

 Khamba, the protagonist of the epic, was born of Puremba and Ngangkhaleima after her. Khamba’s parents, unfortunately, died not long after he was born. Thus, Khamba and his elder sister Khamnu were abandoned as orphans. Although their father was once a powerful aristocrat, nobody cared for them after he passed away. Khamba also had good reason to worry about plots against his life because he was the son of a well-known courtier (a member of the Khuman salai). In response to this concern, Khamnu, Puremba’s elder sister, brought Puremba’s little brother to the protection of Kabui Salang Maiba, a chieftain of the Kabui clan. Khamba and his elder sister went back to their parents’ house in Moirang once Khamba had reached adulthood and was able to care for himself.

 Then, the lyrical love of Khamba and Thoibi unfolds in the epic song which has been immortalised by the bards of Manipur. Khamba loves Thoibi, the princess of Moirang and daughter of Chingkhuba, younger brother to the King of Moirang. His love is like a fire burning within a snow-capped mountain, subdued but eternal and firm. Thoibi is the embodiment of beauty. The bards used to sing of her peerless beauty, “Beauty herself is no match of Thoibi in beauty.” Her love for Khamba is an all-consuming passion that illuminates and gives life to everything coming on its way. Standing in between the two lovers as a counterforce was Nongban, a nobleman of Moirang. His yearning for Thoibi was boundless—an eternal yearning for love and beauty. The epic narrative centres around the three characters, the forces, and the counterforces they represent.

 The texture of the ballad is full of subtle and compelling details; the canvas is wide embracing nature and various forms of life in their variegated moods. The epic song celebrates love, beauty, truth, and goodness—expressing a rich way of life, the people, culture, customs, religion, aesthetics, and other finer sensibilities. The intoxication of first love and its coronation in the insistence of eternal fidelity to mutual love is depicted in the episodes of Shan Shenba (Tending the Cows), Kang Sannaba (the Game of Kang), Een Chingba (netting the fish). The physical prowess of the epic hero, Khamba is exhibited in Kangjei (the Game of Foot-polo). In Lei-Langba (Flower Offering) and Leirol (Song of Flowers) cantos of the epic, the celebration of love and beauty as constituting the substance of religion is elegantly visualised. The cantos express the aesthetic mysticism of high order. Khamba’s strength and courage are again demonstrated when he overpowers and tames the great bull in the canto on the Kao phaba (taming the bull). However, the penultimate test of the epic hero’s love for Thoibi is given in Shamu Khongyetpa canto. Chingkhuba wished that Thoibi married Nongban, in stark opposition to her love for Khamba. When she firmly refused, Chingkhuba and Nongban conspired to remove Thoibi’s love, Khamba, from the way.

 One night, Nongban and his men waylaid Khamba and beat him almost to death. He was brought before Chingkhuba, waiting with the royal elephant at an appointed place of Moirang Khori Keithel. Hijam Angahal, the poet laureate of Manipur who committed the epic to write for the first time, describes the encounter how Khamba was about to be tied to the elephant and dragged along the rugged road strewn with sharp pebbles till death. Chingkhuba creates this moment with vivid, dramatic intensity:

My daughter, I never promised you.

Your vain words, I will not relish

An obstacle you are in my daughter’s way.

Disown now, don’t wait for her words.

“This day I forsake – She is yours now.”

Say thee, surrender her to Nongban.

Else my sword will do the rest.

Now is time to make amends, Khamba.

(Lokendrajit, 2017, p. 288)

The irony is that Khamba was unmoved. Chingkhuba’s words did not deter him. Instead, it made him blissfully oblivious of the pains he had suffered. Khamba replied:

Let this body of mine called Khamba

Be transformed into fiery embers

Let my elder sister Khamnu sow

Seeds of Thoiding on my lonely grave.

And when seeds grow into more seeds

Let your noble daughter collect all

To press the oil lending fragrance to her hair

To her alone, I owe my life

What I owe I give up for her only.

Fulfil your wish, ere the dawn breaks.

                                                                  (Lokendrajit, 2017, p. 288)

In the finest warrior tradition, this momentous decision at the threshold of life and death makes Khamba, who takes destiny in hand, a hero in the mind of the people of Manipur. Poised before life and death, a hero shines like a star beyond the grave, distinguishing the heroic life from the ordinary ones. The ballad portrayed Khamba loving Thoibi the way an epic hero does. The elements that go into making the epic heroes are present in the ballad. The craft that creates the ordinary men with noble elements also fashions the heroes. In their destined suffering and conflict, human destiny is shaped. It seems that man is given a rightful place in the Universe. Hence, our love for the song of epic heroes becomes captivatingly solemn. And the tradition ever grows.

Thus Khamba, the hero, suffered, survived, and proved himself to be an epic hero. Thoibi, in her love for Khamba defied her father and chose exile to Kabaw valley rather than marry Nongban. Towards the closing part, Khamba and Nongban face the ferocious wild tiger in the forest. He who wins will have the glorious honour of Thoibi’s love and beauty. Nongban was the first to encounter the tiger. He gave a heroic fight, ending this earthly life. The yearning for Thoibi was so great that the embodiment of love and beauty continued beyond the grave. The bards used to sing that Nongban’s yearning transmigrated into the immortal bird Pithadoi singing “Thadoi,’ ‘Thadoi”. Khamba could kill the tiger and thus happens the classic union of the hero and the beauty. Thoibi’s dancing in Lai Haraoba is described thus:

The curves of her body as rhythmic

As the thread that weaves the Universe

Her waist enfolded in the maidenly girdle

She needed no other adornments

To be a perfect embodiment of art.

…………………………………….

A dance the Kingdom of Moirang will never see

Danced before the Lord Thangjing in the temple.

Thadoi is looking at her dance

On her way to perfect beauty.

(Anganghal, 1986, pp. 153–54)

 This brings the readers the aesthetic mysticism of Thoibi’s dance, where art and beauty converge. Thoibi’s dance before the deity Thangjing in the Lai Haraoba ritual is described with visual imageries in the epic:

All the gods of the sky have come out of their abode,

to see Khamba and Thoibi dance.

The sound of drums and music are making

heaven and earth tremble.

Blue hills far and near are bending forward to see nearer.

Trees, bamboos and creepers are bowing down towards Thangjing.

The winds from all directions are assembled in a torrent.

Blowing lustily over the Thangjing temple,

they sweep over the Loktak Lake,

breaking her waves into foams.

The sun, the moon and the stars in unison

are lighting the ritual palace.

Love, passion, sorrow, fear, happiness, weakness, strength, creation, dissolution

– all these emotions have been made ingredients tastes of the dance.

Men and gods are in rapture.

Anan, Namphou, Khorbung, Lamgang, Chiru, Kabui, Kabaw

– all are singing and dancing

– rotating and revolving in the circular motions of dance.

Displaying community dance form and music,

young boys and girls are exchanging queries and responses in songs.

(Anganghal, 1986, pp. 227–235)

 Living beings in water, land, and sky celebrate beauty. Landscapes have energy and agency. Catherine Allerton (2009) describes the landscape as “not simply a natural or physical environment, a taken-for-a-granted backdrop of hills, rivers, and valleys” but a “historical process of interaction between people and environment, in which both are shaped” (pp. 235-236). This representation is not seen in the landscape paintings. The landscape has its own agency and potency. It is relevant to mention that ‘subdued eloquence, serenity and calmness’ in Meetei dance reflect the extant landscape; and if one sees the performance of South India, for example, Kathakali reflects the emotions and feelings of the sea tides and the roaring sea. The celebration resonates with the beauty of its landscape. We also find a unique aesthetic mysticism in this celebration. An aesthetic mysticism that all Manipur communities share is intimately related to the landscape, the cosmogony, and the cosmology that has become part of the cultural consciousness of Manipur.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

Notes

[i] phum refers to the collection of decomposed heterogeneous masses of vegetation, soils and other organic matters.

[ii] Anoirol (Anoi=dance, rol/lol = language) literally means “the language of dance”, but it is more broadly understood as the “art of body movement.” It is a manuscript containing a record of songs, verses and ballads describing the origin of dance, its relation to the Meetei cosmogony and the poetic depiction of dances with cultural metaphors, maxims and ethical codes of the Meetei which shape the aesthetics of the traditional Meetei community life.

[iii] Moirang is a place in the southwest of Manipur considered rich in tradition.

[iv] Ibid, both Lirung and Lairung saba are initially seemed to be dance forms of the Moirang clan.

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Usham Rojio teaches at the Department of English, Central University of Karnataka. He is a from the Centre of Theatre and Performance Studies, School of Arts & Aesthetics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He was an ICSSR Post-Doc Fellow (2019-20), an awardee of Research Grant from India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore and also received a Junior Fellow to Outstanding Person on Manipuri Literature from the Ministry of Culture, Government of India (2018). He is one of the Associate Editors of the Eastern Quarterly. He has edited the book, Kanhailalgi Anganba Lilasing (Early Plays of Heisnam Kanhailal). He has co-authored the book The Way of the Thamoi: Life and Works of Heisnam Sabitri (2022) with Prof. H.S. Shivaprakash.

Forbidden Cravings: Exploring socio-cultural ramifications of food practices in Aamis

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Alicia Jacob1 & Dishari Chattaraj2

Department of English and Cultural Studies at Christ University, Bangalore. Email: alicia.jacob@res.christuniversity.in

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-10. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne37

First published: June 30, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

Food choices represent conscious affirmation and expression of personal, group, ethnic or national identity. Due to its multidimensional role, food that we rely on sustenance is often politicised and used as a tool to create conflict amongst and within diverse social groups. Assamese cuisine includes a rich platter of authentic food varieties, often limited to the north-eastern region. Although food consumption is a subjective experience, cultural taboos within a community might be acceptable practices in another culture, creating conflicting notions of food practices. The balance between the twin axis of culture and politics regarding food is disrupted when heterogeneous cultural patterns and opposing political notions are in discord. Similarly, the solidarity within a cultural group becomes hostile when the authority of the individual concerning food choices is not aligned with the authority of the social structure. This discord from a political and cultural standpoint is evident in the Assamese socio-cultural scenario. Taking Bhaskar Hazarika’s Ravening/Aamis (2019) as a case study, this paper proposes to analyse the representational troupe of food, through a structuralist anthropological lens, with respect to food politics to understand socio-cultural ramifications of Assamese food patterns.

Keywords: food, Assamese cuisine, Aamis, food politics, cultural appropriation

The need to begin human settlement emerged out of the need to procure food. Food thereby was the foundation on which culture was built. Every culture is the point of interaction between tradition and innovation. Globalisation and change in patterns of consumption are erasing distinctive traditions and culture. Cultural contact and postcolonialism have increased the pace of cultural diffusion in the Indian context. Being a diverse country with multiple religions, ethnicities, languages, and cultures, India is waging an endless battle to attain cultural homogeneity. Additionally, in the context of India, cultural contact and postcolonialism have increased the pace of this cultural diffusion. In his work Multiculturalism, C. W. Watson (2000) emphasises the mutating role of culture and how collective identity is constantly modified and transformed. Apart from its nutritional value crucial for man’s survival, food is a social construct that is not often meant for conscious consumption. Kaplan (2012) asserts that the essence of food includes thirteen main conceptions. Ranging from the most natural to the most cultural, these conceptions include “nature, nutrition, fuel, medicine, diet, pleasure, taboo, commodity, goods, meaning, spirituality, recipe, and art” (p. 19). Thus, due to its multidimensional nature, food becomes a breeding ground for hegemony and creates disparities between cultures.

The eight north-eastern states in India are victims of cultural subjugation. The majoritarian culture from the mainland side lines these minority states, subjecting them to cultural loss (Misra, 2011). The sense of alienation from the mainland due to their cultural diversity creates tension between the mainland and North-eastern states (Harriss, 2002). The liminal position of the north-eastern states within Indian politics began with the independence of India and is attributed to their geographical location as well as their cultural practices. Food becomes a tool to create an inclusive exclusion within the north-eastern community in India. While they are part of the Indian subcontinent, they are excluded from full membership and forced to assimilate mainland practices and food choices through food politics. Food politics refers to the rules and regulations governing food production, distribution and consumption. Food through government manipulation becomes an instrument in heightening differences and creating a milieu of alienation. Michael Twitty (2017), in his talk on Culinary Justice, differentiates between cultural diffusion and cultural appropriation. He defines cultural diffusion as a natural and innocent process where different cultures interact and, as a result, assimilate certain practices into their culture. This assimilation is mutual. In contrast, cultural appropriation subjugates a minority culture and forces them to assimilate into the prominent culture, erasing their cultural aesthetics. Evidently, the north-eastern states are subjected to cultural appropriation.

One among the eight states of north-eastern India, Assam is an amalgamation of diverse cultures. Assamese cuisine includes a rich platter of authentic food varieties, which remains absent in the Indian cookbooks from the mainland. The balance between the twin axis of culture and politics regarding food is disrupted when heterogeneous cultural patterns and opposing political notions are in discord. Similarly, the solidarity within a cultural group becomes hostile when the authority of the individual concerning food choices is not aligned with the authority of the social structure. This discord from a political and cultural standpoint is evident in the Assamese socio-cultural scenario. Taking Bhaskar Hazarika’s Ravening/Aamis (2019) as a case study, this paper proposes to analyse the representational troupe of food, through a structuralist anthropological lens, with respect to food politics to understand socio-cultural ramifications of Assamese food patterns.

While anthropology, in general, is concerned with the scientific study of human beings, socio-cultural anthropology, in particular, focuses on understanding human behaviour in association with nature and culture (Eriksen, 2004). Natural behaviour refers to the set of common philosophical patterns seen in all human beings. In contrast, cultural behaviour refers to distinctive patterns of behaviour practised by an individual or within a community. However, structuralism is a cultural theory that aims to study human culture and practices through their relationship with broader social systems. Therefore, structural social anthropology, pioneered by Levi Strauss, study communicative structures and their mechanisms on both conscious and unconscious levels to understand intricate cultural forms (Leach, 1973). The idea of art as an imitation of reality is an age-old dictum that finds realisation in films. Additionally, being a product of culture, films tend to portray the culture that it represents in intricate ways. Structuralist film theory further interprets how meanings are channelled through a set of codes through both linguistic as well as visual cues (Benshoff, 2015). Food, a cultural marker that often finds its place on the big screen, is instrumental in implicitly transacting meaning. Aamis, set in Guwahati, the largest city in Assam, enthralls the viewers through the appealing visuals of food while problematising the politics of food.

Assam, food and culture – Inclusive exclusion

The etymological origin of the word ‘Assam’ has its root in Food culture. Taken from the Sanskrit word ‘cham’ the derivation of the verb ‘to eat’, Assam got its name after the arrival of Brahmins, who cleared the misleading reputation of the land as one of cannibalism. ‘A-cham’ refers to ‘non-cannibal land and people’ (Saikia, 2005)[i]. The politics of food and culture within the terrain of Assam can be directly linked to the State’s position within the country. The relative absence of Assam from the documented history of modern India, along with the lack of representation from the Northeast within the socio-political reforms of Indian history, has been an area of discussion (Barua & Lal, 2020). The relative non-existence of the history of Assam within the ranks of Indian chronicles can be attributed to the diverse non-Aryan linguistic and cultural heritage along with the presence of multi-religious communities (Goswami, 2014). Additionally, cultural appropriation of this northeasternstate through the invasiveness of mainland culture blurs the boundaries between indigenous traditions and modernity. The loss of cultural identities and the issues of creating new cultural identities through intercultural interactions has remained a prominent subject matter within Assamese literature (Misra, 2011). While included within the geographical and political terrain of Indian policies, Assam remains excluded and ‘othered’ based on cultural differences. Food, a prominent marker of every culture, has also been subjected to appropriation in the Assamese context. Assamese cuisine, like Assamese history, has been excluded from the texts of the mainland. The majority of the Indian cookbooks available in the market split Indian cuisine into North-Indian and South-Indian cuisine and rarely includes authentic dishes from the north-east. However, despite its side-lined existence within the world of cuisines, Assamese cuisine retains its authenticity within its geographical boundaries (Das, 2008). Relying on a wide variety of plant as well as animal products, Assamese cuisine refers to the authentic dishes and stylised cooking from the state of Assam. Assamese dishes are simple and rely on fresh, fermented and dried forms of food products to add flavour to the dishes.  Meat remains a popular dietary choice within Assamese communities, besides a diverse variety of fish, poultry and animals to choose from. The popular types of meat include: fish, mutton, pork, chicken, squab, and duck. Although not widely popular, beef is consumed within Assam (Biju Borah et al., 2018). Consumption of dog meat, pangolin meat, and a wide variety of insects such as rice grasshopper, cricket, water bug, snail, adult termite, and silkworm larvae in Assam are also accounted for (Chowdhury et al., 2015; D’Cruze et al., 2018). These food groups are unique to the northeastern region and are relatively absent from the cuisine of the mainland. Religious restrictions on meat consumption practised in the mainland remain void on Assamese grounds. Assamese brahmins consume meat, while Meitei brahmins restrict themselves to fish consumption and avoid other forms of meat (Datta, 2012). In addition to their geographical position, these attributes within Assamese culture become sources of alienation.

Cultural appropriation aims to erase these authentic functionalities within the Assamese culture to create a more unified national identity and culture. Although a secular country as per the constitution, India has evidently leaned towards the demolition of the secularistic spirit of the nation. Additionally, the tendency to proclaim India as a Hindutva nation has been accelerated in recent times. In the wake of the political change of guard after the 2016 state elections in Assam, cultural appropriation of the state was set in motion with an aim to spread the dogmatic ideology of the mainland (Jaffrelot, 2017). An attempt at religious polarisation within Assam has been underway since then (Saikia, 2020). Food, as a cultural marker, is often instrumental in cultural practices. Food politics refers to the policies governing the production, distribution, and consumption of food endorsed by a political/governmental body. Cultural appropriation can be achieved through the policing of food practices and restricting the availability of food groups that are not aligned with the consumption patterns of the mainland. Assam’s Cattle Preservation Bill of 2021 is one such political agenda that aims to create food restrictions within the State (Correspondent, 2021). Although the bill does not explicitly ban the production, distribution, and consumption of beef, the restrictions imposed by the bill make it seemingly impossible to sell or consume beef. This restriction was inflicted upon every community, especially the Muslim community, within the boundaries of Assam with an aim to achieve the spirit of the ‘Hindutva nation’. The beef ban exacerbates the oppression of religious minority groups and often becomes a tool to normalise violence against Muslim and Dalit communities (Parikh & Miller, 2019). Additionally, the call for the ban of pork slaughter and distribution within a 500-metre radius of mosques, as consumption of pork meat is considered taboo by the Muslim community, was refused arguing that the pig was not a sacred animal (Zaman, 2021). Warren Belasco (2008) introduced the concept of the culinary triangle of contradiction to better understand the factors that influence food consumption on a personal, social and global level. Identity, convenience and responsibility take up each side of the triangle. While identity is the preliminary factor determining food choices, convenience or the availability of food factor is the second. The lack of availability of certain food groups through political interference forces people to choose a more convenient option making cultural appropriation invisibly actionable. Aamis by Bhaskar Hazarika is a film that implicitly addresses the disparity between political appropriation and cultural resistance by questioning the authority of the social structure.

Aamis: Mirroring Reality

Although the Assamese film industry had its foundation in the early 20thcentury, it was only in contemporary times that Assamese cinema gained significant national and international attention. Apart from its entertaining quality, regional cinema is an instrument that addresses, influences and often mirrors the ideologies of a community and works towards empowering society. Assamese movies stand true to this statement as regional narratives give us insights into the intricacies of Assamese culture and society (Deori& Bora, 2020; Deka, 2021). Written and directed by Bhaskar Hazarika, Aamis (2019), alternately titled Ravening, is an Assamese film that first premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival, New York. The movie received critical acclaim for its unique portrayal of a haunting love story centred around food and the intricacies of intimacy and taboo. The movie is closely aligned with the culture of Assam and takes us through an exotic journey through its representation of Axomiya cuisine. The movie also bagged the Best Director Award along with the Best Actor: Female Award at the 3rd Singapore South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) 2019.

‘Aamis’ literally translates to meat. Whereas the film’s English title ‘Ravening’ refers to the extreme hunger of a ferocious animal hunting for prey. Both titles remain significant to understanding the essence of the movie where meat is a metaphor for love and intimacy that the protagonists are ravening for. Aamis is an all-consuming love story between Nirmali, a paediatrician and Suman, a research scholar. The complexity of the plot is attributed to the forbidden nature of their relationship and the lengths to which each character has to go to control their insatiable desire until it consumes them. Nirmali, a woman with strict values and a mother, is contemptuous towards illicit relationships and adheres strictly to the societal construct of a ‘married woman’ despite the fact that her husband is more or less absent. Sumon, who is conducting research on the meat-eating traditions of the Northeast, is a non-conformist who is assertive with his culture and ideology. Sumon is part of a meat club in which they hunt, kill, cook and eat the meat of wild animals and birds. He is scornful of processed meat available in stores. Suman says “we don’t buy dressed meat in the Meat Club. These days people put anything in their mouth not knowing where it came from, how it was stored, how old it is. Feels sick thinking about it. In our Meat Club we buy the thing live, slaughter, cook and enjoy it” (Hazarika, 2019). The politics of food and the involvement of governmental agencies to regulate food consumption within the Assamese culture are questioned through Sumon.[ii] Axomiya cuisine comprises a rich platter of meat varieties which is often reduced to a few basic variants like mutton, chicken, pork and fish through governmental interference. Sumon and his meat club is a form of resistance against cultural appropriation through which he is inhibiting governmental policies attempting to erase the cultures and practices within Assam.

A serendipitous encounter between Nirmali and Sumon catapults a series of meetings that revolve around testing and tasting different varieties of meat. Nirmali treats a vegetarian friend of Sumon, who was suffering from indigestion after overeating mutton for the first time. On getting to know about the meat club that Sumon was a part of, Nirmali promises to take a portion of the meat, they cook as the fee for his friend’s diagnosis. While tasting wild rabbit meat enthralls her tastebuds, Nirmali complained about the increasing availability of processed food in the market and how it is difficult to trust the food on the plate. Nirmali’s interest in consuming unadulterated meat and Sumon’s resistance towards processed food consumption leads them to explore authentic meat delicacies. Soon these food rendezvous develop into love, although Nirmali is hesitant to admit this to herself. The food on the plate becomes an extension of Sumon himself. “When I am eating with you, all I want to eat is meat. Nothing else registers” Hazarika, 2019).

 The meat here becomes a metaphor for love,[iii] which she is unable to reciprocate physically. Her conflict in adhering to the social stigma of having an illicit relationship and going against the moral codes of society weighs heavily on her. This prevents her from reciprocating her longing for Sumon who is desperate for her attention. While her internalised social parameters prohibit her from embracing her newfound love, she rebels against societal norms surrounding food which to her is less threatening. While Sumon talks about the meat varieties consumed by people from the Northeast like deer, elephant, donkey, dog, cat, lizards, worms, snakes, snails and so on, Nirmali is brimming with passion. Sumon, upholding the idea that there is no universal ‘normal’ when it comes to food, is excited to fulfil Nirmali’s wishes to try foods that are culturally forbidden. While Sumon remains a forbidden object by the societal conventions inflicted on a married woman, Nirmali is unwilling to break her commitment towards her family. Meanwhile, her indulgence in forbidden meat is a means to satisfy her craving for Sumon, which, while giving her the pleasure of being a non-conformist, remains seemingly harmless. The story takes a dark turn when what seemed seemingly harmless, and simply Sumon’s idea of indulging in Nirmali’s love for meat, turns to cannibalism.

Food Ethics and Cannibalism as resistance

David M Kaplan (2012) in Food Philosophy discusses the concept of food ethics as the food-related obligation one has with oneself and the society at large. It refers to the responsibility an individual has to himself and his community in creating an environment of wellness and wholesome nourishment. Cannibalism, although prevalent in certain tribes in the remotest part of the world, is generally frowned upon by civilised society. Consuming human flesh as the last resort for survival, emergency cannibalism, although undesirable, is not considered immoral; however, any other form of cannibalism is strictly prohibited in contemporary society (Kaplan, 2012). Nevertheless, cannibalism or cannibalistic tendencies in literature and films often represents a wide array of meaning. Carolyn Korsmeyer (2014) argues that within literary discourse, cannibalism tends to represent societal breakdown. In the movie The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, Cannibalism becomes a metaphor that signifies the disintegration of civilised society and, by extension the end of consumerism (Armstrong, 2004).

Sumon, who is madly in love with Nirmali, is desperate for their physical union. However, respecting Nirmali’s need to adhere to societal codes, he realises a conventional union of the bodies is unfeasible in their case. Desperate, he comes up with a solution that would ascertain their union. With the help from his Veterinarian friend, Elias, Sumon obtains a piece of his flesh claiming, that he needs it for his research. He then prepares an egg dish which, when consumed by Nirmali, makes her ecstatic and takes her to orgasmic heights. The egg is symbolic of fertility and carries sexual connotations. Replacing the yolk of the egg with his flesh can be connotative of their physical union where the egg is representative of the female sexual organ, and the action of filling is symbolic of the act of sex itself. Every dish prepared from Sumon’s flesh has sexual underpinnings to them. The rice cake stuffed with meat provides a similar symbolic meaning. Additionally, the way the tomato is gutted and stuffed with meat alludes to sexual union. The preparation of Sumon’s meat on a skewer symbolically exerts the image of a phallus. Every dish prepared on-screen carries an underlying allusion to their sexual union. Similarly, the cutlet made out of Nirmali’s flesh is representative of the female reproductive organ, and the cabbage dressing is symbolic of purity and fertility. Further, cabbage, with reference to its shape, is also representative of a fertile womb (Rinker, 1995).

Nirmali is disgusted with herself for enjoying the dish when she realises that it was made of human flesh. Although initially upset at Sumon, Nirmaliunderstands what propelled Sumon to take this drastic step. For Sumon, the consumption of his flesh signifies a sense of spiritual union that is absolute, uniting them in a single body. Peggy Sanday (1986) defines cannibalism into multiple categories based on their motivation, and the ‘psychogenic hypothesis’ best represents Suman’s motive as it implies the satisfaction of psychosexual needs. Moreover, we see Nirmali reciprocating her love by preparing Sumon a cutlet made of her meat for the first time. Sumon vomits when he finds out. This may be because Sumon is not reined in by societal pressure to consummate their love; it is only the lack of consent from Nirmali that is stopping him. Nirmali admits that she has tasted the fundamental flavour of life through tasting human flesh and, there is no going back. Things go out of hand when she develops an acute addiction to human meat, which is driving her insane. Left with no option, Sumon promises to find her a large chunk of human flesh, which is the only way to curb her craving. Unfortunately, Sumon is caught in the act of murder and is convicted along with Nirmali. Towards the end of the movie, we see Nirmali striking a realisation that murder is a detrimental societal taboo than an illicit relationship. We see them holding hands for the first time in the movie, which is publicly pronouncing their love for each other. Humans are bound by cultural norms, and social dictums and cannibalism erase those boundaries set forth by these socio-cultural milieus (Brown, 2013). Nirmali and Sumon are both socially non-conforming, and cannibalism signifies their resistance toward the restrictions imposed on them through cultural appropriation.

Apolitical Stand in Aamis

According to Anne Bower, food films are the ones where food plays a central role in the development of the narrative, negotiating questions of identity, power, and culture, and the inclusion of a film into this genre is generally subjective (Bower, 2012). Aamis evidently belongs to the genre of food films and implicitly critiques dominant attitudes that are part of cultural appropriation. However, explicitly, the movie remains apolitical. The conflict regarding the consumption of beef and pork in Assam is an extension of the Hindu-Muslim conflict and is an area of political/religious disparity. Despite the conflict, the consumption of pork and beef within Assam remains consistently high. In a study on meat-consumption in North-East India, pork ranked first, which owed to 70% of the meat consumption in the Northeast, and beef ranked second with 10% of total meat consumption (Mahajan et al., 2015). The study also shows that there is a supply–demand gap in the production and consumption of beef in Assam, which might be attributed to governmental food policies. Similarly, in the case of Assam, a large majority of 79% of the population indulged in the consumption of pork while the consumption of beef was below 10% (Biju Borah et al., 2018). However, despite the evident consumption of pork and beef by the people of Assam, Bhaskar Hazarika’s decision to neglect the existence of these varieties of meat have raised questions. The decision to avoid representations of pork and beef might be a deliberate attempt to steer clear of controversy and political backlash. Every cultural product is forced to undergo censorship to maintain the status quo of the political and social practices of the region. The intolerance of politicians towards filmmakers, especially in the Indian context, has influenced the creation of Cinematographic laws (Banerjee, 2009). One can only argue that the inclusion of politically controversial topics in the movie would have resulted in censorship, which would have had detrimental effects on the transaction and success of the movie. By choosing to self-censor and remaining apolitical, Hazarika was able to address the issues of food politics more inherently and reach a wider audience without uncanny political attention.

Conclusion

Films, primarily feature films, are carefully constructed reflections of reality. Food, which is an inevitable part of human life, inherently mundane, when presented on screen provides insight into the existing hegemony within cultural and social structures and also marginalisation and disenfranchisement causing, social, political and economic implications. Aamis, although superficially a haunting love story that finds expression through food, addresses the socio-cultural ramifications of Assamese cuisine and the exertion of political influence in appropriating Assamese culture. The association of cannibalism to the breakdown of the socio-cultural system can be aligned with the attempt of political policies to erase the authentic practices and culture of Assam in particular and the Northeast in general. Cultural appropriation, be it forceful or seemingly harmless, imply the collapse of culture. Food and air are the primary necessity for human survival. However, food carries additional cultural significance, for it remains a marker not only of socio-economic and cultural identities but also is responsible for creating communal, religious, gender, and national identities. Indian culture has always been diverse, and attempting to compile these cultures into a standard framework is atrocious. Food politics provides autonomy to the authority to police what is and what is not be consumed. Aamis, although a dark love story revolving around food taboos at the surface, addresses wider socio-cultural implications. Carefully integrating political concerns that threaten to erase Assamese culture, the film, while remaining apolitical, succeeded to sow the seed of resistance. Additionally, the film attempts to create a space for Assamese cuisine and the rich platter of meat varieties within the wide spectrum of Indian cuisine.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

Notes

[i]Yasmin Saika (2005) in her interpretation of the etymological origin of the name ‘Assam’ discusses two derivations; the first from the Sanskrit word ‘asama’ meaning ‘uneven’ or ‘undulating’ referring to the hilly terrain of the land, the second from the Sanskrit word ‘cham’.

[ii]Food and associated practices, along with its connotative meaning, help define cultural citizenship. The term ‘cultural citizenship’ was first introduced by Toby Miller in his book Cultural Citizenship: Cosmopolitanism, Consumerism and Television in a Neoliberal Age (2007), and it refers to the participation of an individual in a society where his consumption of goods and services is aligned with the ideologies of his culture.

[iii]Food metaphors are symbolic of sexual consumption and allude to sexual desire, where the appetite for sex and food becomes inseparable (Andrievskikh, 2014).

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Alicia Jacob is a UGC Junior Research Fellow and Research Scholar at the Department of English and Cultural Studies at Christ University, Bangalore. She did her MA in English from the University of Calicut. Her ongoing PhD research includes areas of gender and cultural disparities that exist within the terrain of Food Studies.

Dr. Dishari Chattaraj is an Assistant Professor at the Department of English and Cultural Studies at Christ University, Bangalore. She received her M.Phil and Ph.D. from JNU, New Delhi, and her MA from EFLU, Hyderabad. She has been hosted as a Fulbright Fellow at Indiana University Bloomington, USA. Her area of research is primarily in the area of Food Studies, Pedagogy and Curriculum development in higher education.

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Department of Foreign Languages, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam. Email: munmi.bora92@gmail.com

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-10. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne36

First published: June 30, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

 “How do people born and raised in one society manage to live in another society that is culturally different from the one they are used to?” (Sam & Berry, 2006, p. 3). This question is fundamental to the whole process of acculturation. When cultures come together there is always the possibility of conflict. But apart from conflict, processes like assimilation, integration, separation or marginalization are also there as the line separating different cultures is penetrable and not rigid. In this paper, an attempt shall be made to study these concepts and to some extent the problematic side of a globalized world and the related trauma the characters go through in a society culturally different from theirs in Nicholas Kharkongor’s film Axone: A Recipe for Disaster. Though the film is particularly about the Northeast migrants and the racism they faced, it also portrays the universal presence of such bigotry and prejudices that have infected the Northeastern communities as well. This paper is an attempt to understand the sufferings and the hostilities faced by the migrant groups that compel them to return to their ethnic roots. Does retreating to one’s enclosed shell a way out to avoid this conflict? Or is there a way out to establish a meaningful relationship and establish proper communication among people in an environment where different cultures reside together? A close reading of some particular incidents in the film will be done in an attempt to find an implicit solution to reconcile the differences. 

Keywords: Culture, conflict, acculturation, racism, trauma, reconcilement

Culture encompasses every aspect of human life. With the onset of colonization, globalization and augmentation of such new concepts, thinkers have placed a critical eye on the concept of culture, as the homogeneity of societies has been doubted with penetrable boundaries and movement of people across the globe. The meeting of cultures resulted in hegemonic relationships and cultural imperialism which created an unbalanced equation among the culturally different groups (Weedon, 2004, p. 3). Moreover, the inception of “hegemony” has tended to serve one group better than the other. Such an imbalanced equation among groups caused the emergence of conflict. Samuel P.Huntington in his book Clash of Civilization and Remaking of the World Order (2011) has forwarded his idea about the source of conflict among the nations which will be cultural rather than ideological or economic in the coming future (p.26). The line that separates the dominant and subordinate cultural groups is penetrable. Thus, we have theories related to acculturation, assimilation, or cultural mixing to name a few.

India, a postcolonial society, is a multi-ethnic, multicultural, and multiracial nation. Multiculturalism, however, has become more an expression of an individual’s apprehension for dignity and respect than a reflection of culture. This remains evident in the treatment and condition of certain minority social groups like the ethnic tribes from the India’sNortheast region in a multicultural society like Delhi. People belonging to such groups are often singled out and are discriminated against by the dominant groups because of certain apparent differences in their appearances, accent, or food habits etc. The case of Northeast people and their condition in a culturally diverse place like Delhi has unveiled some larger issues that are often ignored in a culturally diverse country like India. Vinod Khobragade (2009), substantiating the idea of Harrison that there are many nations within India, has figured out the different nations that constitute India as “North Indian nation (the fair-skinned Aryan), South Indian nation (dark-skinned Dravidian), and more importantly the North-Eastern nation (theellow-skinned Mongoloid)”(p.1162). India is considered as a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian culture and the fact that Northeasterners belong to the mongoloid race made them ‘the Other’ (Bora, 2019, p.854). Sanjib Boruah (2005), citing William Van Schendel, hasrevealed how the western gaze that looked down upon the hill people as backwardand generally stereotyped as uncivilized as compared to the people of the plains. Such extant practices have not only instigated racial divide but caused the fractured relationship between the Northeast and mainland India resulting in “a cultural gap, an economic gap, a psychological gap, and an emotional gap” (Baruah, 2005, p.166). Writers like Papori Bora (2019) have traced the problem of racial divide to the colonisation era when the imperial power tended to differentiate and discriminate the colonised native on the premise of the inferior race (p. 846). When people from the Northeast region started migrating to the mainland cities with such a history of differences, it made them vulnerable as they faced racial discrimination for their looks, the way they dress, or the food they cook. Ever and again, incidents of racial discrimination against Northeasterners come out. The sudden spike in such racial prejudices during the Covid- 19 pandemic has exposed the dehumanizing treatment a Northeasterner goes through in metropolitan cities. The incident of the Manipuri girl being spat on by an unidentified man and calling her “corona” revealed the racially charged comments and treatment people from the Northeast face (Bajaj, 2020). Again in Hyderabad, entry was denied to two young students from the Northeast region because the guard thought they were not Indian (Das, 2020). In many places, tribal students are asked to vacate the residency citing petty reasons, or sometimes no reason at all. Such racial discriminations remind us of Nido Tania, who raised everyone’s concern when he was beaten to death by a shopkeeper who called him ‘chinky’ and against which Nido Tania retaliated (Pant, 2020).  Later the High court cited intolerance for cultural differences as the root cause behind the attack. However, they acknowledged the presence of a ‘racial element’ for which they recommended an amendment in the IPC that would make “racial slurs punishable” (Bora, 2019, p.858). Commenting on the report submitted by the Bezbaruah committee in regard to Nido Tania case, Bora (2019) writes how the assigned committee failed to articulate racism as a problem behind his death substantiating the fact that racism exists in our society as “a problem without a name” (p.849).

 This paper brings to light a culturally significant film set in the Humayunpur area in Delhi which is considered a ghetto for migrants from Northeast. The film is about a group of friends from the Northeast region living in Delhi and their struggle to cook ‘axone’ for their friend Minam’s wedding. The film attempts to deal with some of the larger issues like racism and prejudices through the medium of food and how people from Northeast region are almost always on the receiving end of such discrimination. The discrimination is manifested through the vile act of harassment, bullying, physical and verbal abuse, and other such experiences that affected the inner psyche of the migrants and traumatised them. The leading characters like Chanbi (Lin Laishram) and Upasana (Sayani Gupta) played challenging roles that attempt to break the stereotypical images associated with girls from Northeast. The group of friends from the Northeast knew that their owner would never allow them to cook ‘axone’ in the building, so they try finding out tricks to cook it. The struggle they faced to accomplish their goal of cooking their ethnic food highlights some major issues engulfing Indian society. For a Northeastern who has lived outside the Northeast, the obvious point of difference arises when you are cooking something specific to one’s culture like fermented ‘dry fish’, ‘axone’, and ingredients that are more on the noisome side and smell pungent for the neighbours. This paper attempts to discuss such differences and challenges of prejudices and racism the ethnic minorities face in Delhi and the related trauma the characters go through in a society culturally different from theirs. The film also portrays the solidarity the migrant group shares and how they seek out each other to make friends, which helps to overcome the traumatic harassment and create their own space where they can recall and remember their home. The role of stereotypes, prejudices, and the conflict history of the region has fitted the region into the bowl of discrimination. Another issue that is highlighted in this paper is the universality of such bigotry and prejudiced practices which pervades every community and exists even within the Northeastern group. For instance, Upasana (the Nepali girl) is often considered as the ‘other’ among the group of Northeastern friends. In one instance Zorem (her boyfriend) made her realise how she is treated differently by Minam and Chanbi who are closer to each other. In another instance, Minam showed aversion to Zorem being in a relationship with the Nepali girl Upasana. Thus, occasionally Upasana too faces such discrimination within her own friend circle.

People carry their culture wherever they go, consciously or unconsciously. We often tend to carry with us objects that symbolise our culture. Food is an integral part of one’s culture and a powerful lens of analysis. Food is also the space where intercultural exchanges possibly take place. The film Axone by Nicholas Kharkongor uses the food motif to deal with some complex issues like cultural acceptance, preservation, and also resistance in a multicultural world. In this film, food becomes the main point of difference that caused racist treatment towards the group of Northeast migrants who wanted to prepare their ethnic food for one of their friend’s weddings. The owner of the building where the three Northeastern girls (Chanbi, Upasana, and Minam) live, calls their food “stinky” and even threatens to get them arrested if they don’t stop cooking. She further abuses them and condemns their cooking by retorting that her building is stinking like a gutter. The struggle on the part of the migrants to taste and cherish their ethnic food in a foreign land brings forth some of the major issues like racism, casteism, and violation of human rights that have swamped the Indian society. In this era of cultural globalization where local food items are getting equal attention in the global market, the same is not the case with akhuni/axone. It has a distinct smell which makes the food sidelined in the global market. The matter gets worse when, along with the food, the particular community associated with it is pushed into the periphery and is discriminated against and judged with a biased and racist eye. Northeast migrants in Delhi often find it hard to get accommodation and when they get any, they are strictly prohibited from cooking their ethnic food. Despite having multiethnic restaurants in Delhi that reflect, on the surface, the cosmopolitan nature of such big cities, the question arises as to why the migrants then have to live under strict surveillance when it comes to eating and cooking the same ethnic food in the comfort of their home. In the film, we come across scenes where Upasana and Chanbi approach such restaurants serving ethnic cuisine to help them cook their food. The whole façade of multiculturalism has been righty captured in Kikon’s (2015) writing where she points out how ethnic foods from the Northeast region have been subjected to “inclusion without acceptance” (p.323). Naga food has been included in the national culinary map of India but the same food is banned from being cooked because of its strong smell. Instances of police circulating booklets about how cooking and eating smelly food by the northeast migrants have caused chaos in the migrants’ pockets in Delhi proves the non-acceptance of the ethnic food (Dholabhai,2007). Another reason behind the non-acceptance of the tribal food in the mainland delicacies is the ways the dishes are cooked. Tribal food is cooked with less oil or masala segregates it from the mainland delicacies. The importance of ethnic food for a migrant lies in the fact that it invokes the memory of ‘home’ and ‘identity’ and helps to satiate the feelings of longingness for one’s roots in distant or unfamiliar surroundings (Kikon, 2015, p.321). Gopal Guru (2019) in this context has pointed out how cooked food apart from satiating hunger and taste has a “decisive criterion for the construction of cultural identity” (p.156). In the power dynamics to maintain hegemony, food becomes a crucial aspect that carries political underpinnings and becomes a medium through which social hierarchies are indicated and perpetuated. The violent reaction against the food habits of particular social groups belonging to the Northeast region or the Dalits by calling it “dirty” and “smelly” stems from conditioned racism ingrained in the social structure (Kikon, 2021, p. 280). The attempt on the part of the upper caste to homogenise the culinary practices according to the dominant class pushed the minority social groups and their dietary practices into the domain of non-acceptance: “The upper castes have not only prescribed food for themselves, they have designated foods for other castes as well” (Guru, 2019, p.157). Such tendencies have not only victimized the minority social groups but denounced the notion of diversity altogether. Affirming the food practices of the minority groups will not only provide a counter-narrative but a proper presentation of diversified India.

Racist disparities shown towards the dietary practices of the northeast region become a metaphor for how northeast migrants are treated in mainland Indian cities like Delhi. Instances of racial abuse that take the form of violence are apparent in the film. The brutal comments that the landlady pass on one of the Northeast migrants, Bendang Longkumer, about his appearance that he can’t keep his eyes open render it evident that the Northeasterners are mistreated and abused for their looks. The incident that Chanbi, another migrant from the Northeast, faced in the market pushed everything to an extreme. She was slapped by two guys who verbally abused her and when confronted, they did not hesitate to abuse her physically. The two boys unveiled the harassment women face that double up when colors of racism are added. Rachna Chandira (2018) while interviewing Ngurang Reena revealed the general perceptions about northeastern girls that they are “easy women”. Ngurang Reena, a social activist and a feminist fighting against such discrimination states:

When you are in a place like Delhi and you have to always adjust to something new, as a woman, as a person from the marginalised section, so every space you go into makes you sort of political. (Chandira, 2018)

This image of ‘being available’ is also manifested in their non-Northeastern friend Shiv’s fetishism over the Northeastern girl who continuously makes comments like “get me a northeast girlfriend” (Kharkongor, 2019, 1:21:10). Women, in general, and women from marginalized social groups, in particular, are subjected to multiple jeopardies. They become victims of race, class, gender, caste, and whatnot. In a survey carried out by the Centre of Northeast Studies and Policy Research, Jamia Millia Islamia, and the National Commission of Women in 2012, 81% of women from the northeast face discrimination daily. They are always viewed through a judgmental lens. This incident that Chanbi faced, traumatizes her to the point of making her numb, incapable to act. Moreover, nobody supported her except one woman who consoled her rather than taking any action. Even her partner Bendang acted passively. Each and every character in the film has a different story of such harassment altogether. For instance, Bendang once had blonde hair for whichpeople nearby the area, where he worked, often made fun of him, and for once when he protested, he was beaten almost to death. The story of Bendang brings back the case of Nido Tania who was beaten to death when he retaliated to such bullying. Continuous discrimination has shaken the self-worth and self-confidence of Bendang. The behavior of Bendang can be related to social anxiety disorder, that is, the fear of negative evaluation, fear of embarrassment that partially comes because of his earlier non-acceptance. The effect of the incident is very much reflected in the behavior of Bendang when he remained numb even when his partner faced the same brutality. He no longer dares to stand for himself or others. Such psychological trauma compelled him to lock himself up in his room, away from everything. On the other hand, we have Chanbi who continuously suffered a panic attack after facing all those racist incidents.

Both men and women from the Northeast are subjected to different kinds of racial discrimination which has its commencement in stereotypical conceptions that the common masses hold against the Northeastern people which further exacerbates the traumatic experiences of the characters. Stereotyping is when an assumption becomes knowledge that common people start sharing about an individual or thing. The stereotypes are generally negative and derogatory, often used to justify some kind of discrimination, oppression, and otherization. The concept of stereotype represents the consensus of the majority of the population about the other person or group. Stereotyping, and at the same time romanticizing the unknown or the half known has caused a lot of problems disrupting proper communication among people in a multicultural and globalized world. The building where Chanbi and Minam live also has some African girls. While they were having conversations about cooking ‘axone’, the African girl commented on how Upasana did not look like one who belongs to the Northeast. Even Shiv, the grandson of the landlady, made the same remark about her look. Her face does not fit the stereotype image people carry about the Northeasterners. This showcases yet another problem of how Northeast India is taken as a homogeneous entity by the outsiders. Women are more vulnerable owing to the gender-based violence they receive. The aspects associated with Northeast Indian Women, likethe way they dress, the bond they share with their male friends, and the independence they forecast in metropolitan cities that stand at odds with most of the women from mainland India become a matter of speculation that finally culminates in presenting them as “loose in morals and sexually promiscuous” (Mcduie- Ra, 2012, p. 71).

In the film Axone, we see how the characters behave in intercultural encounters and respond to acculturation, assimilation, and other such processes.  Sam and Berry (2006) defined acculturation as, “The meeting of cultures and the resulting changes” (p.1). Some other terms associated closely with acculturation are assimilation, integration and marginalization, and separation.  As forwarded by John W. Berry (2006),

when individuals do not wish to maintain their cultural identity and seek daily interaction with other cultures, the assimilation strategy is defined. In contrast, when individuals place a value on holding on to their original culture, and at the same time wish to avoid interaction with others, then the separation alternative is defined. When there is an interest in both maintaining one’s original culture, and having daily interactions with other groups, integration is the option here. (p. 35)

Bendang trying to sing a Hindi song or Upasana trying to cook a traditional dish of Nagaland ‘axone’, and at the same time learning the language of her partner, are some examples of their attempt to integrate with the dominant culture. They did not adopt a separatist tendency or assimilative tendency but rather wanted to take a middle path where they could keep intact their own culture and at the same time integrate with the mainstream dominant culture. However, integration between dominant and non-dominant cultural groups requires acceptance and mutual accommodation of the larger social network. To live as culturally different people within the same society requires acceptance. The strategy requires efforts from both sides. The non-dominant groups are required to adopt some basic values of the larger society, at the same time the dominant group should accept the needs of the former. However, non-acceptance from the dominant group often pushes the individual to take up a separatist stand avoiding interaction with the mainstream group or minimal interaction. In the later part of the film, we see Chanbi telling Bendang about how he never tried to integrate with people other than his Northeastern friends. What we see in the case of Bendang and his other Northeastern friends is that the dominant group or culture did not accept them and pushed them into their enclosed shell. Bendang’s inaction during the market incident or even locking himself up in his room can be interpreted as signs that imply his separatist tendencies compiled with fear and trauma. P.K. Nayar in his book Postcolonial literature: An Introduction (2008) states, “When the adopted culture fails to see beyond the ethnic identity of the diasporic/exilic individual then this individual has no choice but to retrieve her/his indigenous culture” (p. 205). Thus Bendang and Chanbi finally decided to leave Delhi and return to their native land. The decision taken by them somewhat hints at their intention to remain confined within the comfort zone of their roots and culture. But such a stand might have a different repercussion as such tendencies on the part of the Northeastern group might well further broaden the gap between the dominant and non-dominant groups leading to the continuation of differences besides being detrimental to dismantling the persistent social prejudices. As Lears points out that subordinate groups may participate in maintaining a symbolic universe, even if it serves to legitimise their domination. In other words, they can share a kind of half-conscious complicity in their own victimization (Lears, 1985, p.573).

 In the final part of the film, we see how the friends ended up cooking ‘axone’ on the terrace amidst nature signifying the fact that nature never discriminates against culture. Love and friendship in particular and human relations, in general, are taken into account to show how this relationship can surpass all other man-made barriers that include our own culture. The friendship of the migrants is a crucial factor in determining their condition in the distant land. Making homoethnic friends, like the ethnic food, compensate for the migrants feeling of missing home (Akhtar, 2011, p. 86). The shared experiences of the migrants in a foreign land bring them together to create a symbolic world where they can feel comfortable. The sense of camaraderie binds the northeast migrants together. Besides, such friendship is not without rivalry but when threatened by the outside force they unite and stand together to overcome the discrimination. Like the homoethnic friendship, heteroethnic friendships develop amongst the migrant groups. Heteroethnic friendship, as Salman Akhtar (2011) puts it, can be divided into two categories- the first one with people who are migrants themselves and the second one with those who are native to the land. In the film, we come across both types of heteroethnic friendships. The first one is evident in the relationship Upasana and Chanbi share with the Black girls. They not only share the same building but share experiences in the acculturation process and go through similar kind of treatment as one situated on the receiving end of racial prejudices that builds connection and form solidarities that embody the genesis of their friendship. The second category of heteroethnic friendship is seen in the relationship the Northeastern group shares with Shiv, who is a Delhiite, which reflects how such a bond can surpass the differences that exist between them. Akhtar’s use of the word ‘native’ comprises not only the original inhabitants of that land but those migrants or immigrants who have assimilated and earned the status of the native. According to Akhtar, most of the heteroethnic friendships are filled with ambivalences because of the mixed feeling they have towards the natives. For instance, the Northeastern group did not like Shiv at first and made weird facial gestures whenever he arrived on the scene. Shiv, on the other hand, made unintentional racial remarks that instigated such hatred towards him. However, Shiv was always there whenever they needed him. He arranged cylinder and cooking space for Upasana and Chanbi, also managed his grandmother who was against cooking any stinky food, and even took Chanbi to the doctor when she got a panic attack. Moreover, Chanbi’s comment that although some are rude, most of them are nice to them, and because of such people they can still live in cities like Delhi, reflects how such mutual love and friendship helped them to tolerate the differences and diversity that exist in multicultural societies. Thus, Akhtar (2011) rightly puts it when he writes about heteroethnic friendships as something that can act as a “bridge to acculturation” (p.91). Apart from these inherent qualities, another way forward is cultural intelligence and tolerance and even learning to respect every culture. Minimum awareness about the diverse culture is the need of the hour that might fill the knowledge gap thereby increasing cultural intelligence. Though cultural intelligence is a concept limited to business, academics, education, and government research, there is a need to adopt the same in a social environment too. How to deal with or behave in a culturally diverse situation effectively is what cultural intelligence means. The concept is more than mere cultural awareness and sensitivity. Cultural learning approaches might help in reducing conflict during intercultural communication:

There is no doubt that one of the most important factors in determining effective communication with members of the host community, and arguably the most central one, is one’s facility to speak their language. (Masgoret and Ward, 2006, p. 62)

An important element of cultural learning theory is language learning; learning the language of the host culture. It helps to establish successful intercultural and interpersonal communication. Bendang’s struggle to learn the Hindi song and failing to do the same is a factor that might have contributed to pushing him into the periphery. Whereas we have other characters who can speak the Hindi language and go along well with others and can even confront the abusers at times when needed to make their stand. For instance, we have Chanbi who confronted the two guys who abused her verbally but Bendang could not even utter a word. Though he has his own traumatic experiences, the language barrier has further broadened the gap. The same kind of cultural intelligence is also seen in Martha, a friend of theirs who married into a Punjabi family. In a conversation with Chanbi and Upasana, while they were complaining about their right to cook their food freely,Martha pointed out how others have the right to not tolerate the smell of the food they don’t feel like.

Nicholas Kharkongor’s Axone, released on Netflix, is indeed a short film that showcases the event in mere ninety minutes but the premise and the ideas it sends through are big.  Axone is a balanced film where Kharkongor, in a non-patronising and non-moralising way has presented the lived reality of people from the Northeastwhose stories have not got much scope to get the audience outside the region. Khargonkor did not restrict himself to Northeastern actors but extended his scope to include the brilliancy of Sayani Gupta, Vinay Pathak, Rohan Joshi, Dolly Ahluwalia, and others. The characters, apart from stripping the hard-biting reality of racism also provide comic relief through their humorous interactions. We live amidst multiculturalism and a globalized world where everyone has experienced such a crisis at some point in time. At a time when the Black Lives Matter slogan has shaken the whole United States of America, Axone portrays that India too suffers from this syndrome causing a systemic defect that needs to be addressed with urgency. Though the study mainly focuses on the migrants from the Northeast, it represents every such migrant group inhabiting culturally different regions and facing these issues. In this short film,we have seen how the Northeasterners are looked down upon and are discriminated against, and often projected as the other but prejudices and ‘othering’ also existamidst their own communities. Awareness about the other cultural groups and removing the deleterious cultural practices like bigotry and biases that we hold towards others will help us to communicate better with others. Cultural intelligence, mutual learning, understanding, and other such approaches along with the humane qualities of love, respect, and tolerance will help establish a healthy relationship that would contribute to making this world a better place to live in.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

References

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Munmi Bora is a PhD research scholar in the Department of Foreign Languages, Gauhati University, Assam. Her research interests include cultural studies, Northeast literature and Francophone literature.

The Anatomy of Peace: A Reading of How to Tell the Story of an Insurgency

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Abantika Dev Ray

Department of English, Assam University, Silchar. Email: adr1492@gmail.com

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-10. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne35

First published: June 30, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

This paper aims to study the traumatic impact of violence in the late twentieth century Assam, caused primarily by the unresolved conflict between popular ethno-nationalist demands of an independent, ‘Swadhin’ Assam and retaliatory steps of the Centre. The short story anthology, How to Tell the Story of an Insurgency edited by Aruni Kashyap will be considered chiefly, to understand the deep-seated, sometimes ‘belated’ occurrence of trauma on people’s lives, which often resisted representation. Cathy Caruth argues that the belated occurrence of trauma may be linked to what remains unknown/unsaid in our actions and language. Robert Eaglestone mentions that our linguistic registers may prove inadequate to represent traumatic experiences. People’s trauma in Assam was worsened by the disciplinary actions imposed to restrain revolutionary acts. Foucault described ‘discipline’ as a “type of power, a modality for its exercise”. People lived in a panopticon, gradually becoming disillusioned about the cause. Between ideology and peace, they chose the latter. Thus, reading these polyphonic stories using the theoretical discourse of trauma will help to locate the phenomenon in the social, political and cultural history of Assam, to see how people emerged out of conflict by opting for relative peace.

Keywords: Violence, traumatic neurosis, ethno-nationalism, disillusionment.

Introduction

The process of nation-building in post-colonial, independent India faced perhaps one of its greatest challenges from Northeast India. One of the primary reasons for this was the linear direction of the policy-making processes that often seemed to ignore the concerns and interests of the people inhabiting the area since a long time. Besides, in the newly-created northeastern region, there were problems of underdevelopment, poverty and lack of economic opportunities which had been issues of discontent even in the pre-Independence era. Additionally, the attempts of the Indian nation-state to integrate the Northeast into the Indian ‘mainstream’ in the years immediately following Independence were viewed with “antagonism and distrust by the region as a whole and the hill areas in particular” (Misra, 2014, p. 5). The Partition of the country, therefore, did not bring a closure to the problems that plagued the region, since most indigenous peoples within the region began to demand freedom from the ‘colonial’ clutches of the Indian nation-state and also, their own share of sovereignty.

Under these circumstances, the region also witnessed the rise of fringe groups of dissatisfied people whose demands for sovereignty soon came to represent the myriad issues that had been troubling the region. Among the many such groups, ULFA (United Liberation Front of Assam) was one of the most important ones that not only represented the wishes and aspirations of the Assamese, but also of the indigenous people of the region. Nani Gopal Mahanta (2013) comments that “ULFA represents a mindset, a suppressed voice which is deeply engrained in Assam’s psyche” (p. xvi). Initially, this group upheld people’s views and was supported by common people; ULFA transcended the narrow ethnic appeal of the term ‘Assamese’ and appeared as an alternative voice to that of the Centre’s (Baruah, 2020). Soon however, their activities were overtaken by violence and they gradually lost the initial fervour because of the indiscriminate bomb blasts and killings in the region. The nature of the revolution being primarily violent, people were affected and traumatized severely when retaliatory steps, including disciplinary actions, were taken by the Centre to curb these ethno-nationalistic demands. The violence and trauma arising out of this contention may have led people to choose relative peace – since their support to the cause was gradually beginning to be replaced by disillusionment. My paper aims to study people’s choice of relative peace over ideology, with the help of How to Tell the Story of an Insurgency – a short story collection edited by Aruni Kashyap. It also intends to consider the effects of trauma on common people, which may be said to have primarily facilitated the choice for eventual peace in Assam.

Trauma and Its Manifestations

‘Trauma’, originally derived from the Ancient Greek word for ‘wound’, and referring to a physical injury, later came to signify traces left on the mind by catastrophic, painful events. The implication of the word in recent times has gone far beyond its medical usage, and begun to assume a cultural significance. Its impact is so huge that “over the past few decades, the term has spread so that our entire global culture is sometimes characterized as traumatic or post-traumatic” (Davis & Meretoja, 2020, p. 1).

The years of unresolved conflict between the Centre and the dissatisfied groups of people regarding the central demand of achieving a ‘Swadhin’ or independent Assam turned into a traumatic period in the history of Assam. Consequently, people began to be afraid of secret killings which would supposedly establish peace in the area. In Assam of the 1990s, there were a set of defections, in which amnesty programmes by the Central government looked for the rehabilitation of ULFA cadres and their reintegration into society. These people came to be known as S(Surrendered)ULFA. Sanjib Baruah in his book In the Name of the Nation mentions the testimony of Angshuman Choudhury who points out that this policy “was one of co-opting the surrendered militants into its elaborate security wheel as informants against their former comrades” (Baruah, 2020, p. 131). Choudhury also mentions that the death squad killings in Assam occurred at the height of the Sulfa phenomenon. The government not only held control over the lives of the people in this way but also encouraged the independent ventures of SULFA. Thus, people began to turn against each other – it was quite difficult to determine the motives behind the killings and extortions. People’s experiences of living in this politically charged ambience resulted in immense trauma. Deriving from the idea of Giorgio Agamben’s‘bare life’, Amit R. Baishya (2019) writes that people’s lives in Assam were reduced to bare life during and after this crisis, since “the incessant shuttle between bare life and the centralized mode of the sovereign” defined people’s lives in Assam (p. 2). The trauma of living a bare life, in addition to being victimized by the play of power, was a common phenomenon in Assam during this period.

However, sometimes it took time for the trauma to manifest in people. Davis and Meretoja (2020) write that the manifestation of trauma sometimes happens when the past resurfaces in the present – through “indirect symptoms, silences and repetitive patterns of thought and affect” (p. 3). Cathy Caruth (1996) mentions that trauma “describes an overwhelming experience of sudden or catastrophic events in which the response to the event occurs in the often delayed, the uncontrolled repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other intrusive phenomena” (p. 11). In How to Tell the Story of an Insurgency, the first story named ‘Surrender’ (written by Anuradha Sharma Pujari, translated by Aruni Kashyap) explicates this point. Dipok, the central protagonist, has been associated previously with an underground organization with sub-nationalist demands. Although it has not been mentioned directly in the story, yet the references seem to insinuate that he now belongs to the group of nationalists who had ‘surrendered’ to the government. Dipok discloses the whereabouts of one of his former mates to the police. However, this only happens as a resolution of the traumatic experience that he has before – when he is triggered by his wife Sondhya into assaulting her. In an accidental turn of events at the beginning of the story, Dipok slaps his four-year-old daughter and is called an ‘animal’ by Sondhya, which takes him back to his past life as a militant – “just that one word tore him apart like a whip tears away flesh, and it brought out the old Dipok” (Pujari, 2020, p. 3). The years of service in the organization ended in surrender for Dipok, who still deals with its pressure. The use of the word ‘animal’ unleashes the trauma in him, as he is reminded of the wife of a dead high-ranking officer who had also called him the same. The memories of his time in the organization and his consequent surrender, for which he has often termed an opportunist, seem to come alive in his present time and situation. For a short period of time, he turns extremely violent and almost loses track of his actions. It appears that he is a fly caught in a web which he cannot get out of; he is also reminded of how his brother-in-law calls him a ‘Shikhondi’. Eventually, he realizes that it is at home that he can be at peace, and traces his way back to Sondhya. Dipok’s choice of peace is representative of many such people in similar situations, who wish for a life devoid of trauma. That he is killed the next morning by some of his ex-comrades highlights the irony and pathos of the situation, in which siding with the government acts negatively for him.

The inability to speak about trauma and the resultant silence was exhibited in many people across the region. While some of them reacted belatedly, some others withdrew themselves into silence about the incident. Cathy Caruth (1996) calls this experience ‘unclaimed’ since the pain of the revelations is indefinitely deferred, and therefore the truth of trauma can never be accessible. This experience is beyond comprehension; it resists representation and can only be understood as  “the unsettling effects on the victim’s grasp of reality” (Dean, 2020, p. 116). Trauma, then, is much more than pathology or simple illness of a wounded psyche; it is a wound that cries out time and again and tells an otherwise untold story. The appearance of the truth in trauma is delayed and may be linked to not only what is known, but also what is unknown in our very actions and language. Caruth mentions the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) on human minds. It is the overwhelming experience of a sudden or catastrophic event on the mind, which includes an often uncontrolled, repetitive appearance of hallucinations and other disturbing phenomena. In other words, PTSD reflects the “direct imposition on the mind of the unavoidable reality of horrific events, the taking over of the mind, psychically and neurobiologically, by an event that it cannot control” (Caruth, 1996, p. 58). It is the direct link between the psyche and external violence. According to Caruth, trauma is not simply an effect of destruction but also an enigma of survival. Traumatic experience is a paradoxical relation between destructiveness and survival; it is by recognising this paradoxical relation that one may recognise the incomprehensibility that is at the heart of the traumatic experience. The perplexing nature of survival stands out in these traumatic experiences; Caruth suggests that through these repetitions, one also explores what it means to survive. The direct threat to life is not the root of trauma, rather the missing of the experience forms the basis of the repetition of the nightmare. Caruth states that it is because “the mind cannot confront the possibility of its death directly that survival becomes for the human being, paradoxically, an endless testimony to the impossibility of living” (Caruth, 1996, p. 62).

Beji in ‘What Lies over Here?’ (translated by Stuti Goswami), retreated into silence and became unusually grave after her husband is killed in the violence in Assam. Sorukon, her acquaintance and a surrendered rebel is tormented by the traumatic memories of his time in the organization, wondering if Beji’s husband was among the men killed in the rebellion – which he had also voluntarily been part of: “That night, he couldn’t sleep at all. All through the night, he felt as if he was floating above an abyss of blood. As if a deluge of blood had emerged out of the television screen and swept into their room. Could revolution be so cruel? So brutal?” (Pol Deka, 2020, p. 68). Sorukon wonders if he was initially influenced into joining the rebellion by Bipul who was eventually betrayed in course of the revolution. Bipul’s words were mesmerizing to him, and he was drawn towards the ideology automatically. The story mentions the cracks within the organization that soon destroyed its original attraction. It also talks about how the innocent were targeted in the course of the revolution. Udayon Misra (2014) mentions ULFA’s attack on Bihari brick-kiln workers and Hindi-speaking tradesmen in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh as he writes, “Clearly the ULFA had chosen the softest of targets to put its message across to the state and central governments that it still has the capacity to strike at will and make a mockery of the state’s law and order” (p. 209). Sorukon passes each day trying to recover from the agony of being a rebel once and living an ordinary life now; his young wife Sewali occasionally takes him away from the bane of his previous life, as it were. Disillusionment overcomes him as he thinks of his former comrades who had sided with the police to loot and swindle the wealth of the state. Violence and extortion thus became the order of the day; at some point, it overtook the spirit of the revolution. For Sorukon however, being alive is a reminder of his past and his proximity to death, until he is finally killed, while the rest of his family are away.

It may also be useful to mention Robert Eaglestone’s point about the appropriation of trauma both by the writer and the reader. Since trauma is difficult to be grasped fully, given that it deals with the very subtle and nuanced notions of good, evil, suffering, justice, etc., one should also be aware of the ‘right to write’ or its lack thereof. Traumatic experiences appear to be a ‘limit case’ of language – they have an effect so deep that only to name it means engaging with it. These experiences demand a deeper ethical engagement and thus, trauma becomes difficult to be represented in language. Several people in Assam – both ordinary men and women and surrendered/reformed militants undergo the process, and therefore the silence regarding this is noteworthy. In ‘The Vigil’ written by Jahnavi Barua, a mother is caught between two extremes; while one of her sons is a policeman, the other is a militant. The dilemma that Nirmala faces is representative of many people in Assam during the time. She supplies food to her truant son secretly, and while her other son knows nothing of it, he cannot mention his brother in his family. It is a space that is forever empty and never talked about by either mother or son. However, they hope that the lost son would be back someday and live peacefully with them. It is ironical to note that the very revolution which was a beacon of hope turned into a source of disappointment for many a few years later. It seemed to demand more sacrifices than it initially promised or set out to achieve, and quite often the lives of young people in Assam were at stake in this unfair equation.

Initial Causes and Gradual Impacts of the Revolution

Initially, the problems addressed by the nationalist organizations seemed to be of a legitimate concern for the state. The most prominent of them was that of ‘illegal’ migration from Bengal into Assam after the independence of India, which was a major cause of social concern even before Independence. At that point, even though people kept moving within the land, it was legitimate internal migration that changed as soon as there was an international border in between.  However, unlike other nationalist organizations, ULFA had some unique characteristics. Nani Gopal Mahanta writes, “It was the only organization that had representations from all communities, unlike other caste-Hindu or ‘tribal’ organizations” (p.vii). More importantly, it raised the issue of the status of the people of Assam, instead of only Assamese people. Mahanta adds‚ ‘‘At a time when other organisations have taken a bold stand against the immigrants, it has tried to broaden the Assamese nationality by incorporating the immigrants from Bangladesh into the framework of the people of Assam. It has strong anti-India, anti-Delhi stand” (Mahanta, 2020).

Udayon Misra (2014) writes that the “growth of Assamese nationalism has been inextricably tied up with the question of official recognition of the Assamese language” (p. 173). In spite of several nationalities being included in ULFA’s quest for a sovereign Assam, the issue of language gradually began to be considered with more importance, since it was a chief contributory factor to the development of nationalist sentiment and a key marker of one’s identity as an Assamese. This demand for a unilingual identity, in addition to a homogeneous homeland for the Assamese formed a part of the Assamese middle-class quest. ULFA soon realized the difficulties of carving  Assamese identity out of a plural and heterogeneous land like that of Assam, which had diverse ethno-linguistic groups. Misra also writes that the process of Assamese nationality formation was ongoing, with the parameters of Assamese nationality expanding continuously to accommodate new “entrants” (Misra, 2014). Thus, there were the na-Axamiyas or the new Assamese, who were the immigrant Muslims, soon to be defined as people of Assam. Moreover, ULFA could not define its stand clearly on the ‘tribal’ question; it also failed to create a common united national platform for its people. Misra comments that this proved ‘self-defeating’ which might have highlighted its inherent contradictions.

There were some secessionist urges in the minds of a section of the Assamese elite even though it was in a rudimentary form. Initially, anti-Bengali feelings arose in the colonial policy of replacing Assamese with Bengali. In some cases, the Hindu-Bengali was also considered superior to the Assamese population in terms of getting jobs under colonial rule, which led some to believe that the Bengali Hindu was a threat to the Assamese society. These sentiments came to be represented in different regional movements, such as the Language Movement of 1960, and the Anti-Foreigner Movement of 1979-85 (Mahanta, 2020). In the post-Independence era, the strong animosity between the two communities grew, and soon, upholding the Assamese language became synonymous with the consolidation of Assamese national sentiment. To this was added the formerly contentious question of ‘illegal’ immigration. If the desire for ‘Assam for the Assamese’ was harbored by many in the pre-Independence era, who expected that Partition would keep Bengalis out of Assam, it was now thwarted by the continuous arrival of ‘immigrants’. The innocuous immigrant Muslim peasant who was previously an ally against the Bengali-Hindu, now began to be regarded with suspicion, since it appeared that if immigration continued from Bangladesh, the national character and language of the Assamese would soon be lost. Thus, these two issues of language and infiltration forged cultural unity across various strata and would form one of the bases of nationalism in Assam.

Muslims who had lived in Assam all their lives also survived the trauma of being categorized/suspected as immigrants. Often, it was difficult to determine which part of the land they belonged to – since the border ran across the houses of many such people. Maryam Bibi in ‘Maryam’, written by Jayanta Saikia and translated by Maitreyee Siddhanta Chakravarty, is a midwife by profession who was born on the Indian soil which gets shifted across the border after the Partition. Her grandfather, Dadajaan had donated money to set up Assamese schools in Mancachar. Ironically, these people lost their nationality and identity in the wake of the Partition. When Maryam hears two men talking about how the land is taken over by Bangladeshis, memories of her youth spent in a united land come back and she wonders what side of the land she is on. She also ruminates about her family back in present-day Bangladesh whom she has to see from the other side of the fence.

In ‘Charred Paper’ written by Nitoo Das, a group of young men and women prepare to stage a protest march in response to the restrictions imposed on student protests. They protest since they think that the ‘Miyas’ are getting bolder. In the course of the story, some handwritten pamphlets and books are burnt, since a raid by the army is imminent and no one must be found in possession of these seditious items – the ‘charred paper’ of the title carries along with it all revolutionary messages and endeavours. However, the process is relentless. If common people had become accustomed to raids and army operations constantly in the 90s, which created a sense of trauma, the protests against the policies of the government and infiltration continued unabated too. There were two groups of people with a very distinct set of opinions – one which was against the immigrants while the other was fairly moderate. Dani-pehi is a staunch supporter of the nationalist movement who wants the ‘Miyas’ out of the state, but her family members realize that even they have ancestors who were born in present-day Bangladesh. The Muslim rickshaw-puller who is belittled by Dani-pehi saves her from a riot-like situation; later in her family, she is shown the importance of peace, of not being involved with a movement that was essentially secessionist and likely to cause animosity among people of the same land. In this story, nationalist supporters fight in favour of the linguistic supremacy of the Assamese.

‘Koli-Puran’, written by Arup Kumar Nath and translated by Anannya Barua, talks of appalling violence as Aafiya, the young daughter of Monsur Miya, is rescued by Koli very briefly in the midst of a riot. Koli does not believe that the Muslims are ‘foreigners’ who should be sent away from the land, so she hides the young child after her family is killed. She faces its repercussions too, as she is threatened to give the child up and her bun is chopped off when she refuses to do so. She wonders how the revolution could butcher someone like Monsur Miya who had to struggle to make ends meet, and how young Aafiya could have a nationality. She is also pained to hear of the deaths of the two young men, Jali and Bhuli, due to no fault of their own. That common people suffer extremely in the rebellion remains an unchanged condition across various strata of the society. In ‘Colours’ written by Uddipana Goswami, one sees the violation of a woman’s body as a result of a love affair she has with a garden labourer. While her own people assault her because of the affair outside their community, her lover Dambaru is killed. The assault makes Deepti join the nationalist forces in her community; however, the speaker is surprised, wondering why she joins the same people who had killed Dambaru. Deepti, on the other hand, is indoctrinated into militant ideology at the Bodo village she had crawled into after being raped. She wonders if she might surrender since co-opted militants are given advantages by the government too. Deepti’s trauma materializes into a kind of resistance; however, her resistance is different from that of the nationalists.

Disillusionment and Failure: Choice of Peace

It has been widely acknowledged that violence and extortion governed the functioning of ULFA, although initially, it aimed to provide a strong anti-Delhi stance. There was also the question of safeguarding Assamese identity using the National Register for Citizens (NRC) which was an important demand in its negotiation with the Centre. Many other regional parties too demanded the same. Moreover, the group’s Bangladesh connection and taking shelter there alienated it from the people. People thus wondered about the reasons behind three decades of violence and bloodshed, if the ULFA’s demands were ultimately reduced to claims put forward by an essentially regional party. There was also a lack of inner democracy and with the military wing having taken over, the party became “ideologically bankrupt” (Misra, 2014, p. 158) with its support base considerably eroded.

Kaushik Barua’s ‘Run to the Valley’ substantiates the quandary of living under the shadow of the gun in Assam. This was a terror that people experienced at being terrorized by the SULFA cadres and the army at the same time. This story, which has been structured like a dialogue with an invisible listener, narrates a meeting between a group of young boys and the local youth with guns who are identified as the SULFA. The men with guns engage in moral policing the boys who express their desire to leave Assam and study in Delhi. Jango protests this and calls the police, but the outcome is worse because he is in turn humiliated and assaulted by these officers who think he has been extorting money in ULFA’s name. Jango stands up to this incapacitating, nameless fear of being bullied by the gunmen and the army when his friends ‘run to the valley’ to save themselves. The story reflects on this cultural and social paralysis in Assam during the late 20th century, that afflicted several youths at that time. Aruni Kashyap’s The House with a Thousand Stories mentions a similar situation where Prasanta-da tells the narrator Pablo to leave Assam as soon as possible since no good can arise out of a conflict zone. Ironically, the liberation of Assam and its progress seemed to be stalled in the mess of nationalist politics and the retaliatory steps adopted to curb it.

Foucault writes that to govern means to “structure the possible field of action of others” (Foucault, 1982, p. 790). In the equation of power, there is invariably the question of freedom insofar as power is implemented over only those individuals that consider themselves free. People in Northeast India always had an independent spirit. Particularly for the Assamese, the sense of independence was derived from the undefeated and continuous stint of Ahom rule for about 600 years. Thus, the use of power and government diktat came into direct conflict with their wishes and aspirations, and the response to this invariably led to the conflict in the region. In the late twentieth century, it was common for people in Assam to live under surveillance at all times. Gradually, this became similar to living in a ‘panopticon’ at all times – watched and monitored always.

‘Stone People’ written by Manikuntala Bhattacharya and translated by Mitali Goswami, narrates the experiences of the family members of an underground agent who has not been seen since he joined the cause. His sister, who is also the narrator, is now expected to take over the responsibilities of the absent brother. She must also look for him, every time he is seen in the vicinity. His sister mentions other boys who had given up arms and returned home. The search for her brother, on the other hand, is elusive as he constantly seems to move away from them and yet, her parents seem to miss him more with every passing day. As she goes searching for her brother, her bitterness is evident. She also mentions how the dream of a generation had been thwarted due to the movement and also how several such movements have not gathered the response they should have. She is also pained to note that many such young boys and girls are convinced of the revolution, often ignoring their responsibilities to their families. The trauma that many parents face is given a voice in this story: “When people took to the streets to agitate, my father roamed the streets in search of his son” (Bhattacharya, 2020, p. 145). They become, as it were, ‘stone’ people who are just alive, but listless without their children.

There were polarized opinions about the success/failure of the revolution but at large, people agreed that the abysmal condition of Assam had not changed too much during and after the agitation. ‘Crimsom’ is a story written by Ratnottama Das Bikram and translated by Mitali Goswami, which narrates the extortion faced by non-Assamese people in Assam, forcing them to leave the place. Although this family does not belong to Assamyet, they have lived here a long time, perhaps even before the crisis took shape. When ULFA’s meetings are held, they speak of a golden Assam but when the crisis is past SULFA takes over, often demanding money from people. Motilal Jain in the story is threatened and later killed over money, even though he has already made a lot of donations. This bears a tremendous impact on two young children who are friends of his son, Arunjyoti. This story points out that the effects of the militancy were all-encompassing; it affected every section of the population. Despair and disappointment ran through everyone’s minds at the failure of the revolution.

‘Hongla Pandit’, (written in Bodo by Katindra Swargiary, and translated by Anjali Daimari) talks of Hongla Pandit, whose real name is Haragobinda. He refuses to be called anything else other than a ‘pandit’, since he is the first one in his community to pass matriculation and work in the lower primary school. He expects that his son Navajyoti would be as learned as him, and is quite troubled when Navajyoti takes up a Bodo name, Irakdao. His daughter, Delaisri, elopes with a Bihari youth, against her father’s wishes. Thus, Hongla Pandit is extremely surprised when the army tells him that his son Navajyoti is engaged with the Bodo Liberation Organization as an undercover agent. Hongla Pandit never encouraged his children to speak their native Bodo language, but his son was still influenced by revolutionary ideals. The Assam Accord brought the security of the tribal communities to question. Some of these people, like the Bodos, Rabhas, Mishings, etc. who may have acquired a dual identity and considered themselves to be both tribal and Assamese, now felt that only the interests of the Assamese-speaking people would be secured (Misra, 2014). There were, consequently, some nationalistic movements undertaken to safeguard the identities and interests of people in the tribal regions. In this story, the merciless attitude of the army is expressed with poignancy as Delaisri is raped and Hongla Pandit assaulted, for harbouring a militant. It is difficult for Hongla Pandit to grasp the reasons for being victimized but he is aware of the irreversible devastation caused by it.

Conclusion

This paper has attempted to portray the crisis in Assam from the perspective of the people. While the demand for ‘Swadhin’ or independent Assam remained a primary demand to the nationalistic organisation, it is also important to remember that the counter-revolutionary steps of the Centre and the consequent changes to the rebellion shifted the aims of the movement to only securing its comrades and retaliating against the Centre. One of the primary causes attributed to its fall is the reliance on the military wing which betrayed its ideological weaknesses and resulted in the growing alienation from the masses. For people trapped between these two contending parties, the revolution may have lost its initial fervour because both the nationalists and the Centre engaged in violence. The stories in this collection show that people at large were in favour of a situation that would address the inherent problems of the region through discussions and peace talks. This was to be achieved some years later in the new millennium.

The ULFA has insisted that its change of violent policies to relatively peaceful ones has been made in ‘‘deference to the wishes of the people of the state as expressed in the Jatiya Abhibartan or civil society conclave of 2010” (Misra, 2014, p. 226). The civil society has welcomed the recent peace negotiations and “suspension of violence” (Misra, 2014). There are also some within the civil society that did not want the peace process to mean a general amnesty towards ULFA. For those who had lost their families in the crisis, there had been a unanimous view that the killings by ULFA and the state were mistakes that seized almost thirty years of the political and social history of Assam. Nani Gopal Mahanta writes that there is a need for a political system that nurtures, as it were, sub-nationalistic and sub-regional identities (Mahanta, 2020, p. 316). Ironically, the aim of these sub-nationalistic identities has been to replace the concept of the nation-state altogether. If the question of ‘national identity‘ had to be reconsidered, then it was also true that the sub-nationalistic groups failed to proceed beyond the narrative of colonialism. The political space of India, therefore, needs to be restructured by “providing substantial degrees of provincial or regional autonomy” (Mahanta, 2020, p. 316). It also calls for a dialogue between the two parties that could effectively reduce the problems and create a harmonious ambience. Therefore, the people’s wishes to shun violence intensified the need for peace talks in the international scenario, to bring about the much-coveted and necessary condition of peace in the region.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

References

Baishya, Amit R. (2019). Contemporary literature from Northeast India: Deathworlds, terror and survival. Routledge.

Baruah, S. (2020). In the name of the nation: India and its northeast. Stanford University Press.

Bhattacharya, M. (2020). Stone people. (M. Goswami, Trans.). In A. Kashyap (Ed.), How to tell the story of an insurgency (pp. 142-180). HarperCollins.

Caruth, C. (1996). Unclaimed experience: Trauma, narrative, and history. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Davis, C. & Meretoja, H. (Eds.). (2020). The Routledge companion to literature and trauma. Routledge.

Dean, C. J. (2020). Witnessing. In C. Davis & H. Meretoja (Eds.). The Routledge companion to literature and trauma (pp. 111-120). Routledge.

Eaglestone, R. (2020). Trauma and fiction. In C. Davis & H. Meretoja (Eds.). The Routledge companion to literature and trauma (pp. 287-295). Routledge.

Foucault, M. (1982). The subject and power. Critical Enquiry 8(4), 777-795.

      http://www.jstor.org/stable/1343197

Kashyap, A. (Ed.). (2020). How to tell the story of an insurgency. HarperCollins.

Mahanta, N.G. (2013). Confronting the state: ULFA’s quest for sovereignty. Routledge.

Misra, U. (2014). India’s Northeast: Identity movements, state and civil society. Oxford University Press.

Pol Deka, S. (2020). What lies over here? (S. Goswami, Trans.). In A. Kashyap (Ed.), How to tell the story of an insurgency (pp. 59-85). HarperCollins.

Pujari, A. S. (2020). Surrender. (A. Kashyap, Trans.). In A. Kashyap (Ed.), How to tell the story of an insurgency (pp. 1-14). HarperCollins.

Abantika Dev Ray is a PhD Research Scholar at the Departmentof English, Assam University, Silchar. She is also engaged as a Guest Lecturer in English, in the Departments of English and Commerce at Scottish Church College, Kolkata, West Bengal. Her áreas of interest include Postcolonial Studies, Literature from Northeast India, and Indian Writing in English.

From Anonymity to Identity: Orality in Three Women Poets from North-East India

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Gourab Chatterjee, Debanjali Roy & Tanmoy Putatunda

Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, (KIIT) Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Email: gou86rab@gmail.com.

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-13. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne34

First published: June 30, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

The expression ‘North-East India’ invokes an ethnographic monolith in popular imagination without looking into its multilingual set-up, heterogeneous cultural locations and diverse literary traditions, most of which are unscripted, orally composed and community-specific. Orality, which appears to be a crucial tool to understand the nuances of the literary landscape of this region, assumes a dual role. On the one hand, it is stratified, textualised, homogenised and commodified by the global market. On the other hand, it becomes a tool to challenge anonymity and reclaim the roots of the people, who had been suffering from a rupture in identity since the advent of the colonial education system and the ever-growing dependence on written communication in the modern socio-economic structure. This paper, through a close reading of three women poets of North-East India – namely, Temsula Ao, Mamang Dai and Esther Syiem, explores the reclamation of identity through the use of traditional tales, formulaic composition and indigenised vocabulary in their poetry. It also argues how orality is constructed within the ambit of the written text using coloniser’s language thereby creating a space for cultural hybridity thus subverting the hierarchy between orality and writing.

Keywords: Orality, Writing, Identity, Culture, Cultural Hybridity.

Grandfather constantly warned
That forgetting the stories
Would be catastrophic:
We would lose our history,
Territory, and most certainly
Our intrinsic identity.
So I told stories…

(Temsula Ao; “The Old Story Teller”, 2017)

The stories, the poet is so desperate to tell, are not merely stories. Rather, these are integral parts of the “intrinsic identity” of the diverse communities living in Northeastern India, who have been categorically homogenised, objectified and marginalised by the national imagination since India was perceived as a Nation-State in the colonial period. In the Indian context, whenever the expression ‘North-East’ is used, apart from signifying a particular geo-political place, connected with the rest of the country only through the narrow Siliguri corridor, it calls forth a monolithic ethnographic identity, referred to either as the “hilly country inhabited by independent tribes” (Allen et al. p. 2), as mentioned by the Gazetteer of Bengal and North East India, published before 1947 or as “(t)he distant north-eastern part of the subcontinent” (my italics) (National Council of Educational Research and Training 93) as described by NCERT history textbook in Independent India. Samir Das opined that though “from within[,] it represents one of India’s most diverse and heterogeneous of all regions”, Northeastern India “viewed from outside, looks both homogeneous and distinct from the mainland” (Das, p. 2). This statement reaffirms the imposed outsiderness of this region and the homogenisation of its cultural diversity.

It is needless to say that this piece of land, as it is quite rightly pointed out by Das, houses more than a hundred nationalities of diverse literary and cultural heritage and more than two hundred languages, belonging to different linguistic groups and language families (North East India, n.d.). However, many of these languages did not have scripts and all verbal expressions, including art and information, were composed and transmitted orally. Orality had a significant role in the society to sustain social order, legal conventions and communal identities. It was, of course, difficult for the Europeans, for whom writing was regarded “as a vehicle of syllogistic reasoning and as an instrument for consolidation of state power” (Misra, “Speaking, Writing and Coming”, 2013, p. 14), to understand the importance of oral traditions among these “independent tribes”. Hence the diverse population of the Northeastern region became easy ‘subjects’ of their ethnographic ‘discoveries’ and was described without given any distinct identity. Unfortunately, things did not change much after independence. With the borders being drawn for the Independent nation, Northeast became the perennial frontier of the country, secluded from the rest of India, geographically as well as culturally. After globalisation, things took a completely new turn and brought even newer challenges. The orally composed verbal arts became the new signifier of the commodification of “(t)he distant north-eastern part of the subcontinent.” Temsula Ao wrote:

The cultures of North East India are already facing tremendous challenges from education and modernization. In the evolution of such cultures and the identities that they embody, the loss of distinctive identity markers does not bode well for the tribes of the region. If the trend is allowed to continue in an indiscriminate and mindless manner, globalization will create a market in which Naga, Khasi or Mizo communities will become mere brand names and commodity markers stripped of all human significance and which will definitely mutate the ethnic and symbolic identities of a proud people. Globalization in this sense will eventually reduce identity to anonymity. (Cited in Sarkar, 11-12)

But this process did not go unchecked without any resistance as is evident in contemporary artistic and literary expressions. In this context, the poem cited at the beginning of this article, maybe read as evidently invoking the ‘pre-modern’ storytellers and their art of creating distinct cultural repertoires for individual communities. It emphasises the instrumental role stories play to build identities and to reinstate the same. The cultural traditions, which were turned into mere “commodity markers” by the globalised market, are reclaimed not only by TemsulaAo, but also by other contemporary poets from the Northeast and are reused as powerful tools to assert their individual uniqueness and cultural and political agency. In this article, therefore, there has been an attempt to scrutinise how orality is used to reverse the process of “identity to anonymity” in the works of poets from the Northeast, specifically, TemsulaAo, Mamang Dai and Esther Syiem, respectively from Ao, Adi and Khasi community, who, even after having a ‘non-script’ mother tongue, are writing their poems in English which can be identified as a “grapholect” or  a “transdialectal language formed by deep commitment to writing” (Ong, 2002, p. 7). This paper studies the poems of Ao, Dai and Syiem as these three poets belong to three different cultural locations that signify the diversities of Northeastern region and at the same time, build a polysystemic network through the use of myths and oral tales and create a platform of shared experiences by assuming the role of traditional storytellers.

This paper will first look into the homogenization of Northeastern culture and how its specific and distinct identity is stripped off by the global market by making it an “anonymous”[i] (as it has been identified by TemsulaAo), standardized commodified product and then it will show, how this process is resisted by the three women poets from three distinct Northeastern states and community by creating a heterogeneous, hybrid and dynamic space through the use of “written oral poems.” (see Foley, 2004)

Orality and Commodity

As Temsula Ao observed, globalisation-induced modern media and digital space gave orality a new exposure. While talking about the growing market of tourism in the Northeastern part of the country, Erik de Maaker (2020) noticed a common trend among the travellers, photographers and filmmakers, both from inside and outside India, to visit “real”, “traditional” and “animist” culture of the people of the hills, without looking into the ethnic differences and varied literary expressions. To him, the stereotypical portrayal and the imposed homogeneity “fulfil a demand in a national and global market, where audiences want to locate ‘tribal’ or ‘indigenous’ people in nature, and in a timeless past” (Maaker, p. 16-17). This trend magnified after the emergence of new media and cyberculture and the young generation of this region, which “is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing markets for online retailers” (Hasan, p. 135), contributed to this process in a significant manner. Urban musical bands of the Northeast, like Shillong Chamber Choir, who “performed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for visiting US President Barak [sic] Obama and Michelle Obama during their state visit to India” (Shillong Chamber Choir), and was commissioned for a video to promote electoral participation among the people of Meghalaya during 2014 Parliamentary Election, used oral narratives and indigenous lyrical forms as one of the components of their musical creation. Founded in 2001, Shillong Chamber Choir, with its music videos often set in the Northeast, propagate certain markers of the culture that hardly represent the immense diversity of the region. The visuals they use to depict the culture of Northeast, are overtly aestheticised and picturesque, and eventually fall into the same trap of simplifying and objectifying the cultural nuances.[ii] These videos, Hasan wrote, “blur(s) the distinction between different tribes and ethnicities, and presents young people from various parts of the Northeast region as a homogeneous, happy, purposeful, and trendy group” (Hasan 146) and by doing this turning the traditional oral verbal arts into a standardized consumerist product. This “systematic manipulation of signs” as Baudrillard would say, aims at “simulating a consumer totality” where diverse socio-cultural and linguistic identities could be contained within a grand narrative and be presented for collective cultural consumption (Baudrillard, p. 35).

The poets in discussion here are trying to create a counter-discourse to this homogenisation and commodification of oral narratives by the global market and media. The form of orality, represented by the urban bands or the contemporary photographers and film-makers, is essentially different from how orality is conceived by TemsulaAo, Mamang Dai or Esther Syiem, all of whom, as a part of their project, compiled, translated, transcreated and adapted Ao, Adi and Khasi oral tales, myths and legends.

Contesting Commodification

It has already been discussed how Ao wanted to resist the “mindless” use of oral tales, expropriated from their cultural roots, becoming a saleable product in the consumerist market. Her insistence on telling the stories, and reviving the oral tradition is completely an opposite and conscious endeavour. In her words:

But now a new era has dawned.
Insidiously displacing the old.
My own grandsons dismiss
Our stories as ancient gibberish
From the dark ages, outmoded
In the present times and ask
Who needs rambling stories
When books will do just fine?
The rejection from my own
Has stemmed the flow
And the stories seem to regress
Into un-reachable recesses
Of a mind once vibrant with stories
Now reduced to un-imaginable stillness.

       (Ao, “The Old Story Teller”, 2021)

This ‘new era’ undoubtedly refers to the era of “education and modernization” which marks the commodification of Northeastern cultural identities and the way it is turning them into “mere brand names”. However, the mention of books in the above-quoted stanza, implies the dual purpose of resuscitating orality. Orality is facing threats from two apparently opposite forces. On the one hand, its existence has been endangered (“un-reachable recesses”) owing to the advent of writing and print culture, and on the other hand, it is appropriated, commercialised and converted into an exotic, monolithic tourist attraction by the dominant culture. Theodore Adorno, while theorising Culture Industry, argued that “[c]ulture today is infecting everything with sameness” (Adorno and Horkheimer 94) and this standardised modes of production gives rise to “pseudoindividuality” where “[t]he peculiarity of the self is a socially conditioned monopoly commodity misrepresented as natural” (Adorno & Horkheimer 125). Hence any cultural element can easily be turned into a homogenised commodity, having an exchange value determined by the fetishism regulated by the dominant economy. According to him, any resistance to this mass culture is “radically individual” which has “residues not fully encompassed by the prevailing system and still happily surviving, and marks of the mutilation inflicted on its members by that system.” (Adorno and Horkheimer 200) It is interesting to note in this regard that Ao, Syiem and Dai chose the same tool of orality to subvert and resist the process of commodification of Naga, Khasi and Adi culture respectively.

Orality and Identity, Orality as Identity

EasterineIralu pointed out the challenges that authors of Northeast often face due to the dearth of major publishing houses in the region as a result of which they are often compelled to approach the big publishing houses of Delhi, and encounter “a stereotyped expectation that Naga writers are capable only of producing politically charged writing or exotic folk literature in mediocre language” (Iralu 2004). The poems of Ao, Dai and Syiem can be placed in opposition to this discourse. They are not simply imitating the oral tales as these were told in their distinct cultures, rather they are trying to assume the role of the traditional storyteller, who reminds people of their roots and customs, of their history and identity, which have been flattened and homogenised by the standardised format of printed texts. Syiem wrote:

The conceptual notion of what the oral is has received a severe beating at the hands of the practitioners of the written. This is but a natural consequence of the evolution of the written medium in which priorities change and societies are no longer the homogeneous entities that they once were. In such a situation, then, what is clearly needed is retrieval of a kind. Before any attempts are made to do this, however, it has to be understood that lest the exercise itself prove self-defeating, the oral has, to use a Khasi term, its own rngiew, the imperceptible aura that in Khasi thought permeates all things living, and which gives them being and identity. (Syiem, “Negotiating the Loss” 81)

Syiem’s attempt to “retrieve” orality neither refers to going back to the nostalgic past, nor is she trying to romanticise the oral tradition as an escapade from contemporary reality. Rather, to her, orality is an existing and living tradition [as she named her essay “Orality Alive” (Syiem, “Orality Alive” 38)], an organic part of the Khasi culture, constantly changing its form and has the potential to capture all the modern complexities. Her poems bring up the legends of Khasi creation stories and make them speak of the political, social and cultural reality of her time. She wrote:

Forlorn ancestress.
As a child I believed in you.
As a young woman
I wished to uphold you
 as my personal myth.
As of now,
I wish to preserve you
as a source of inspiration.

Shrewd historians
float theories about you;
and though you have been weighed
and found wanting,
I still chose to look upon you
as the source of my identity
from a distant time.

(Syiem, “Pahsyntiew”, 2006, p.  26)

The “ancestress” in this poem refers to the myth of Ka Pahsyntiew, the daughter of U-lei Shillong, who was tricked into marrying a human being and from whom the clan of Syiem sprang. It is said that she, after giving birth to her warrior sons, went back to the cave she came from and did not return. The myth does not only talk about the origin of Khasi people, but also, in Syiem’sutilisation,  locates the oral tale within the ambit of the politico-cultural environment of Meghalaya and connects the myth to her “identity” (“the source of my identity”).  It is worthwhile to note that in this poem, the word “jalyngkteng”, the yellow flower, with which Ka Pahsyntiew was tricked, which Syiem turned into a metaphor for political deception and exploitation happening with the people of her community, was not translated into English. In other poems too by the poet (“To Bemsynda”, “Ka Sohlyngngem’s Dirge”, “U Lymboit U Lymbiang”) similar Khasi words, laden with a multitude of cultural and historical significances and kept in the original language, are found. In the words of Ng?g? waThiong’o, language is the carrier of culture, consisting of cultural images that come down to us through the long passage of time. He wrote:

Our whole conception of ourselves as a people, individually and collectively, is based on those pictures and images which may or may not correctly correspond to the actual reality of the struggles with nature and nurture which produced them in the first place… Language as culture is thus mediating between me and my own self; between my own self and other selves; between me and nature. Language is mediating in my very being. (Thiong?o 15)

The use of Khasi words by Esther Syiem can therefore, be seen as a deliberate attempt on her part to indigenise the English she is using and make the language prepared to adapt the language of orality, which not only gives her an identity to reclaim but also connects her to her community.

Social identity theories contend that “the self is reflexive” and identities are formed through the individual’s conscious relation to “social categories or classifications” (Stets & Burke 224-225). Henri Tajfel, prominent social psychologist of the 1970s, noted that an individual’s social identity is conditioned by her/his association with a ‘group’ where the group serves two purposes. Firstly, it becomes the crucible where diversities in individual identities are subsumed to a noticeable, uniform pattern. Secondly, this sense of uniformity distinguishes the group (and the individual) from other categories and groups consequently creating a homogeneous idea about the group and resulting in the binaries of ‘us’ and ‘them’. Analysing the writings on and about Northeast in this light, it becomes clear how the narratives as well as the choice of the medium in which these narratives reach the consumers, underline conscious/unconscious attempts to carve out a group identity by virtue of deliberate “depersonalisation”. Considered as “[t]he central cognitive process in social identity formation”, depersonalisation regards the notion of the self as one that is blended with group characteristics “rather than as a unique individual” (Turner et al. 1987 cited in Stets & Burke, 231). This sense of depersonalisation, perpetuated by contemporary writings on Northeast, is contested by the counter-discourse of oral narratives that debunk easy categorisation and stereotypification.

Oral tradition, as seen by Sen and Kharmawphlang, does not only function as “a wealthy repository of mythical, legendary and historical past,” but also “articulates protest and dissent and simultaneously voices concerns of reform and redress.” (Sen &Kharmawphlangi) Mamang Dai said, apart from being “a simple recounting of tales for a young audience”, orality gives her “a sense of identity” (Singh, 2017). It is the knowledge of the oral tales, which are nothing but the “beliefs, determining way of life”, that “links the individual to a group” (Dai, “On Creation Myths” 4). While recounting the Khasi tale of the origin of U HynniewTrep, Esther Syiem echoed the same idea by saying that the tale gives a Khasi person an identity more complete “than the one that history has bestowed upon him” (Syiem, “Orality Alive” 44).

Reclaiming identity alludes to claiming back history. The contrast between legends and history, oral and written, indigenous perspective from within and the perspective of the “shrewd historians” from the outside, which becomes a recurring theme in the poems by Ao, Syiem and Dai, implies the proclamation of identity against the imposed generalization by the popular discourse. Ao wrote:

Then came a tribe of strangers
Into our primordial territories
Armed with only a Book and
Promises of a land called Heaven

Declaring that our Trees and Mountains
Rocks and Rivers were no Gods

And that our songs and stories
Nothing but tedious primitive nonsense.

(Ao, Book of Songs,  2013, p. 297)

Similarly, in Mamang Dai:

The history of our race
begins with the place of stories.
We do not know if the language we speak
belongs to a written past.
Nothing is certain.

(Dai, “An Obscure Place” 2021, p. 85)

The juxtaposition between “a Book” and “songs and stories” in Ao’s poem or the contradistinction between “history” and “stories” in Dai’s poem indicate the poets’ intention of replacing one with the other, and thus reverse and subvert the process of the official historiography.

Nevertheless, orality in the poems by these three poets were not only mere references. The poets imbibe Ao, Khasi and Adi tales, myths, legends, shamanic chants and other oral expressions into the poetic form as well as the content. Dai wrote:

Remember
the river’s voice,
Where else could we
be born, where else
could we belong,
if not of memory
divining life and form
out of silence,
Water and mist,
the twin gods
water and mist
And the cloud woman
always calling
from the sanctuary
of the gorge…

(Dai, “Missing Link” 2011, p. 65)

Apart from recalling the Adi myth of twin gods, the poem imitates the short-paced free flowing speech of an invocation chant. The first line of each stanza of this poem repeats the word “remember”, which refers to the significance of memory in oral traditions. Mary Carruthers observed that “valorisation” of memory is a “hallmark of orality” (Carruthers, 1990, p. 12). The dynamics between memory and the act of remembering in oral societies has a compelling connection with knowledge and experience and often manifests itself through the repetitive use of composite formulas. The word “remember” does not only act as a mnemonic call to the self and the readers to be aware of one’s identity, but also resembles the formulaic structure of an oral composition. The use of formulaic structure can be seen in Ao’s “Stone-people from Lungterok” (Ngangom&Nongkynrih, 2009, 1), which follows the structure of an oral praise poem, where each stanza starts with the word “stone-people.” Similarly, Syiem also refers to bird-chant in her “Ka Sohlyngngem’s Dirge” and reproduce the effect of an oral repetition in the following lines: “woman without means/ has no right to love,/ no right to love/ woman without means,/ has no right to love,…” (Syiem, “Ka Sohlyngngem’s “Dirge”, 2021, p. 44).

Even in the content Dai, Ao and Syiem recall the mythical and animistic past of pre-Christian Northeast, the legendary tales, the pastoral romances. “Ka Sohlyngngem’s Dirge” talks about a popular Khasi tale of lovers turning into birds, “Stone-people from Lungterok” refers to the myth of Ao Naga origin, Dai’s poems have numerous references to different Adi myths and popular tales. Wong observed that “Mamang Dai’s nature poetry is recognisably animistic in its messages” (Wong 74). She also noted that “[t]he incantatory rhythms of Dai’s poetry suggest hybridization with the vernacular chants of the peoples of the eastern Himalayas” (Wong, 2013, 74). Myths in the poems of Dai, Ao or Syiem, are not invoked to make their poetry more exotic and thus add materials to the process of commercialization of Northeastern culture, rather myth functions in a more personal and communal level, it revises the communal ties and calls for a collective identity.

However, though all three poets are using orality as a tool to reclaim identity and resist the process of standardisation and commodification of Northeastern culture, the uniqueness and distinct nature of choosing their literary forms are very evident in their poems. They are very cautious about not echoing each other and falling into the same trap of subscribing to the process of homogenisation.

Scripting Orality

Can oral poems be written? Temsula Ao asked, “how have the literate, educated inheritors of such traditions dealt with their inheritance?” (Ao, “Writing Orality”, 2007, p. 100). To answer this question, we may cite the example of the Nigerian poet Niyi Osundare, one of the pioneers of the AlterNative Poetry Movement, who wanted to capture orality in its truest form and published poems along with audio CDs. To him “the word as print can no longer carry the full burden of my voice” (cited in Newell, 130). The Canadian author Thomas King can also be referred to in this context. King wrote short stories mimicking the sentence structure of recorded interview clips of the aboriginal people of Canada published by the ethnographers (see King, 2013). Both of the authors wrote in English, and tried to capture the essence of orality in a scripted language. These attempts, nevertheless, do not take the readers to the oral sources, rather it create a hybrid space, or “fusion of elements” as suggested by Ao (Ao, “Writing Orality”, 2007, p. 103), where the oral and the written interact. This interaction, she observed, “has helped such writers to move away from western, euro-centric models and has enabled them to create a totally new literature deeply immersed in traditional sensibilities but at the same time imbued with contemporary perceptions” (Ao, “Writing Orality”, 2007, p. 103). The poets are well aware of the fact that oral tradition, a tradition so deeply rooted in the culture it originated from, can hardly be taken into another language, without risking its social, political and cultural values it embodies. Whenever orality is scripted, it immediately loses its performatory aspects, collaborative and interpolative nature, improvisation, audience participation, impact on auditory perceptions and so on. Writing orality calls for an aporia.

John Miles Foley, while discussing oral poems, proposed a “less centralized, more openended” (Foley, 2004, p. 12) model which included “written oral poems.” Written oral poems, Foley argued, may seem “a contradiction in terms” but as important as other forms of orality. Being “topical and locally situated” these poems have “their language and style came from one world and their subjects from another” (Foley 26-27). This idea echoes with the notion of “secondary orality” as theorised by Walter J. Ong  (Ong, 2002, pp. 10-11). Though the northeastern poets are writing in English, their way of indigenising the language by incorporating Naga, Khasi and Adi words, the use and reinterpretation of myths and legends, the inclusion of oral formulaic structure in their poems, the influence of indigenous cultural and religious expressions locate them in the canon of “written oral poems.” Earlier it has been stated that Dai, Syiem and Ao actively participated in translations of different Adi, Khasi and Ao oral tales. These engagements with orality influence their writing to a great extent.  Misra wrote:

When Mamang Dai records the ancient legends of the Adis preserved in the collective memory of the people, she uses the English language with the lyrical softness of an Adi rhapsodist chanting his songs amidst the hidden mountains. Her rich and vibrant language may not be her mother tongue, but she has made it her own in the most convincing manner. (Misra, “Crossing Linguistics Boundaries”, 2021, p. 3653)

Mamang Dai’s attempt to make the language “her own”, indicates the reclamation of identity, which has become a negotiated space of cultural hybridity due to colonisation and the cultural imperialism propagated by the globalised market. Bhabha argued:

Terms of cultural engagement, whether antagonistic or affiliative, are produced performatively. The representation of difference must not be hastily read as the reflection of pre-given ethnic or cultural traits set in the fixed tablet of tradition. The social articulation of difference, from the minority perspective, is a complex, on-going negotiation that seeks to authorize cultural hybridities that emerge in moments of historical transformation. (Bhabha, 1994, p. 2)

In the context of cultural expressions of the Northeast, orality thus serves the dual purpose of commodifying the culture in a homogenous “fixed tablet of tradition”, while simultaneously engendering a non-stratified, dynamic, heterogeneous hybrid space. This ‘space’, as appropriated in the poems by Ao, Dai and Syiem, not only resists and problematises this process of turning the diversified oral traditions into a singular, monolithic and anonymous estimation but also reinstates the individual agencies of Northeastern communities and celebrates their cultural identity.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

Notes

[i] In this discussion, the notion of anonymity is not synonymous with non-identity. Rather, it is treated as a distinct ontological category which makes identity lose its specificity and definiteness and thus turns it into an obscure existence.

[ii] Moral described the achievements of Shillong Chamber Choir as a marriage between “the folk from the northeast” and “the classical traditions of pan Indian songs and lyrics from its national anthem.” She wrote: “As the crystal clear notes of the Khasi folksong spill into the silence of the country’s impressive halls and theatres, members of the SCC’s band in traditional clothing and jewellery, in their native kynjri ksiar and the regal dhara stand before a mesmerised metropolitan audience donning the material objects of the land they belong to while their music evokes the deep gorges and pristine valleys of the distant Khasi Hills in the country’s borderlands.” (Moral, 2021, 194-195) It is the showcasing of “deep gorges and pristine valleys” which led Hasan to opine that “(i)t… ultimately lapses into a clichéd representation of Khasi youth as Westernised and presents a highly simplistic depiction of political choice and empowerment.” (Hasan 146)

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Syiem, Esther. (2006) Pahsyntiew. Indian Literature, vol. 50, no. 1 (231), pp. 26-27, URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/23346334.

Thiong?o, Ng?g? Wa. (1987). Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. Zimbabwe Publishing House.

Wong, Mitali Pati, and Syed Khwaja Moinul Hassan. (2013). The English Language Poetry of South Asians: A Critical Study. McFarland & Company, Incorporated, Publishers.

1Gourab Chatterjee is an assistant professor in School of Languages, KIIT, Deemed to be University who did his PhD in Arts from the Department of Comparative Literature, Jadavpur University. His research interests include Comparative Literature, African Literature, Orality, Reception Theory and so on.

2Debanjali Roy is working as an Assistant Professor in the School of Languages, KIIT Deemed to be University. She is pursuing her Ph.D. in the Department of English, University of Calcutta. Her research interests include Sociolinguistics and English Language Teaching, Gender Studies, Modern Art and Literature and Popular Literature

3Tanmoy Putatunda is working as an Assistant Professor in the School of Languages, KIIT Deemed to be University. He is also pursuing his Ph.D. in the Department of English, Visva-Bharati, Santiniketan. His research interests include Urban Studies, Representation of City in Literature, Indian Literature in English, Popular Literature, Culture Studies, Postmodern and Postcolonial Literature.

Examining Teacher Competencies in Content and Language Integrated Learning: Professional Profiles and Ways Forward

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Hengzhi Hu

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. ORCID: 0000-0001-5232-913X. Email: p108937@siswa.ukm.edu.my

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022, Pages  https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.26

First published: June 27, 2022 | Area: EFL Studies | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Volume 14, Number 2, 2022)
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Abstract

Despite the upsurge of research interest in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) teachers’ professional competencies, very little evidence has been presented from the Chinese academia. To bridge this gap and understand Chinese CLIL teachers’ status quo of competencies in relation to their demographic characteristics, the present study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative survey approach and investigated the differences of linguistic competence, content competence, pedagogic competence, CLIL fundamentals, interpersonal and collaborative competence, and reflective and developmental competence in a sample of 205 CLIL teachers from Chinese higher education providers. They had dissimilar genders, language expertise, content subject specialisation, affiliations, academic degrees, educational backgrounds, years of teaching CLIL and professional titles. Inferential analyses of the data obtained from a questionnaire indicated a high heterogeneity in the sample, allowing of the description of CLIL teachers’ profiles of professional competences in accordance with their demographic factors. It is concluded that professional training and ongoing research into CLIL teachers’ needs are essential to achieve the homogeneity of competencies and that a supportive network should be established to encourage active partnership amongst CLIL teachers and educational institutions.

Keywords: CLIL, teacher competencies, professional identities, professional development.

Introduction

Since the introduction of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) in the 1990s, this dual-focused pedagogical approach characterised by using an additional language other than learners’ mother tongue or shared language as the medium of instruction for both content and language learning has stimulated considerable research interest in various educational contexts. Although the level of emphasis placed on content learning and language learning differs from case to case due to the variation in educational policies and contextual needs (Dale & Tanner, 2012), it has been commonly acknowledged that CLIL has dual learning objectives of a discipline subject and a foreign language (L2), the dynamic amalgam of which can benefit learners both cognitively and motivationally (Coyle et al., 2010).

 In Mainland China (hereafter referred to as China), CLIL has been pushed forward since its first domestic application about two decades ago (Lv, 2001), though some scholars maintain that it has already been implemented in the late 1990s in the English-Medium Instruction programmes organised for young learners in developed cities (Wei & Feng, 2015). However, with the upsurge of research and development activities on CLIL application and practices in the western world, there is a dearth of empirical studies in China (Liu, 2019a; Mi, 2015), providing little evidence concerning the feasibility of this educational approach and making it a rare phenomenon for teachers to switch from a conventional L2 teaching approach to CLIL (Liu, 2020).

Against this general backdrop, the present study attempts to contribute to the understanding of CLIL in China by offering practical insights and suggestions out of empirical evidence gathered from real people in contemporary real-life institutions and settings. The pertinent research agenda is quite extensive, while the study brings attention to investigating the competencies of in-service CLIL teachers working in Chinese higher education providers (HEPs), which have witnessed most of the CLIL implementations in China’s educational context (Hu, 2021). CLIL competences refer to the necessary professional skills that a teacher is expected to possess “to teach content subjects and an additional language in an integrated manner” (Marsh et al., 2011, p. 6) and are an important variable as a catalyst for teacher professional development (Coyle et al., 2010). Adopting a survey approach, the author of this paper wishes to answer the following question:

  • Do the survey participants who have differing demographic factors differ in the CLIL competences needed for successful implementation of this pedagogical approach?

It is expected that the research findings can provide valuable insights into CLIL practices in China and encourage more comprehensive teacher development and better organisation of CLIL programmes.

Literature Review

CLIL is a pedagogical approach arising from the foreign language teaching (FLT) practices in Europe, and it is known as “a generic umbrella term that represents a dual-focussed flexible educational approach with multiple dimensions and applications, in which an additional language is used for learning both content and language” (Gabillon, 2020, para. 10). Due to its dual-focused nature which is different from other FLT approaches, it has caught considerable attention of researchers and educators. A popular CLIL research agenda focuses on the investigation of performance evidence (i.e. students’ language and content learning outcomes), effective evidence (i.e. learners’ perceptions, feelings and emotions), process evidence (i.e. key moments when learning occurs) and materials and task evidence (i.e. learning materials used in classes, design and organisation of teaching and learning activities) (Coyle et al., 2010). It is expected that an ideal CLIL study should cover these aspects of evidence to present a comprehensive account of the studied programme, and this train of thought is still the mainstream in academia, underpinning most previous and ongoing studies.

Another CLIL research area is concerned with teachers’ professional development and competencies, which play a significant role in assuring the effectiveness of CLIL implementations. Pavesi et al. (2001) are some of the earliest scholars attempting to bring this topic to the public. While identifying the types of teachers suited to CLIL (e.g. teachers qualified in both L2 and content subject, classroom teachers proficient in using an L2 as the medium of instruction, L2 teachers instructing learners on content subject learning, an L2 teacher cooperating with a content subject teacher), they illustrated that qualified CLIL teachers should have full command of L2 and content knowledge, “deep understanding of the cognitive, socio-cultural and psychological elements” of L2 learning, considerable teamwork skills, willingness to cooperate with other stakeholders (e.g. teachers, specialists) and commitment to classroom-based research (Pavesi et al., 2001, p. 87). One year later, Marsh (2002) proposed the notion of CLIL teacher competencies as to a teacher’s proficiency in the target language (TL), mastery over language theories, ability to employ CLIL methodologies, understanding of the learning environment, capability to develop a range of appropriate learning materials, flexible use of interdisciplinary approaches, and expertise in designing and organising proper assessment tasks. This work has given rise to the proposal of the European Framework for CLIL Teacher Education (hereafter referred to as the Framework) (Marsh et al., 2011), which identifies a CLIL teacher’s competencies with personal reflection (commitment to one’s cognitive, social and affective development), CLIL fundamentals (understandings of CLIL features and theories), content and language awareness (a dual focus on both content learning and language learning), methodology and assessment (pedagogical and professional skills in creating a meaningful learning environment), research and evaluation (engagement in classroom research), learning resources and environments (adopting suitable and cognitively challenging materials), classroom management (knowledge of classroom dynamics and management skills) and CLIL management (developing quality CLIL programmes and courses in collaboration with other stakeholders).

Since the introduction of the Framework, it has been highly rated for its constructiveness in teacher education and professional development (Cinganotto & Cuccurullo, 2017; Wolff, 2012). However, Vilkancien? and Rozgien? (2017) argue that it is vague in that some competencies (e.g. personal reflection) concern more with a teacher’s general capabilities rather than CLIL-specific ones. In comparison, the CLIL Teacher’s Competences Grid (hereafter referred to as the Grid) formulated by Bertaux et al. (2010) tends to be more specific, as it identifies over ten sorts of competencies that are crucial in effective CLIL (i.e. programme parameters, CLIL policy, TL competencies for teaching CLIL, course development, partnerships in supporting student learning, integration, implementation, second language acquisition, interculturality, learning environment management, learner focus in the CLIL environment, learning skills focus in CLIL, learning assessment and evaluation in CLIL, lifelong learning and innovative teaching and learning approaches). However, due to a lack of explicit distinction among those competency areas, the Grid may be too detailed to be effectively adopted in teacher professional development (Vilkancien? & Rozgien?, 2017). In this vein, Pérez-Cañado’s (2018) summative interpretation seems briefer and more practical, and a CLIL teacher should have:

  • linguistic competence: a teacher’s proficiency in the TL being taught and used as the medium of instruction.
  • pedagogical competence: a teacher’s familiarity with a range of student-centred pedagogical skills and methodologies to provide an engaging learning environment, diversified learning materials and appropriate evaluation tasks.
  • scientific knowledge: a teacher’s knowledge of the specific content subject being taught and CLIL-related theories.
  • organisational competence: a teacher’s classroom management ability within CLIL.
  • interpersonal and collaborative competence: a teacher’s ability to address students’ needs and cooperate with colleagues.
  • reflective and developmental competence: a teacher’s awareness of lifelong learning and keeping up with the latest research or information on CLIL.

These frameworks or interpretations have been utilised as a valuable tool in studies to examine CLIL teachers’ competencies and yield insight into professional development (Banegas & del Pozo Beamud, 2020; Cortina-Pérez & Pino Rodríguez, 2021; Custodio-Espinar, 2019; Vázquez et al., 2020). Although the contexts of these studies are different, they have all highlighted the necessity of paying more attention to CLIL teachers’ competencies and providing more training opportunities for them, aimed at promoting professional development.

In China, the syntheses recorded by Mi (2015) demonstrate that divorced from the growing interest in CLIL teacher competencies and development in the western world, only a few Chinese scholars have given heed to these issues. For example, by reviewing the theories underpinning CLIL, Liu and Han (2015), in line with Liu et al. (2016), maintain that to maximise the potential of CLIL, teachers should be competent in CLIL fundamentals, content and language awareness, methodological implementation of CLIL and CLIL management with special attention to cooperation with colleagues. Despite these assumptions, one of the available empirical studies is Liu’s (2019b), the results of which point out various types of competencies expected from the CLIL teachers in a HEP (e.g. the abilities to teach the TL, teach the subject content, foster students’ comprehensive capabilities, manage the classroom, organise assessment activities and design teaching materials). However, her research also has shown unbalanced development of teacher competencies, with several areas (e.g. content awareness, ability to foster learners’ comprehension) deemphasised. This is in line with Cao’s (2021) study on the hindrances to the successful implementation of CLIL, which discloses that CLIL teachers with little content and language awareness may be incompetent to design cognitively appropriate learning materials to rectify the situation that students are less stretched in content learning and less supported in language learning when traditional textbooks are the only source of information. Both Cao (2021) and Liu (2019b), along with some other Chinese researchers (e.g. Li & Yang, 2015; Zhou, 2017) whose studies are not reviewed here because of the page limit, have acknowledged the context-dependent features of their findings and suggested that more attention should be paid to CLIL teachers themselves. This assumption justifies the needfulness and design of the present study set in the Chinese higher education context, which has witnessed and encouraged most of the development of CLIL in China.

Methodology

Research Design

This study adopted a cross-sectional quantitative survey approach, which emphasised the collection of data from a population at a specific point of time. This could allow the researcher to understand the status quo of CLIL teachers’ competencies and compare them among the participants with diverse characteristics (Creswell, 2012). This design corresponded to the research objective and question.

Research Participants

A sample of 205 licensed teachers was recruited from Chinese HEPs by snowball sampling, which was appropriate for the study due to the difficulty of identifying units to include in the sample without a list of the population the researcher was interested in (Creswell, 2012). All the participants were informed of the purpose and design of the study with consent. Their demographic information was recorded in Table 1, including gender, language taught, subject taught, affiliation, highest degree, educational background, years of teaching CLIL and professional title. They were taken as the independent variables (IVs) in this study. Although there were other factors that might also influence the participants’ competencies, namely the dependent variable (DV) of the study, the listed ones were assumed to be sufficient based on previous studies (e.g. Campillo-Ferrer et al., 2020; Custodio-Espinar, 2019; Skinnari & Bovellan, 2016) that had used similar variables to investigate CLIL teachers’ competencies. It should be noted: First, because of the diverse languages the participants taught and the scattered percentages they occupied, they were simply categorised into English and languages other than English (LOTE); Second, the content subjects taught were also categorised into general discipline streams per the educational context in China; Third, despite the various types of HEPs that the participants were affiliated to, they were generally categorised into non-985/211 HEPs and 985 and/or 211 universities1; Fourth, in accordance with the participants’ years of teaching CLIL and Liu and He’s (2014) identification of Chinese teachers’ career stages, they were labelled as novice teachers with 0-5 years of teaching and proficient teachers with 6-14 years of teaching.

Table 1. Demographic Information of the Participants

Gender Female: 54.6% (n = 112)

Male: 45.4% (n = 93)
Language taught English: 77.6% (n = 159)

LOTE: 22.4% (n = 46)
Subject taught Economics: 24.9% (n = 51)

Law: 21.9% (n = 45)

Education: 17.1% (n = 35)

History: 15.6% (n = 32)

Literature: 12.7% (n = 26)

Science: 7.8% (n = 16)
Affiliation Non-985/211 HEPs: 53.2% (n = 109)

985 and/or 211 universities: 46.8% (n = 96)
Highest degree Doctoral degree: 50.7% (n = 133)

Master’s degree: 35.1% (n = 72)
Educational background Language-related: 70.2% (n = 104)

Content-related: 29.8% (n = 61)

Both language and content-related: 19.5% (n = 40)

Research Instruments

The instrument used in the survey was a researcher-made questionnaire named Chinese CLIL Teachers’ Self-Assessment of Competencies. It included six constructs, namely linguistic competence (LC), content competence (CC), pedagogic competence (PC), CLIL fundamentals (CFs), interpersonal and collaborative competence (ICC) and reflective and developmental competence (RDC). This conceptualisation was made based on Pérez-Cañado’s (2018) interpretation. However, the construct of scientific knowledge in her original work was divided into CC and CFs in this study due to her double-barrelled definition. Besides, Pérez-Cañado’s (2018) definition of ICC at a learner level somehow overlaps with the PC and the classroom-management-oriented focus of the organisational competence, because, to some degree, all of them reflect the construction of an engaging and meaningful learning context. Therefore, ICC in this study simply referred to a teacher’s ability to work with colleagues and specialists, and only PC was retained to represent a broad sense of CLIL teachers’ abilities to offer a meaningful learning context. The questionnaire included 31 items on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), and they were adapted from the Framework (Marsh et al., 2011) and the Grid (Bertaux et al., 2010). A pilot study had been run before the study, and it suggested acceptable reliability and validity of the instrument (see Table 2).

Table 2. Reliability and Validity of the Instrument

Cronbach’s Alpha Confirmatory Factor Analysis
Average Variance Extracted Composite Reliability
LC .82 .78 .80
CC .86 .71 .84
PC .76 .83 .88
CFs .88 .62 .93
ICC .74 .59 .81
RDC .77 .69 .90
Entire Questionnaire .80

Data Analysis

The questionnaire was distributed online via Wenjuanxing, a survey platform, and the response rate was 98.04% (n = 201). The collected data were then computed into Statisticsal Package for the Social Sciences 25.0 for analysis. The descriptive statistics reported in this paper included mean and standard deviation. Based on the normal distribution of the data, the inferential analyses were ANOVA when the factor had more than three groups and t-tests when the factor was dichotomous. When the homogeneity of variances was satisfied, one-way ANOVA was run with post hoc analyses with Turkey’s HSD. Otherwise, Welch’s ANOVA was run with Games-Howell. Due to a large amount of data, all the t-tests and ANOVA statistics were compiled together in Appendix. Only the key data with p-values less than .05 in post hoc analyses were recorded in the text.

Results

Linguistic Competence

As shown in Appendix, no statistical difference was found in LC with regard to the participants’ gender, the language taught and highest degree. However, it showed that affiliation influenced CLIL teachers’ LC, with those employed in non-985/211 HEPs having a lower score than those working in 985 and/or 211 universities (t = -3.12, p = .002). Likewise, years of teaching CLIL programmes also played an important role, as novice teachers had a lower level of LC than proficient teachers (t = -2.54, p = .012). In ANOVA analyses, significant statistical difference was only found regarding the educational backgrounds (p = .004). Post hoc analyses (see Table 3) revealed that the teachers with a language-related educational background had a considerably higher level of LC in the self-assessment than those with a content-related or language/content-related educational background (p < .05).

Table 3. Multiple Comparisons of Educational Backgrounds

(I) Educational Background (J) Educational Background Mean Difference (I-J) Sig.
Language-related Content-related 1.727 .018
Both language and content-related 1.938 .022

 Content Competence

As displayed in Appendix, inferential data analyses did not show any statistical difference between CC with the participants’ gender, subject taught, educational background or professional title but with the other IVs. Specifically, CLIL English teachers, 985 and/or 211 university teachers, teachers holding a doctoral degree and proficient teachers were more capable of content teaching than their counterparts, namely CLIL LOTE teachers, non-985/211 HEP teachers, teachers having a master’s degree and novice teachers (p < .05).

Pedagogic Competence

The data recorded in Appendix disclosed that no significant statistical difference was found between PC with the teachers’ gender, subject taught, affiliation, highest degree, educational background or years of teaching CLIL. Nevertheless, there was a substantial difference between CLIL English teachers with LOTE teachers (t = 3.21, p = .002). Meanwhile, a significant difference was found amongst the participants of dissimilar professional titles (F = 4.88, p = .003). Post hoc analyses (see Table 4) presented that teaching assistants had less PC than lecturers and associate professors.

Table 4. Multiple Comparisons of Professional Titles

(I) Professional Title (J) Professional Title Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Teaching Assistant Lecturer -1.892 .56 .005
Associate Professor -1.705 .61 .029

CLIL Fundamentals

The data in Appendix indicated no statistical difference between the participants’ CFs with their gender, affiliation, educational background or years of CLIL teaching. However, English teachers had better mastery of CLIL-related theories than LOTE teachers (t = 2.48, p = .014). Such a difference could also be found between the teachers who had a doctorate with those who merely had a master’s degree (t = 3.21, p = .002). Besides, a substantial difference was found between the DV with the subject taught and the teachers’ title (p < .001). Post hoc analyses (see Table 5) indicated that CLIL education teachers had higher scores in CFs than all the other content teachers and that professors knew more CFs than the academics who had lower ranks of titles.

Table 5. Multiple Comparison of the Subject Taught and Professional Titles

(I) Subject (J) Subject Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Education Economics 3.231 .356 .000

 

 
Law 2.933 .363
History 2.752 .404
Literature 3.524 .42
Science 3.611 .49
(I) Professional Title (I) Professional Title
Professor Teaching Assistant 2.217 .460 .000

 
Lecturer 1.844 .372
Associate Professor 2.277 .409

 Interpersonal and Collaborative Competence

Multifaceted statistical differences were found in this section between the DV with the IVs except for the language taught and the highest degree (see Appendix). T-tests revealed female teachers, 985 and/or 211 university teachers and proficient teachers had much higher scores than their counterparts, namely male teachers, non-985/211 HEP teachers and novice teachers. Statisticsal differences were also found in ANOVA analyses regarding the subject taught, educational background and professional title. Post hoc analyses (see Table 6) first showed multiple differences amongst the subjects taught in CLIL, and some teachers (e.g. law teachers) were less cooperative than the others. Besides, the CLIL teachers of a language-related educational background were less capable of interpersonal and collaborative work than those whose educational background was related to either the content subjects or a mix of language and content. Last, it was interesting to note that teaching assistants and lecturers had greater ICC than associate professors and professors.

Table 6. Multiple Comparisons of the Subject Taught, Educational Background and Professional Title

(I) Subject (J) Subject Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Economics Law 1.750 .413 .000
History -1.492 .470 .021
Law Education -1.323 .456 .047
History -3.242 .477 .000
Literature -1.462 .499 .043
Science -3.121 .591 .000
Education History -1.919 .508 .003
Science -1.798 .616 .045
History Literature 1.779 .547 .017
(I) Educational Background (J) Educational Background
Language-related Content-related -1.670 .344 .000
Both language and content-related -1.821 .397
(I) Professional Title (J) Professional Title
Teaching Assistant Associate Professor 3.381 .393 .000

 
Professor 3.294 .426
Lecturer Associate Professor 3.002 .304
Professor 2.915 .345

 Reflective and Developmental Competence

Except for the participants’ diverse educational backgrounds, statistical differences in inferential analyses were detected in all the other variables (see Appendix). T-tests firstly presented that male teachers, CLIL English teachers, 985 and/211 university teachers, teachers having a doctorate and proficient teachers had much higher RDC than their counterparts, namely female teachers, LOTE teachers, non-985/211 HEP teachers, teachers having a master’s degree and novice teachers. ANOVA tests disclosed statistical differences in terms of the subject taught (p = .001) and professional title (p < .001). Post hoc analyses (see Table 7) indicated significant differences between education teachers with economics teachers, law teachers, history teachers and literature teachers, and between professors with teaching assistants, lecturers and associate professors.

Table 7. Multiple Comparisons of the Subject Taught and Professional Title

(I) Subject (J) Subject Mean Difference (I-J) Std. Error Sig.
Education Economics 3.182 .578 .000

 

 
Law 2.547 .588
History 3.410 .655
Literature 3.335 .682
(I) Professional Title (J) Professional Title
Professor Teaching Assistant 3.643 .731 .000

 
Lecturer 3.185 .711
Associate Professor 3.730 .706

Summary of Findings and Discussion

First, the above statistics indicated the participants’ affiliation played a significant role in their LC, CC, ICC and RDC in CLIL, with those employed in key universities more competent than the others working at ordinary HEPs. This is a context-specific finding due to China’s higher educational structures, which divide HEPs into various layers (Gu et al., 2018). It is worth noting that when HEPs at the top layers, which are normally top universities or 985 and/or 211 universities, receive more support (e.g. government funding) than ordinary HEPs at the bottom layers to improve teaching quality, enhance academic reputation and expand academic research, chances are that educational resources are unequally distributed, widening the gap between the HEPs at different levels (Chiang et al., 2015). The effect of such a dichotomous educational system on CLIL teachers’ competencies can be the same, as Espinar and Ramos’s (2020) study, though conducted in a different context, reveals that in-service teachers can be unequally trained, supported or prepared for delivering CLIL lessons due to the different administrative processes. In this vein, special attention must be paid to CLIL teachers who work at ordinary HEPs and may receive less professional support than those working in prestigious ones.

Another interesting finding was that the participants who had a master’s degree were less capable than those who had completed a doctorate, and specifically, the latter might have a sounder mastery over the content knowledge taught, a deeper understanding of CLIL-related theories and more commitment to lifelong learning and research than the former. Unfortunately, due to the research gap in CLIL teachers’ professional development (Banegas & Hemmi, 2021), no comparable findings from previous studies can as yet be found, though it seems to be a fait accompli that the higher degree a teacher has, the abler they are owing to the advanced education that has “improve(d) themselves academically and contribute(d) to their professional knowledge” of the subjects being taught, curriculum development, pedagogical instructions and professional development (Çal??o?lu & Yalvaç, 2019, p. 101). From an evidence-based perspective, this study confirms this view and brings forward the issue that some teachers, especially those who are not academically competitive enough, may need more support in delivering CLIL programmes.

Against the backdrop that LOTE education is deemphasised in CLIL in China (Hu, 2021), this study presents that LOTE teachers were less capable than English teachers in various CLIL aspects (e.g. CC, PC, CFs, RDC). This reflects the general picture that “the role of ‘global Englishes’…has led to the marginalising of LOTE contexts” in CLIL (Coyle & Meyer, 2021, p. 8) and that although multilingual education has been promoted in China, more should have been done at the governmental and institutional levels to support LOTE teachers’ professional development in the same way as how English teachers have been supported (Chen et al., 2020). Given the dual-focused nature of CLIL, the differences between CLIL teachers’ competencies with the subjects they taught were also investigated, which showed no significant difference in LC, CC and PC but in CFs, ICC and RDC. This confirms that the subjects taught can affect CLIL teachers’ competencies, just as the case reported by Custodio-Espinar (2019) that teachers of different subjects have disparate levels of professional competencies in organising CLIL programmes. This overall situation, on the one hand, reflects China’s endeavour to promote high-quality discipline construction, and Zhao and Dixon’s (2017, p. 11) work has confirmed this as evinced in the professional support offered to Chinese university and college teachers to ensure they possess high language proficiency, “good content knowledge, content pedagogical knowledge and also pedagogical knowledge for language teaching”. On the other hand, the disparities in certain competencies among different subject teachers reflect the criticism that the unequal support for the construction of different disciplines in China’s higher education system may cause segmentation between more favoured subjects with less favoured ones (Lo & Pan, 2021). It should also be mentioned that different educational backgrounds may also influence CLIL competencies, as the study demonstrated in a much commonsensical way that the teachers having a language-based educational background were more confident in teaching and using the TLs than those having a mixed or content-oriented educational background. Inevitably, many CLIL teachers are either language-driven or content-driven, and few of them may have received dual-focused teacher education specifically designed for CLIL (Lo, 2020), which justifies that they normally have divergent capabilities and perceptions of implementing CLIL (Villabona & Cenoz, 2021). This situation, along with the ones reflected by the findings about the languages and subjects being taught, sheds light on the need to unite language and subject educators of various fields to establish “not only a shared understanding of known practices but also a co-construction of new integrated pathways to guide meaning making through connecting language domains” and content domains (Coyle & Meyer, 2021, p. 8).

The last point to note is the findings about the participants’ gender, years of teaching and professional titles. First, gender was of little effect on the participants’ self-assessment of competencies. Nevertheless, female CLIL teachers were more willing to participate in interpersonal and collaborative work with others than male teachers who, in comparison, engaged more in reflective and developmental practices than their female counterparts. No comparable findings from previous research can be found to confirm or disconfirm this idea, while the ones of the research placed in a broader educational context do have illustrated that Chinese female teachers tend to be more interactive and enthusiastic about professional collaboration (Liang & Zhou, 2016) but less competent at lifelong learning and research, which is the essential indicator of RDC, than male teachers (Zhu & He, 2014). The reasons lying behind this are complicated and largely related to teacher identity discourses influenced by micro, meso and macro factors within a somewhat asymmetrical gender system in China (Luk-Fong, 2013). Thus, they will not be discussed in this text. Furthermore, the years of CLIL teaching also had little effect on the teachers’ competencies, but CC, ICC and RDC were subject to this variable with proficient teachers gaining an upper hand over novice teachers. This reflects Bier’s (2016) research finding that experienced teachers usually have a deeper understanding of CLIL and thus are more skilled than inexperienced teachers. Regarding the professional titles, teaching assistants had less PC than other academics of higher ranks, such as lecturers and associate professors; professors knew more CFs and were more involved in reflective and developmental work than other academics. This may sound commonsensical in the Chinese context, as an academic must have a thorough mastery of the basic theories of their branch of learning and superior “competence in education, teaching and research” to gain a higher academic title (Gu et al., 2018, p. 195). Still, it is surprising to find that teaching assistants and lecturers were more inclined to partake in interpersonal and collaborative work than associate professors and professors. This raises an interesting phenomenon in the field of CLIL. These findings correspond to the previous ones that the teaching experience gained over time and the types of teacher positions can indeed influence CLIL teachers’ professional practices and abilities (Campillo-Ferrer et al., 2020) and reject the assumptions that they may not necessarily explain teachers’ professional development (Skinnari & Bovellan, 2016).

The description and discussion of the heterogeneity of Chinese CLIL teachers’ profiles of professional competencies have mirrored the inevitable “gap between who CLIL teachers are and what ideal CLIL teachers need” (Lo, 2020, p. 21) and disclosed the complex challenges confronting them. It seems to be a consensus that CLIL is a “linguistic and cognitive challenge” (Bier, 2016, p. 396) or a psychological and pedagogical challenge (Lo, 2020) for teachers, while these views can be too simplistic to be linked with the dynamically interwoven CLIL competencies. Thus, given the research findings and the special higher educational context in China, it is proposed at the end of this paper that the challenges faced by Chinese CLIL teachers are related to micro, meso and macro factors. The micro factors are concerned with teachers themselves, such as gender, educational background and teaching experience; the meso factors (e.g. the languages and subjects taught, professional titles) are identified with the context-specific features at an institutional level; the macro factors are placed in a more general social context and normally associated with the regional and even national education moves or policies. They are interwoven with each other, challenge a CLIL teacher’s agency and influence their competencies. However, the recognition of these factors can help to better identify CLIL teachers’ professional growth needs, devise appropriate ways to improve their competencies and finally contribute to successful CLIL.

Conclusion

Regardless of the limitation that a non-probability sampling technique was adopted and thus prevented the researcher from generalising the findings to a wider population, the study can still be seen as one of the initiatives to bridge the CLIL research gap in the Chinese academia by focusing on teachers’ competencies in implementing this pedagogical approach. The results of the study are multifaceted, and various factors may shape CLIL teachers’ competencies of different types. In the process of professional development, the challenges confronting CLIL teachers can be varied, whether being linguistic, content-related, pedagogical, theoretical, cooperative or reflective. However, the identification of CLIL teachers’ profiles of professional competencies in accordance with the factors studied has underlined the need to establish an ecological milieu and a supportive network, wherein professional collaboration should be embraced among CLIL teachers of different profiles, information and resources should be shared amongst educational institutions, and support should be lent to the teachers who have just embarked upon their CLIL teaching journey. Continuous professional training programmes are essential to achieve this goal. The answer is straightforward: to help teachers better understand CLIL, identify the language and content learning needs, learn effective strategies to design and implement CLIL and become committed to lifelong learning. This can allow teachers to enhance their professional identities and students to reap the benefits of CLIL when teaching practices are effectively grounded in teachers’ exceptional competencies. The goal of the research is to open up new ways for keeping alive the sustainability of CLIL. To this end, ongoing research into teacher training needs is also a must, requiring Chinese researchers and scholars to endeavour to explore CLIL teachers’ dynamic agency in the long way ahead.

Note

  1. 985 and 211 mean Project 985 and Project 211 respectively, which are national projects initiated by the Chinese government to promote the development and reputation of Chinese HEPs and found world-class universities (Gu et al., 2018). It is believed that a 985 and/or 211 university is usually better than a non-985/211 HEP due to a higher admission threshold, more government support and larger educational resources (Lo & Pan, 2021).

Acknowledgement

Special thanks are extended to the participants of the study.

 

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Appendix: The Compilation of T-Tests and ANOVA Statisticss

LC CC PC
IV M SD Statistics Sig. M SD Statistics Sig. M SD Statistics Sig.
Gender Female 17.78 4.049 t = -1.461 .146 8.93 .667 t = -1.123 .263 32.48 2.518 t = 1.284 .201
Male 18.59 3.882 9.05 .925 31.98 3.007
Language taught English 18.09 3.928 t = -.347 .729 9.05 .818 t = 2.195 .029 35.98 2.639 t = 3.210 .002
LOTE 18.33 4.217 8.76 .673 29.43 2.880
Subject taught Economics 18.41 4.239 F = 2.101 .067 8.76 .619 F = 1.999 .080 31.63 3.206 F = 1.305

 

 .271
Law 19.26 3.511 9.06 .818 32.09 2.234
Education 18.11 3.886 8.83 .568 32.11 2.447
History 16.60 3.645 9.13 .629 33.23 2.812
Literature 17.15 3.695 9.23 1.306 32.69 2.695
Science 18.63 4.978 9.13 .719 32.50 2.989
Affiliation Non-985/211 HEPs 17.35 3.895 t = -3.119 .002 8.84 .654 t = -2.422 .016 32.04 2.772 t = -1.034 .302
985 and/or 211 universities 19.05 3.910 9.11 .885 32.44 2.740
Highest level of degree Doctoral degree 17.91 4.001 t = -1.156 .249 9.13 .830 t = 3.587 .000 32.49 2.667 t = 1.667 .097
Master’s degree 18.58 3.946 8.72 .655 31.82 2.879
Educational background Language-related 19.04 3.844 F = 5.562 .004 8.88 .649 F = 2.195 .114 31.94 2.716 F = 1.377 .255
Content-related 17.31 3.771 9.07 .998 32.62 2.703
Both language and content-related 17.10 4.223 9.15 .770 32.50 2.909
Years of teaching CLIL Novice 17.50 3.986 t = -2.539 .012 8.84 .661 t = -2.431 .016 32.02 2.740 t = -1.112 .268
Proficient 18.90 3.869 9.11 .878 32.45 2.766
Professional title Teaching Assistant 18.32 4.182 F = 2.916 .35 8.77 .717 F = 2.122 .103 30.90 3.134 F = 4.875 .003
Lecturer 17.25 4.061 9.15 .953 32.80 2.713
Associate Professor 18.92 3.862 8.86 .693 32.61 2.401
Professor 19.11 3.428 8.94 .416 31.57 2.547

 
CFs ICC RDC
IV M SD Statistics Sig. M SD Statistics Sig. M SD Statistics Sig.
Gender Female 10.04 2.055 t = 1.303 .194 9.14 2.321 t = 2.691 .008 11.22 2.415 t = -2.477 .017
Male 9.68 1.951 8.29 2.180 12.20 3.249
Language taught English 10.06 2.083 t = 2.476 .014 8.66 2.292 t = -1.112 .267 11.91 3.078 t = 3.113 .002
LOTE 9.24 1.608 9.09 2.288 10.83 1.691
Subject taught Economics 9.25 1.787 F = 22.860 .000 8.94 2.275 F = 11.624 .000 10.96 1.876 F = 4.757

 

 .001
Law 9.55 1.909 7.19 1.740 11.60 2.849
Education 12.49 1.067 8.51 2.525 14.14 4.131
History 9.73 1.258 10.43 1.524 10.73 1.660
Literature 8.96 1.280 8.65 2.097 10.81 1.266
Science 8.88 2.187 10.31 1.580 11.88 2.964
Affiliation Non-985/211 HEPs 9.71 1.973 t = -1.134 .258 8.02 2.248 t = -4.510 .000 10.84 1.719 t = -4.172 .000
985 and/or 211 universities 10.03 2.043 9.40 2.139 12.39 3.421
Highest level of degree Doctoral degree 10.20 2.092 t = 3.214 .002 8.98 2.253 t = 1.956 .052 12.11 3.226 t = 3.636 .000
Master’s degree 9.28 1.713 8.33 2.320 10.85 1.758
Educational background Language-related 9.73 2.054 F = 1.315 .265 7.90 2.240 F = 16.931 .000 11.17 2.240 F = 1.327 .353
Content-related 9.66 1.879 9.57 2.061 11.32 2.061
Both language and content-related 9.08 1.716 9.73 1.935 11.20 2.233
Years of teaching CLIL Novice 9.72 2.008 t = -1.013 .312 8.00 2.267 t = -4.562 .000 10.81 1.706 t = -4.114 .000
Proficient 10.01 2.016 9.40 2.120 12.40 3.396
Professional Title Teaching Assistant 10.04 2.055 t = 1.303 .194 10.32 1.301 F = 52.828 .000 10.87 1.765 F = 9.622

 

 .000
Lecturer 9.68 1.951 9.94 1.884 11.33 2.495
Associate Professor 10.06 2.083 6.94 1.714 10.78 1.803
Professor 9.24 1.608 7.03 1.654 14.51 3.899

 

 

Formulaic Language and Style of Turkic Zhyrau of the 15-18th Centuries

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Kairat Zhanabayev1, Karakat Nagymzhanova2, Nursulu Shaimerdenova3, Ayzhan Turgenbaeva4 & Nazerke Tleubayeva1

1Department of Publishing, Editing and Design Arts, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan. Email: zhanabayev@nuos.pro

2Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Turan-Astana University, Nur-Sultan, Republic of Kazakhstan

3Department of Russian and Foreign Literature, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan

4Department of Religious Studies and Cultural Studies, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan.

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022, Pages  https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.25

First published: June 26, 2022 | Area: Aesthetic Studies | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Volume 14, Number 2, 2022)
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Abstract

The article reveals the importance of studying the formulaic style in the oral epic culture of Kazakh (Turkic) zhyrau of the 15-18th centuries. The purpose of the article is to identify the specificity of the formulaic language and the style of the epic tradition of these singers, as well as to show the degree of their knowledge, based on the principles of oral theory by M. Parry and A. Lord and their followers. Zhyrau are singers of the times of the Golden Horde and the foundation of the Kazakh Khanate. In the analysis of the ancient forms of their epic thinking; the genesis of genres, principles of performance and transmission of tradition, formulaic style plays a major role. The method of discourse analysis, system review, referencing, comparative analysis, and the methods of previous researchers were applied in the study. The novelty is that the formulaic style was first studied on the oral material of the zhyrau dated the 15-18th centuries, where stable units are represented by a formula – the basis of the epic style and an important means of the singer’s oral-style technique. The theoretical significance of the article and its relevance, is based on a broad discussion of oral theory, and at the same time on its effectiveness and efficiency in studying the Kazakh (Turkic) epic tradition. The practical value of the research gives its results in the analysis of language and style, the distinction of styles and genres of zhyrau from other bearers of Turkic poetic culture. The Parry-Lord formulaic grammar can be applied both for the study of Turkic languages and to the quality of artistic translation.

Keywords: Parry-Lord’s oral theory, Turk epic, zhyrau, tolgau, oral technique, individual creativity.

Introduction

Within the framework of the present project, the authors have prepared several theoretical works of value for Kazakh (Turkic) epic studies and modern folkloristics. The authors of the paper also consider that the study of the oral tradition of nomads in Central Asia, the North Caucasus and South Siberia is a significant contribution to the science of folklore and mythology of the East since the culture of the Kazakh (Turkic) culture nomads are not only specific and unique as a special type of equestrian-nomadic civilization, but also have deep ties with the richest oral folklore of ancient and medieval Europe, Asia and Africa (Nurgali, 2013; Zhakupov et al., 2020). With a long history of studying the language and style of Kazakh (Turkic) zhyrau from the 15-18th centuries and comparative epic studies, the authors of the article drew attention to the high productivity of oral theory, two American researchers – M. Parry (1932) and A.B. Lord (1964). In our country, this theory is presented in detail by the monograph published in 1986 by Harvard University professor A.B. Lord (1964) “The Singer of Tales”. It, as noted in the Introduction, “contains ideas important for the study of epic traditions, including Oriental ones” reference. The authors of the oral theory gave a special role to “the technique of oral performance of the epos” – the source of the formulaic style” the link.

Although traditionality and stereotyping in folklore and epic genres have been mentioned before by American scholars, they have a valuable idea that explains this stereotype (sustainability of forms) not only as a feature of traditional style but as a powerful principle of the artists’ creativity. This principle is a formulaic style or formulaic grammar. The effectiveness, efficiency, and perspective of the oral theory are particularly evident in the study of Turkic monuments, whose language is perfectly structured, free from external influences, and characterized by great richness and variety of poetic forms.

Research into the language’s formulaicity and style in recent years has also unexpectedly revealed the fundamental role of formulaic grammar in poetic translation. Especially when it concerns the ancient Kazakh poems, the oral text of the medieval nomadic judge and speaker (Kazakh biy), the ancient runic inscriptions of the VIII centuries of Turkic Haganat, where there is no influence of other languages and religions yet, and therefore of exceptional interest both in terms of their pure form and in their unique content and the prospect of reconstruction of their initial bases – the Turkic archaic myth, rite and ritual (Aimukhambet et al., 2017). Criticism is present in several works on Perry-Lord’s oral theory. It mainly dealt with the problems of nationality and authorship, and the theory of formulaic style. However, it was based, as the translators of “The Singer of Tales” note, on the special author’s terminology, which, in our opinion, should have been different from the existing one, as it is about a living tradition, a living process, that is, oral technique, and not a static grammar and epic. Thus in the classical monograph “Origin of Heroic Epic”, analyzing and criticizing all existing basic theories, the famous scientist E.M. Meletinsky (1963), pointed out that A.B. Lord (1964), who followed his teacher and “derives the epic style from the poetic technique of oral creativity, does not doubt the mythological origin of the contents of epic formulae”. And that’s very revealing because the oldest epic formulas are the ones that lead us to myth, rite, and ritual. And this theory of Lord is most vividly demonstrated by the oral-style poetic technique of nomads of Central Asia, South Siberia, North Caucasus and Crimea…Full-Text PDF

“Transgenerational Transmission of Chosen Trauma”: Locating Micro-Experiences in Macro-Historical Eventsand the Quest for Cultural and National Identity in Temsula Ao’s These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone

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Suganya V.1 & Dr Padmanabhan B.2

1Phd Research Scholar, Department of English & Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: suganya.efl@buc.edu.in, Orcid Id: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0989-2653

2Assistant Professor, Department of English & Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: padmanabhan@buc.edu.in, Orcid Id: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7395-126X

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022. Pages 1-11. https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.ne28

First published: June 26, 2022 | Area: Northeast India | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Themed Issue on Literature of Northeast India)
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Abstract

Micro experiences of people immensely influence their personal narratives and play an undeniable role in reflecting the effects of macro-historical events. The narration of individual experiences contributes to the transgenerational transmission of historical memory and its collective experiences to posterity. Interweaving the micro experiences with macro-historical events promotes the construction of ethnic, national and cultural identities. Such individualistic narratives help in the construction of both the personal and cultural self for the macro-historical formation. This paper aims to interpret the select short stories from Temsula Ao’s These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone for manifesting transgenerational transmission of the memories of Naga insurgency incidents and the collective traumatic experiences through the micro experiences of the characters. The storytellers in the select stories such as “The Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” situate themselves as historical subjects to relay the stories of protracted armed conflicts, political instability, and civilian causalities that occurred in the Indian state Nagaland during the years of insurgency. Hence, through careful analysis, this paper provides the relevance of transgenerational transmission of chosen trauma and the role of storytelling technique to preserve and transfer the endurance of the past through narratives.

Keywords: transgenerational memory, chosen trauma, Naga identity, oral narratives, Nagaland

I hear the land cry,

Over and over again

‘Let all the dead awaken

And teach the living

How not to die’

Temsula Ao

  1. Introduction

This paper aims to demonstrate the significance of storytelling for the transgenerational transmission of Naga insurgency memories as chosen trauma for establishing Naga identity as rendered in “Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” from These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone. It also highlights the necessity of transferring the Naga cultural history to young generations and the role of personal experiences in reflecting the collective sufferings. Previous studies focused more on sexual violence against women during times of conflict, patriarchal biases and how the traditionally established patriarchal structure silences the agony of women in the Naga community, as expressed in These Hills Called Home (Arora 2019; Pou 2020a; Maut 2020). Besides, few studies have concentrated on the portrayal of ethnic and broken identities, postcolonial identity, revival of lost identity, the theme of insurgency and the role of literature in carrying the Naga history in These Hills Called Home (Longkumer 2014; Kamal 2019; Gogoi 2019; Borkotoki 2014). Therefore, this study critically analyses the characters as historical subjects and the individual’s role in transmitting the historical truth to posterity through the storytelling tradition of Naga culture.

The Naga people in north-eastern India encountered multiple perilous circumstances and precarious living conditions during the ruthless implementation of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act in 1958. Since their protest for Naga national identity, they experienced diverse security threats, including sexual harassment, civil causalities, kidnapping, violence, and demolition of public and private assets. The contribution of North-eastern literature is significantly influential in communicating collective, cultural and individual tribulation and representing tribal cultural values, history, beliefs and tradition. Temsula Ao, in her narratives in These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone, instils the micro-experiences of Naga people in the characters to reverberate the macro-historical realities of Nagaland. She highlights the wrath and inefficiency of the armed forces in distinguishing the insurgents from the common people and their punitive expedition to punish innocent people for helping underground leaders. As a result, Ao (2006) once stated that the Naga people are “restricted from their routine activities, demonstrating to them that the ‘freedom’ they enjoyed could so easily be robbed at gun point by the ‘invading’ army” (p. 11). She continues to situate her characters as historical subjects and invests the themes of violence, memory, trauma, vehemence, vulnerability, homeland, and history in the narrative to promote the transgenerational transmission of Naga culture and the traumatic experiences of insurgency to the posterity. The stories in the book are intertwined with history, ethnic elements and fiction in order to reflect cultural authenticity and retain and render the richness of storytelling technique. By implementing oral aspects in the narrative structure, Ao engenders cultural rebirth and imparts new status to her community and the woman folklore. She also explains that during troubled times, “there are no winners, only victims and the result can be measured only in human terms” (2006, p. x). “The Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” are the two redolent stories, like other stories in These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone, entrenched with the facets of orature which stir cultural consciousness and further exude civil unrest, indignation, exploitation of power, human rights violations, cultural and historical ignorance of younger generations in the community.

  1. The Story of Pain

“An Old Man Remembers” is a poignant story about the jungle life of Sashi and his friend Imli. Sashi recounts the violations of human rights that happened during the Naga insurgency to his grandson Mao. Sashi debilitates through time, and his memory is fraught with the experiences of his early years. He prefers to live alone after his wife’s death and conceals his darkest life history in the jungle with his friend Imli from his family members. Therefore Sashi’s remembrance of the past is a solitary activity.  As a result of withholding the past and resistance to sharing the truth behind the history, Sashi’s grandson Mao unknowingly questions him like a murderer:

“…‘Grandfather, is it true that you and grandfather Imli killed many people when you were in the jungle? Old man Sashi was completely taken aback by the question”. (Ao, 2006, p. 92)

Sashi and Imli were the Naga freedom fighters who fought to preserve their people’s lives during the troubled times of ethnic violence. Through his question, Mao marks them as killers instead of freedom fighters because Sashi has never attempted to share his past life. Thus, Sashi understands the validity of Imli’s words that the inevitable responsibility of older generations is to transfer the history and their experiences to the younger generations through his grandson’s question. Ao posits through her narrative that the memories of younger people will be the next historical and cultural agents obliging to preserve and transfer the cruelty endured by their ancestors to attain cultural individuality and political freedom in the homeland: “Imli had often told him that the young had the right to know about the people’s history and that they should not grown up ignorant about the unspeakable atrocities that they, the older generation had witnessed”. (Ao, 2006, p. 93)

Sashi believes that the past would always be pointless to the youngsters of his community, and it is already dead. Now, he regrets it because “…his grandson was hurling a question at him from the other side of history” (Ao 2006, p. 93). He, thereby, recognises the responsibility of telling and imparting the past experiences and endurance to Mao. Eventually, he musters up his courage and energy to relay the historical truth to his grandson Mao who had misunderstood his own community’s history. The act of Sashi implies that if people fail to pass on history, the future may misrepresent or alter the truth of a historical event. So, history is created not to die but to traverse through generations and to reverberate its role in their collective identity because “When one’s history is abolished, one’s identity ceases to exist as well” (Laub 67). Thus, Sashi gives re-birth to his dead past experiences. The question of Mao acts as a motivation for Sashi to unload his traumatic experiences that happened during the struggle for Naga sovereignty with underground groups through remembering: “I should tell you these stories because only then will young people like you understand what has wounded our souls” (Ao 98).

Sashi realizes the necessity of sharing the historical moments with young people like Mao and prepares himself to relive the intense pain of physical and emotional suffering experienced during the insurgency. Temsula Ao implies through her narrative that Naga history does not reflect the regular day-to-day life incidents; it unfolds the incidents containing solid emotions, feelings and struggles, and it is the crucial source for who they are as a group. Therefore, history should not be a static memory; it should be an active element to impart cultural and human values to own people. Sashi conveys to his grandson that Imli, and he witnessed the chaotic condition of people in their village at their young age. They have witnessed the cruel incident of Imli’s father being caught up by the army and beaten to death. At that time, they were children and defenceless; hence they had to leave Imli’s father to the mercy of God in order to protect themselves from the soldiers. Sashi relays the incident to Mao with great agony and feels guilty.

“It was the sentry and some soldiers wearing heavy boots and helmets were beating him up…I realized why Imli was behaving in this manner: the inert man on the ground was his father … Imli began to whimper like a hurt animal” (Ao 99).

Sashi and Imli were held as hostages by the insurgent groups for several months while attempting to escape from the Armed Forces. And then the groups recruited them to revolt against the Indian army. The violent intervention of the Armed Forces forced Sashi and Imli to enroll themselves in underground activities such as spying, collecting food and other essentials from the village people. They are also involved in combats to protect the village people, “And do you know? We were not yet sixteen when we became such ruthless killers” (Ao, 2006, p. 108).

The protracted conflict between armed personnel and underground Naga soldiers resulted in severe economic consequences and civil casualties. The Naga people were subjected to terrible experiences and forced to find shelter in the jungle in order to save the lives of their families. The army exploited their special powers by committing physical violence, plundering the villages, uninformed raids and rape (Arora 2019; Srikanth and Thomas 2005). Therefore, young people like Imli and Sashi began to revolt against the army. They were the victims-turned insurgents who worked for the underground Naga groups to protect their people. American Psychiatric Association in a report state that “a traumatic event is one in which an individual experiences, witnesses, or learns that a close associate has experienced an event that involves actual or threatened death or serious injury or other threat to one’s physical integrity” (2000, p. 463).

Witnessing the distressing event of Imli’s father being brutally attacked evoked feelings of fear and helplessness, marking it as a traumatic experience for them and aroused hostility towards the Indian army. Moreover, the inability to protect Imli’s father from the violators created a deep feeling of guilt. Herman (2015) explains that “feelings of guilt are especially severe when the survivor has been a witness to the suffering or death of other people. To be spared oneself, in the knowledge that others have meta worse fate, creates a severe burden of conscience” (54). Similarly, Sashi has been living with immense guilt for his inability to protect the older adult, Imli’s father. Yoder (2015) elucidates that trauma cannot be limited to the individual; it can be exposed at the collective and cultural levels. Sashi’s encounter with devastating incidents during his young age is not only the representative of the individual psyche but also the representative of collective Naga psyche and Naga historical moments. K B Veio Pou (2018) claims,

“Those were the days when villages in remote parts pof Naga areas bre the burnt of the onslaught of the Indian soldiers who would mercilessly lash out at the innocent Naga villagers to avenge the humiliation suffered at the hands of the Naga underground”. (“Charting a Space of Their Own”, para. 38)

The eruption of conflict between the Indian army and the insurgents forced people to live in fear and led to protracted internal displacement. The unanticipated spate of random bombing, gunshots, rapes and killings forced them to move from their villages and live in dark jungles. Sashi remembers that after the entry of the Indian army into his village, people left the place and shifted to the safe places in the wilderness. The village has been demolished and stands as a symbol of the death and suffering of the Naga people.  Ao narrates the cruel sufferings of the people as,

…youth was a seemingly endless cycle of beatings, rapes, burning of villages and grain-filled barns. The forced labour, the grouping of villages and running form one hideout to another in the deep jungles to escape the pursuing soldiers, turned young boys into men who survived to fight these forces, many losing lives in the process and many becoming ruthless killers themselves. (Ao, 2006, p. 93)

In the Guideline Principles on Internal displacement, the Office of the High Commissioner for the Human Rights (OHCHR) explains the factors causing displacement as,

People forced to flee or leave their homes – particularly in situations of armed conflict – are generally subject to heightened vulnerability in a number of areas… They also remain at high risk of physical attack, sexual assault and abduction, and frequently are deprived of adequate shelter, food and health services.

The people of Sashi’s village abandoned the place due to the high risk of physical violence, abduction, uninformed raids, forced labour and humiliation. Many young people sacrificed their lives for the well-being of their community and involved in underground activities against the armed forces. It takes years to restore normalcy in their homeland. In the present day, Mao, Sashi’s grandson, lives a comfortable life with adequate essentials owing to the sacrifice of many people like Imli and Sashi.

Human memory is very much vulnerable and can corrupt an individual’s past experiences with time. Instead of restoring accurate information, it may reconstruct and provide a summary of the events. Several studies have discovered that human memory involves constructive processes and relays the interpretation of the past (Bartlett 1932; Conway and Pleydell 2005; Nelson 1993). However, Kolk and Hart state that: “some memories are fixed in the mind and are not altered by the passage of time, or the intervention of subsequent experience”.  (1995, p. 172)

Thus, Sashi remembers the past vividly even in his old age, and he can still recollect and reflect on the social condition of people during the period of insurgency. Manzanero and Recio (2012) state that remembering traumatic experiences may differ from person to person. Some can vividly recall past traumatic situations, and some remember their past in a fragmented manner. Therefore, Sashi’s remembrance of the past indicates that the emotionally charged events are retrievable because he continuously recalls through nightmares and remembers the people associated with the event. However, his memories of the past negatively influence and make a high emotional impact on Sashi’s cognitive processes.

After all these years, he can remember and narrate the incidents in elaborative and evocative ways, though he tries to forget them. Remembering and re-telling the past are highly effective methods for alleviating the agony of the past (Ringel and Brandell, 2011). But Sashi, in “An Old Man Remembers,” believed that “…the bad things will go away if one does not talk about them” (Ao, 2006, p. 93), and thereby his pain is excruciating and immutable. If the victims of war, violence, and abuse cannot cope with traumatic situations, they may undergo severe cognitive effects that affect their day-to-day lives. The inability to handle the trauma engenders relentless post-traumatic reactions, thereby the memories of them continue to be active and perturb the individuals’ consciousness in various forms, including flashbacks, hallucination, avoidance, insomnia and nightmares (Horawitz 1993; Erikson 1995; Manzanero and Recio 2012). In “An Old Man Remembers,” Sashi could not recover from the physical and psychological wounds inflicted on him and his people. The long-term remembrance of traumatic experiences and his failure to handle the trauma submerged for years disturbed his psychosocial well being. Ao portrays the condition as,

Though he was making a valiant effort to lead a normal life as a common villager, he could not hide the inner turmoil from his wife who would often shake him awake when he groaned and moaned and sometimes even shrieked in his sleep. Many times he would wake up crying and screaming because of his bad dreams… (Ao, 2006, p. 94)

Even after the declaration of the ceasefire, Sashi struggles to return to normality like other people. Unconsciously, he cries and mourns by thinking about the past, which results in nightmares. Throughout his life, Sashi suffers from psychological trauma and has been mourning the past privately. Herman (2015) states “Remembering and telling the truth of terrible events are prerequisites both for the restoration of the social order and for the healing of individual victims”. (1) Sashi’s attempts to narrate his past involve a robust meaning-making process and mitigate the prolonged grief. By recounting his life history to Mao, Sashi looks back and relives past experiences to locate his micro life history in the macro Naga cultural history. His life history is not an individual’s experience; it is the experience of the whole of Nagaland.

  1. Women – The Least Weapon

During times of conflict, women remain the most vulnerable and defenceless. The conflicting groups target women as their least weapon to defile the nobility of a community because women are considered innocent, unarmed and fragile. Physical abuses and exploitations affect them psychologically. Naga women are also not exempted from the experiences of the cruelty of conflicts and war.  Arora (2019) mentions,

Physical violence, forced arrest, custodial rape, torture and sexual assault become a way of official functioning in states under AFSPA. In such a situation, women become vulnerable targets of state sponsored violence. Their bodies are sexually assaulted and marked by the terminology of violence, shame and honor. (p. 4)

“The Last Song” is the heart-wrenching story of Abenyo and her mother Libeni, who are physically maimed during turbulent years. The story renders the predicament of women in the hands of marauding soldiers who have sexually assaulted the mother and daughter as a punishment for paying taxes to the insurgents. Ao brings life to the unheard voices through her narrative.

“….even though by the time of the fourth one mounted, the woman was already dead. Apenyo, though terribly bruised and dazed by what was happening to her was still alive…there were witnesses to their despicable act, turned to his soldiers and ordered them to open fire on the people who were now lifting up the bodies of the two women. (A0, 2006, p. 28,29)

The abrupt intrusion of soldiers collapses the villagers during the ceremony of opening a new church building. Men are kicked out and physically assaulted by the soldiers. Apenyo and her mother Libeni have become prey to the cold-hearted soldiers. “During those days, the villages were often burned down, their people tortured and women sexually harassed” (Pou, 2018b). Another significant event that manifests the superficial beliefs of the community is that their own people disavow burying the inert bodies of Apenyo and Libeni in their graveyard. Because the people believe that, “the deaths of these unfortunate people were considered to be from unnatural causes and according to tradition they could not be buried in the village graveyard”. (Ao, 2006, p. 30) Apenyo was praised as the nightingale of their village, and she brought tranquillity to their soul through her melodious singing. However, because of the intense fear about the armed personnel, the villagers could not protect the victims. Their profound suffering, during the darkest history of the village, was not acknowledged faithfully; instead, the villagers buried their maimed bodies outside the graveyard and “no headstones would be erected for any of them” (Ao, 2006, p. 31). Ao represents that the old beliefs and traditions are still active, even though they follow Christianity. People believed that what happened to Apenyo and her mother was a humiliation to the entire Naga community. The villagers wanted to remove the incidents from the history of their village to preserve their community and cultural dignity. Pou (2018) states,

“Sexual violence against women in war and conflict has been seen as one of the biggest crimes against humanity. It is not just a humiliation of the community but violates an individual’s rights to live with dignity. Yet, time and again, “rape” has been used a weapon in war”.

Therefore, Apenyo and Lebini are dishonoured by their own people. Herman (2015) states,

“When the cry is not answered, the sense of basic trust is shattered. Traumatized people feel utterly abandoned, utterly alone, cast out of the human and divine systems of care and protection that sustain life”. (p. 52)

The real recognition for their sufferings and pain lies in acknowledging their agony as collective suffering and not as individual victims of an unfortunate event. The anguish of the two women was not treated as collective trauma because the villagers failed to acknowledge their pain as part of the Naga history. The experiences of men, such as physical attacks and forced labour, were portrayed in history as heroic deeds, but women’s experiences were not properly registered in history because they believed that such incidents bring humiliation to their community. Ao brings to light the patriarchal structure of Naga society which treats women with much discrimination and inequality. She voices to the voiceless

An old woman narrates the story of Apenyo and Lebini to the younger generation calls the day the Black Sunday of the village: “She tells them that youngsters of today have forgotten how to listen to the voice of the earth and wind” (Ao, 2006, p. 32). The author implies that the new younger generation is oblivious to their own historical incidents. They do not lend their ears to recognise and experience past incidents and historical truth. The older woman influences young people through the storytelling technique by creating awareness about the past. The older woman and her interest in telling and retelling the experiences of Apenyo and Lebini acknowledge the struggles of women during the armed conflict.

  1. Storytelling and Transgenerational Memory

“The history of the Nagas has turned into folklore, passed down from generation to generation through the oral tradition of storytelling.” (Gupta 2020)

The storytellers in “Last Song” and “An Old Man Remember” situate their memory in historical and cultural contexts to understand the past, experienced and witnessed by the older generations. During storytelling, “Individuals are active agents taking actions and engaging in interactions with others in their cultural environment”. (Alea & Wang, 2015, p. 5)

They intend to impart unfortunate incidents and cultural significance that persuade the listener to establish a bond with their history and cultural values. They instil the historical and cultural meaning of their past experiences and the salient elements of remembering and preserving cultural continuity. Through her narrative structure, Ao insists that storytelling is an authentic prerequisite and an inevitable medium; thereby, the younger generation does not rely on outside sources that may misrepresent their history. Temsula Ao describes,

“The inheritors of such a history have a tremendous responsibility to sift through the collective experience and make sense of the impact left the by the struggle on their lives” (2006, p. x).

“All human cultures have narratives…that encode shared beliefs from which they derive coherence and group cohesiveness that has been both the glory and the bane of human existence throughout its history.” (Nelson, 2003, p.127)

The narratives of “Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” encode and decode the shared experiences of people “whose pain has so far gone unmentioned and unacknowledged” (A0, 2006). Through storytelling, the Naga historical truth and cultural individuality traverse transgenerational people and establish the necessity to preserve the past for determining the cultural and political identity. Hence, by the act of storytelling, the individual memory turns into transgenerational memory for the travel of past to future generations.

  1. Chosen Trauma and Group Identity

Volkan’s (2001) proposal of ‘chosen trauma’ helps readers to understand the insurgency trauma as the crucial component of Naga identity.

“… the large group suffered loss and/or experienced helplessness, shame and humiliation in a conflict with another large group. The transgenerational transmission of such a shared traumatic event is linked to the past generation’s inability to mourn losses of people, land or prestige, and indicates the large group’s failure to reverse narcisstic injury and humiliation inflicted by another large group, usually a neighbor, but in some cases, between ethnic or religious groups within the same country.” (Volkan 2001, p. 87)

The subjective experiences of thousands of people in Nagaland are interconnected by the protracted armed conflict and human rights violations. The members of the Naga group have begun to share their memory “to maintain, protect and repair their group identity” (Volkan, 2001, p. 79). By representing Naga insurgency incidents as chosen trauma, they reflect the collective suffering of ancestors during the armed conflict. The oral tradition of storytelling helps significantly to represent the chosen trauma of Naga community “in order to support the group’s threatened identity” (Volkan, 2001, p. 79)

  1. Conclusion

 The paper has identified the elements of oral narratives and the lived experiences of Naga people in the short stories “Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” of These Hills Called Home: Stories from a War Zone by Temsula Ao, that contribute to the transgenerational transmission of chosen trauma for the construction of collective identity of Naga people. The select stories unveil the tropes such as protracted armed conflict, violations of human rights, trauma, memory, internal displacement, feelings of guilt, sexual assault and superficial belief system prevailed in the Naga society. The story of Sashi in “An Old Man Remembers” asserts the faith that sharing traumatic experiences with others can alleviate the intensity of pain. The interpretation of select stories in this paper reveals that narrating the ethno-cultural experiences to young people is significant to preserve and pass on the historical truths in order to avoid the misrepresentation of the past. Accordingly, Temsula Ao states that through the storytelling tradition, Naga people communicate the troubled times of ethnic violence and endurance among the community and beyond in order to define their individuality. Therefore, storytelling functions as cultural memory to keep the past as present and creates a bridge to link the past with the future. Ao locates the characters Sashi, Apenyo and Libeni as historical figures in the narrative structure to represent the collective sufferings of the Naga people during the insurgency through personal narration. Thus, an individual’s memory turns into transgenerational memory through the commencement of sharing. The portrayal of the troubled years of Nagaland manifests the disruption of the cultural patterns of Naga people and its significance in forging the Naga identity. In this regard, Temsula Ao, through her writing, offers a cultural and historical recreation to the events which are unacknowledged and never mentioned in mainstream literature and history for a prolonged period of time. To conclude, the micro experiences of the characters in the stories “Last Song” and “An Old Man Remembers” reverberate the macro-historical realities of Naga people.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

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Suganya V. is a PhD Scholar in the Department of English & Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. She currently works on her thesis entitled “Narratives of Memory, Trauma, and Resilience: Contextualising the Facets of Historical Revisionism and Identity Reconstruction in the Select Contemporary Irish Novels”.

Dr. Padmanabhan B. is working as Assistant Professor in the Department of English and Foreign Languages, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore. He is teaching post graduate students and guiding research scholars.  He is pursuing research in the fields of cognitive approaches to literature, memory studies and digital humanities.

Relevance of Symbols in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist

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Rajat Sebastian

Research Scholar, Department of English and Cultural Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India. ORCID: 0000-0003-4029-515X. Email: rajat.sebastian@res.christuniversity.in

Rupkatha Journal, Vol. 14, Issue 2, April-June, 2022, Pages  https://doi.org/10.21659/rupkatha.v14n2.24

First published: June 26, 2022 | Area: Aesthetic Studies | License: CC BY-NC 4.0

(This article is published under Volume 14, Number 2, 2022)
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Abstract

Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho is known for his tales that inspire readers to overcome conflicts and move toward the ‘ultimate truth’. The popularity of such inspirational writings (both fictional and non-fictional) in the new age has given rise to a new literature style. Coelho’s fiction, though inspirational, describes journeys that are physical and psychological at the same time. Symbols guide him in his journeys, forming a significant part of the novels. While these novels are said to appear inspirational for depressed souls with a profound philosophical and spiritual dilemma, the study of symbols found in these novels appears significant. This research aims to read closely the novel The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and evaluate the symbols in it. The research shall attribute the commonly accepted meanings to the symbols and assess the impact of such ‘accepted’ meanings on the same novel through Peirce’s model of semiotic analysis.

Keywords: Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist, symbols, relevance, semiotics

Introduction:

Brazilian author Paulo Coelho emerged in a literary scenario in 1995 to translate his bestseller The Pilgrimage from Portuguese to English. Since then, Coelho’s novels have joined the bestsellers club worldwide. He has made a record-breaking sale of over 350 million copies of his books translated into 80 languages (Joshi, 2017). Coelho also entered the Guinness Book of Records, the first time being the only writer signing the most books in the Frankfurt Book Fair (2003) and the second for his novel The Alchemist, becoming the most translated book globally. Coelho integrates his spiritual philosophy through his books in a simple style and palatable language. His fiction and non-fiction turn out to be an awakening call for the reader to live up to their dream or ‘personal legend’, as Coelho calls it. The characters in Coelho’s novels show how one can reach the highest stage of fulfilment, happiness and spiritual existence, overcoming psycho-cultural barriers (Joshi, 2017, p. 2). Coelho has achieved tremendous fame and exposure than any other Brazilian novelist due to film adaptations of his three novels, e-book versions, publicity policies and constant interaction with his readers through his blogs. His works thus become worthy of scholarly study.

A characteristic feature of the archetypal theme of the hero’s journey is symbolism. Symbols are signs which are not intermediaries for their objects but are vehicles for the conception of objects (Langer, 1951, p. 61). In discussing things, we have conceptions of them, not simply the things; it is the conceptions, not the things, that symbols directly mean (Langer, 1951, p. 61). Symbols help Coelho describe the protagonist’s journey – both physical and psychological – towards self-awakening or self-discovery. When the protagonist overcomes internal and external obstacles during the journey, symbols act to destroy personal negativities and help the protagonist retain hope (Joshi, 2017, p. 7). Coelho’s use of symbols varies from animal to religious symbols, as he uses dogs, fountains and even a cross as symbols. Symbols manifest the collective unconscious, the implicate order of human existence (Jung, 1969, p. 286).

“Symbols, particularly those that endure, can be seen as the visual manifestation of archetypes. The greater the appeal and attraction of such symbols, and the longer that attraction endures, the more likely it is to connect to the deepest levels of the collective unconscious” (Jung, 1969, p. 287).

The Alchemist

The Alchemist, published by Harper Collins Publications in 1998, is the story of a boy who dreams of a treasure and undertakes a long journey to find it, only to realise that the treasure lies at his own home. As cited by Arash Hejazi, the story is based on a fable that appears in book VI of The Mathanawi written by the thirteenth-century Iranian poet Rumi and is also found in the Arabian One Thousand and One Nights (Hejazi, 2009). The story even appears in the English folktale The Pedlar of Swaffham (1870), and Australian author Leo Perutz has based his novel Night under the Stone Bridge (1952) on the same plot. Later, Jorge Luis Borges adopted the story in his short story ‘Historia de los dos que Sonaron’ (1974), becoming Coelho’s inspiration. An alchemist is a person or a chemist practising alchemy principles like transforming base metals into gold. He can also be considered a wizard who attempts to make special elixirs curing illness and impart immortality. Hence, the Alchemist is an expert seeking an elixir of life, a panacea for all diseases and the ‘philosopher’s stone’.

In the context of The Alchemist, Alchemy is a symbol of the spiritual enlightenment of Santiago, the protagonist of the novel, and is about converting lower metals into higher ones. Symbolically, spiritual enlightenment transforms human consciousness from a lower to a higher level. In his early twenties, Santiago, a young shepherd from an Andalusian Mountain village in Spain, learns alchemy and achieves his highest destiny at different stages of his journey. He has attended a seminary, knows Spanish, Latin and theology, and likes to read books. His dream was to travel to parts of the world, while his farmer parents wanted him to be a priest. However, for Santiago, travelling was ‘much more important than knowing God and learning about man’s sins’ (Coelho, 1998). Since only the rich or the shepherds can travel, Santiago becomes a shepherd, as his father agrees. His father, too, once dreamed of travelling, but the dream got buried under the responsibilities of life. It made him understand Santiago’s dream and allowed his son to discover the world. The novel thus narrates Santiago’s journey towards his treasure, overcome by various obstacles that transformed him for the greater good.

Review of Literature:

While The Alchemist is a symbolic representation of man’s insatiable quest to search for his place in the world and also the ultimate search for the meaning of life and the universe (Raina, 2017, p.6), it also uses one or more animals as symbols around which the story revolves (Lakshmi & Mani, 2018, p. 313). Coelho’s use of animal symbolism makes animals act like vehicles to the reader through which the stories revolve and are the manifestations of the characters concerned (Lakshmi & Mani, 2018, p. 313). Moreover, The Alchemist uses the techniques of magical realism but endows them with a visionary quality, promoting the notion that each of us is destined for a treasure (Hart, 2010, p. 312). This notion makes the entire novel symbolic, giving the protagonist’s journey a symbolic meaning. It makes its readers feel that each of them has a magical dream buried deep down within them and that it is up to them to search the reality around them until they finally discover where the magic is (Hart, 2010, p. 312). A specific category of symbolism, such as animal symbolism, thus becomes a part of the already symbolic novel. While Coelho expresses himself through the protagonist Santiago (Geetha & Thambi, 2018, p. 98), the transformational journey of the self is also evident in the character Englishman (Mirafuentes et al., 2015, p. 175).

Coelho’s narratives are generally recognisable and highly symbolic of the migrant experience (road, trains, airports, language schools, religious differences, translations, cultural shock, home, longing, memory and identity crisis) (Murta, 2018, p. 17). Therefore, they strike emotional chords (pathos) with a transnational audience, and thematically, the transnational or the migrant experience leads to self-improvement (Murta, 2018, p. 17). Symbolism in The Alchemist could also be seen when we consider how the idea of “Ithaca” is expressed in the novel. For Coelho, the concept called “Ithaca” by the philosopher Constantine Cavafy is the ethical philosophy of life. All his novels appear to be based on the theme of the poem Ithaca (More, 2015, p. 19). Ithaca is a metaphor for birth and death, a great journey we all have to make, whether we want to or not (More, 2015, p. 19). Such a statement, in turn, substantiates the argument that The Alchemist is a symbolic novel, and the life of the protagonist Santiago reveals the philosophy of existentialism, as Coelho used symbolism effectively to make the whole story of The Alchemist a symbol of one’s whole life (Makwana, 2018, p. 199). Paulo Coelho powerfully constructs his plots in the form of an odyssey and positions his characters in imbalanced situations where they feel discontented and puts them through a struggle to obtain meaning out of meaninglessness (Jondhale, 2021, p. 47). He guides them through transcendence leading to spiritual awakening, ultimately portraying them as evolved selves (Jondhale, 2021, p. 47).

Alchemy usually refers to heating metals in the laboratory to transform them into higher and better ones (Antony, 2015, p. 188). However, for Coelho, it means the personal transformation of the protagonist from a weak to a nobler character (Antony, 2015, p. 189). Thus, many pieces of research prove that The Alchemist is a novel in which the protagonist’s journey is symbolic of self-transformation in life. Still, only the relevance of animal symbolism has explicitly been focused on. This paper thus analyses the significant symbols in The Alchemist, without particular focus on any specific group of symbols, to understand the combined effect of those symbols on the novel.

Research Method:

The study of signs can be loosely defined as semiotics (Chandler, 2007, p. 1). Semiotics, also called semiology, was first used by the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure in the early twentieth century (Bouzida, 2014, p. 1001). He states that semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign (Eco, 1976, p. 7). Semiotics involves studying what we refer to as ‘signs’ in everyday speech but of anything which ‘stands for something else (Chandler, 2007, p. 2). Notwithstanding, the two essential customs in contemporary semiotics come from the Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure (1857–1913) and the American philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914).

The principal concept of Saussure’s theory was initiated from the thought of a dichotomy or duality basis in which, according to him, a sign consists of two focal components, namely signifier-the sound pattern (marker sound image) and signified- the concept (the outcome/the interpretation/conception of the signifier) (Yakin, 2014, p. 6). A signifier refers to something in a material form (physical) that explicitly exists and can be distinguished by human senses (Eco, 1976). On the other hand, signified denotes something literally and physically that does not exist on an abstract basis (Eco, 1976). Rather than Saussure’s model of the sign as an ‘independent dyad’, Peirce offered a triadic (three-section) model comprising of:

  1. The Representamen: The form which the sign takes (not material, however usually deciphered thus) – called by certain scholars the ‘sign vehicle’ (Chandler, 2007, p. 29).
  2. An Interpretant: Not an interpreter but rather the sense made of the sign (Chandler, 2007, p. 29).
  3. An Object: Something beyond the sign it refers to (a referent) (Chandler, 2007, p. 29).

Each of the three elements is fundamental to qualify as a sign. The sign is solidarity of what is represented (the object), how it is represented (the representamen) and how it is interpreted (the interpretant) (Chandler, 2007, p. 29).

Saussure also suggested that signs have certain limitations, subject to a system of conventions (Yakin, 2014, p. 7).

“For Saussure, something becomes a sign when it is mutually or commonly agreed upon as a sign by all those involved in the particular culture. In contrast to Saussure’s view, Peirce did not confine the existence of a sign as something that is purposely conveyed. For Peirce, anything can be a sign when someone has interpreted it as a sign, even though it was not purposely meant or communicated” (Yakin, 2014, p. 7).

Peirce’s ideology of sign encompasses everything, whether created by humans or not, as long as it can be grasped and acknowledged by their minds (Eco, 1976). Peirce’s model of semiotics thus expands the idea of ‘symbols’ in The Alchemist much more than Saussure’s model. The triadic model proposed by Peirce would also help find the meanings of the symbols extensively, as they could be studied by dissecting as representamen, interpretant and object, compared to Saussure’s dyadic model of semiotics. This research shall identify the significant symbols found in The Alchemist and assess their meanings through Peirce’s model of semiotics by splitting them into representant, interpretant and object. It shall then apply those meanings to the novel’s story to understand the impact of symbols in The Alchemist.

Discussion:

The following are the eight significant symbols found in The Alchemist, classified into representant, interpretant and object according to Peirce’s model of semiotics:

  1. Sheep and Wolf

As indicated by Michael Ferber in his book A Dictionary of Literary Symbols, sheep-raising was a critical practice in the Mediterranean islands’ uneven areas (2017, p. 200). He says that numerous current English expressions and a few maxims, some of the scriptural or old-style starting points, vouch for the proceeding with the presence of the universe of sheep (Ferber, 2017, p. 200). The term is non-exclusive in English, while the sheep are crowded in a herd and kept in a sheepfold, sheepcote or sheep pen. Ferber adds that the Bible is loaded with sheep similitudes, giving models from the Old Testament, for example, “I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have no shepherd” (1 Kgs 22.17). The New Testament makes Jesus Christ the shepherd of Israel (Ferber, 2017, p. 200). The old-style custom of peaceful verse, indicated in Homer yet commonly taken to date from Theocritus in the third century BC, depends on a romanticised and improved variant of the existence of shepherds and goatherds (Ferber, 2017, p. 201). Indeed, even two of Shakespeare’s plays, for instance, are peaceful: As You Like It and The Winter’s Tale.

Notwithstanding, the most energising piece of Ferber’s definition is the wolf’s thought, adding that the wolf is the conventional adversary of sheep (Ferber, 2017, p. 202). “Till the wolf and the sheep be joined together” appears to have been a Greek identical to “never” (Ferber, 2017, p. 202). Ferber adds that the prophet Isaiah notably envisions when the land is re-established to the Lord’s approval:

“The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them” (11.6).

In English poetry, adjectives such as harmless”, “humble”, and “simple” got attached to “sheep” and “lambs” (Ferber, 2017, p. 202). The novel introduces Santiago as a shepherd. Although Santiago sells his sheep to travel to Egypt’s Pyramids, he reflects on his life as a shepherd throughout the narrative. Many of the lessons he learns on his journey also reinforce things he discovered by being a shepherd. As Coelho writes,

 “The boy prodded them, one by one, with his crook, calling each by name. He had always believed that the sheep were able to understand what he said” (1998, p. 4).

 Santiago was close to his sheep, and talking to them apart from rearing was his hobby. However, when the king Melchizedek offered him a chance to find a treasure hidden for him in Egypt, he was ready to leave his folk for something uncertain.

“Here I am, between my flock and my treasure, the boy thought. He had to choose between something he had become accustomed to and something he wanted to have” (Coelho, 1998, p. 23).

When we try to apply the definitions of sheep given by Michael Ferber to that of the sheep we see in The Alchemist, it must be noted that Santiago’s sheep act as a symbol that denotes peace, humbleness and simplicity. Being a shepherd himself, Santiago had a very close relationship with his sheep, thereby considering the sheep as a part of himself. The fact that Santiago is identified as a shepherd throughout the novel results from the same. As a shepherd, Santiago remained humble, calm, and straightforward throughout, even when he was robbed. Thus, the meanings attributed by Michael Ferber to the word ‘sheep’ complies with the symbol of sheep found in The Alchemist. The novel even attributes the sheep’s characteristics to their shepherd, identifying both as one with the same qualities.

  1. Umim and Thummim

While Umim and Thummim are fortune-telling stones that the character Melchizedek gives to Santiago in The Alchemist, no formal meanings or definitions can be found for the words and the stones they represent. However, considering the stones in the novel’s context, Umim and Thummim also address the human craving to surrender control and decision-making ability. The best lie on the planet, as expressed by Melchizedek, is that people do not control their destinies. Although Melchizedek is the person who offers the stones to Santiago, they additionally represent the very thing that he says Santiago ought to stay away from – confiding in something besides himself to settle on a choice. The stones are black and white, with their colours representing “yes” and “no” answers. In the novel, Melchizedek asks Santiago to use the stones whenever he needs to decide, particularly on questions that need a “yes” or “no” answer. Santiago kept both the stones in a cloth bag. He picked up one stone at random whenever he struggled to decide and proceeded according to the colour of the stone he picked up. It is interesting to note how blindly Santiago trusted the two stones in the novel. However, not all his decisions were based on the stone, as Santiago used them only during two challenging situations. His ideas of working in a glassware shop and suggesting changes to the shopkeeper were based on his instincts. In such a scenario, the stones appear to be beyond human instincts. If so, the question of how can two stones go beyond human consciousness to help make decisions remain unanswered.

  1. Alchemy

In the novel, Alchemy is considered a process initially just known bit-by-bit to the Englishman and Santiago. In both cases, the specifics of alchemy symbolise more significant life lessons. Alchemy is usually defined as a process in which a metal is purified to the extent that it becomes gold. As written by Coelho,

 “They were men who had dedicated their entire lives to the purification of metals in their laboratories; they believed that, if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the soul of the world. This Soul of the World allowed them to understand anything on the face of the earth because it was the language with which all things communicated. They called that discovery the Master Work -it was part liquid and part solid” (1998, p. 61). 

The Englishman clarifies that the quest for the ‘Master Work’, another term for Alchemy, in which chemists go through years cautiously contemplating and filtering metals, really filters the actual alchemists. Self-advancement goes inseparably from the improvement of the ‘Master Work’. From this, Santiago understands that one may seek after “a speculative chemistry of life,” wherein self-improvement results from the world’s investigation and different standards of the same chemistry to regular life practices.

  1. Al-Fayoum or The Oasis

 The Oasis or Al-Fayoum is considered a neutral territory in the desert tribal wars. In the novel, we can see that Santiago defies the elder chief at the Oasis with his vision of a future in which adversary fighters attack Al-Fayoum. There can be two explanations behind the Oasis symbol: first, the two sides of the tribal war have oases to secure. Thus, both have an essential shortcoming (or weak point). Second, the Oasis contains regular citizens, many of whom are women and children. Al-Fayoum, or Oasis, in this way, represents a lack of bias, yet life and flourishment.

  1. The Emerald Tablet 

The Emerald Tablet is seen as one of the speculative and noteworthy proprietaries of the Alchemists. It is a solitary emerald engraved with guidelines for finishing the Master Work: the making of the Philosopher’s Stone and the Elixir of Life. These unique guidelines were, in this way, basic enough that they could be composed on the outside of a solitary stone. The Alchemist in the novel discloses to Santiago that Alchemists later started to doubt simplicity; thus, they made different messages and accumulated other data about the Master Work. According to him, many make progress toward the objective of the Master Work, however, with no accomplishments. Hence, the Emerald Tablet symbolises the significance of simplicity as a value.

  1. Pyramids of Egypt

As indicated by Michael Ferber, the Pyramids of Egypt, existent for the past 5,000 years, have entered literature as bywords for impermanence or the futile vainglory of rulers (Ferber, 2017, p. 171). He says that the inception of the word ‘pyramid’ is obscure, yet to the Greeks, it was recommended: “pyr” (fire). Plato felt that since the pyramid, or tetrahedron, was the most versatile, the littlest, and the keenest of the ideal (Platonic) solids, it was “the component and seed of fire”. Likewise, it was thought to take after a fire (Ferber, 2017, p. 172).

Throughout the novel, the Pyramids of Egypt are Santiago’s ultimate objective, as they mark the location of the treasure he was looking. Consequently, the pyramids represent his legend. The pyramids are hidden in a secret view, taking extraordinary exertion to find them across the desert. They are considered a dazzling accomplishment of design and human achievement on the grounds and symbolise Santiago’s journey’s trouble and the beauty of the same journey coming to an end with an accomplishment.

  1. The Abandoned Church

 The Abandoned church in Spain marks the novel’s beginning and end. It can be seen that Santiago longs for his fortune while dozing in the imploded church toward the start of the book, and he gets back to the same place to discover his fortune at the end. The unwanted church thus represents his own home. The home may not necessarily be a physical place but a feeling attributed to Santiago’s mind – a feeling of familiarity. Since Santiago eventually did not have to venture out any physical distance to discover his fortune, which was in his own country, he could discover the same fact only through a venture. The Abandoned church’s significance is thus related to Egypt’s Pyramids because the journey to the Pyramids made Santiago find his treasure at the church. The abandoned church may be damaged, broken and worn-out as it was abandoned. If the abandoned church symbolises home (as a feeling), the church is ‘abandoned’ and symbolises a broken heart. Thus, in the broken heart of Santiago, he could find his treasure.

  1. Gold

As per Ferber’s dictionary, gold is the first metal (Ferber, 2017, p. 91). “Gold, similar to fire bursting/in the evening, sparkles transcendent amid noble riches”, says Greek verse artist Pindar (Race, 1997, p. 1). Its excellence and virtue gave it divine status in scriptural and old-style culture; un-tarnish-able and subsequently godlike, it has a place with the divine beings – “Gold is the offspring of Zeus” (Race, 1997, p. 86). “Golden” is applied to whatever is ideal or generally superb, like the golden guideline, the golden stanzas of Pythagoras, or the golden mean (Ferber, 2017, p. 91). The sun is golden – Pindar again has “the golden strength of the sun” (Race, 1997, p. 118), while Shakespeare has the sun’s “gold appearance” in Sonnet 18 (Shakespeare and Burrow, 2002, p. 417) – whereas the moon is silver. Gold consumes in another sense, for it is a profound risk, a reason for evil (Ferber, 2017, p. 91).

The symbols found in The Alchemist can be classified or divided as follows according to Peirce’s idea of signs:

Representant Interpretant Object
Sheep Santiago is introduced as a ‘shepherd’ Calmness, humbleness and simplicity
Umim and Thummim A black stone and a white stone stand for ‘yes’ and ‘no’, respectively Surrendering the mind to instincts or intuitions
Alchemy A process, somewhat of which was known to the characters Englishman and Santiago Purification of the mind copying certain chemical principles
Oasis A lush place where Santiago stays. The Oasis also gets invaded by enemy warriors in Santiago’s dreams A lack of bias, yet life and flourishment
Emerald Tablet An emerald engraved with instructions Simplicity as a value
Pyramids of Egypt Location of a treasure Personal legend
Abandoned Church Santiago sleeps in the church Home, in the sense that it is a mental state
Gold A metal, which is also an end-product of alchemy Anything of tremendous value

Table1: Symbols found in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist are classified or divided according to Peirce’s sign model.

Conclusion:

Daniel Chandler argues that every text is a system of signs organised according to codes and sub-codes, which reflect particular values, attitudes, beliefs, assumptions and practices (Chandler, 2007, p. 157). While writing, we select and join signs concerning the codes we are familiar with. Codes make it simpler to impart encounters providing better communication experiences. In understanding writings, we decipher signs regarding what seems to be the appropriate codes to restrict their potential implications (Chandler, 2007, p. 157). He adds that textual codes do not decide the content’s implications. However, dominant codes constrain them. Social conventions guarantee that signs cannot mean whatever an individual needs them to mean. The utilisation of codes helps direct us toward what Stuart Hall calls ‘a preferred reading’ and away from what Umberto Eco calls ‘aberrant decoding. Be that as it may, media messages do not fluctuate in the degree to which they are not entirely clear (Hall, 1980, p. 134).

Consequently, all interpretations are systems of signs: they signify rather than represent, and they do as such with essential reference to codes instead of reality (Chandler, 2007, p. 160). As Catherine Belsey notes, ‘realism is possible not because it reflects the world, but because it is constructed out of what is (discursively) familiar’ (Belsey, 1980, p. 47). Realism becomes relative, dictated by the system of representation standard for a given culture or individual at a given time (Goodman, 1968, p. 37).

When we inferred and attributed meanings that were socially ‘accepted’ and ‘familiar’ in literature to random symbols found in The Alchemist, their meanings seemed to ‘adjust’ with codes rather than reality. It is not possible to assume whether Coelho deliberately used the symbols found in the novels. However, they stand as a sign vehicle, carrying their meanings determined by specific ‘codes’. Even though open-ness drives symbols and their meanings to appear to be expected after some time, we need to figure out how to ‘read’ such symbols. Reading the symbols thus becomes mechanical and confined to specific forms or structures. Thus, the structure made The Alchemist a famous novel, provided the readers were already trained to think and read standing amidst that structure.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Dr Vidya S and Dr Chandan Kumar, Assistant Professors, Department of English and Cultural Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, for their valuable guidance and support in providing feedback on my ideas and thoughts. My understanding of semiotics would not have been complete without their help.

References

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Coelho, P. (1998). The Alchemist. Harper Luxe, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

Eco, U. (1976). A Theory of Semiotics. Indiana University Press.

Ferber, M. (2017). A Dictionary of Literary Symbols. Cambridge University Press.

Geetha, P., & Thambi, O. (2018). Expression of Personal Experience in the Novels of Paulo Coelho. Language in India, 18(4), 94–102.

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Hart, S. M. (2010). Cultural Hybridity, Magical Realism, and the Language of Magic in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. Romance Quarterly, 51(4), 304–312. https://doi.org/10.3200/rqtr.51.4.304-312.

Hejazi, A. (2009, October 15). The Alchemy of the Alchemist: How Paulo Coelho became the most translated living author for the same book. Arash Hejazi. http://english.arashhejazi.com/alchemy-of-the-alchemist/.

Jondhale, G. P. (2021). A Cross-Cultural Odyssey in the Discovery of Self: A Study of Select Novels by Paulo Coelho (dissertation).

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Rajat Sebastian is a Research Scholar of English Studies at the Department of English and Cultural Studies, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore, India. He holds an MA in English with Cultural Studies from the same university. Apart from being a freelance photographer, his academic interests focus on the relationship between symbols and their meanings through textual and philosophical approaches, especially semiotics.

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Keywords: integration of art and technical sciences; stages of computerisation of culture; digitalisation of artistic creativity; objects of innovation; interdisciplinary synthesis.

Introduction

Multimedia, as it is known, is an integral complex developed by components such as hardware and software that provide the creation of texts, graphic structures, sound series and blocks, including visual images (Prokopenko et al., 2019; Smirnov, 2021). Of no small importance is also the factor of the possibility of not only contemplation (a linear way of implementing a project), but also a person’s direct participation in creating a complex media composition in real time (a nonlinear or interactive way of implementing a project). An example of the latter is computer games. As for the complete set of media equipment for the updated and qualitatively modernised presentation of samples of high culture, both past and present, it has passed a certain path of evolution, which was facilitated by the active work of researchers aimed at finding and creating devices for recording, storing, and processing information with unlimited possibilities.

In the depths of mass culture, the prerequisites for the multimedisation of artistic creativity were born, which led to its qualitatively new appearance and the possibilities of functioning in society. The most powerful incentive for this process was the emergence and distribution of the portable Portapak video camera in the 1960s, which allowed its owner to become a director of a new format with wider opportunities for fixing the environment and further “editing” its objects (Eliner, 2013).

Recording audio data in the form of files on various media using a personal computer appeared in the early 1990s. However, the large volume of material and the limited size of available information storage devices did not allow using this type of source fixation to the full. The development of algorithms for encoding and compressing audio information gave rise to the widespread of digital audio file format. The main difference between these models of data fixation, storage and transmission from the previous info media was the absence of restrictions on the mandatory compliance of the audio source with the media format. An audio file recorded once could be saved and transferred by copying to many other devices, such as hard and optical disks, flashcards. The most important foundation for a breakthrough in this area was the creation of such models of digital media as CDs. In April 1982, Philips demonstrated the first player designed for them, and their production was opened in the same year. The CD-ROM was a model of a new sample designed to record and save audio, video recordings, and media information in general. It became a breakthrough in the field of creating modernised media, replacing phonograph records (Levyk et al., 2020).

In January 1998, the DVD Forum’s Working Group 4 (WG4) presented a draft DVD-Audio standard that allows recording phonograms with a different number of audio channels. The final version of the DVD-Audio 1.0 model was approved in February 1999 and presented in March of the same year. From 1998, Sony and Philips began to promote an alternative Super Audio CD to the market. It combines several formats in a single medium. With the Direct Stream Transfer lossless compression scheme developed by Philips, this disc allows one to store stereo material in a time volume of up to 74 minutes, up to six channels of DSD material simultaneously. At the end of 1999, Pioneer released the first DVD-Audio player in Japan. In July 2000, Matsushita produced universal DVD-Audio and DVD-Video players under the trademarks Panasonic, Technics, Pioneer, JVC, Yamaha.

In January 2004, Sony introduced the Hi-MD media carrier format as a further development of the MiniDisc model. It could store one gigabyte of information and be used not only for audio recording, but also for storing documents, videos, and photographs. Thus, the renewal of the engineering and technical base, which provides ample opportunities for fixing, saving, and processing information, including a radical transformation of its content in general, served as a platform for expanding the scope of contemporary art, both in terms of the character of its images, themes, ideas, plots, and in the field of broadcasting material of innovative art projects. Information and communication technologies appeared to be, on the one hand, a means of integrating different cultures into a single space, on the other hand, they provided access to discoveries and achievements in the field of software to an unusually wide range of users around the world (Haydanka, 2020; Levyk et al., 2020; Prokopenko & Omelyanenko, 2020). This, as a result, became a prerequisite for Euro integration of cultural traditions, more broadly, globalisation in general.

Materials and methods

Modernity has offered mankind a rich arsenal of information and communication technology software. As is known, over a certain period of time, it was developed, updated and accumulated components that had a direct impact on the level of complexity and perfection that the computer sphere demonstrates today. The process of origin and further development, the interaction of such different fields as artistic creativity and the technical sector, served as the main material for the research undertaken by the author in this publication. As methods of studying information sources, temporal analysis (a review of the evolution of the interaction of works of art and multimedia), system analysis (a set of categories updated as a result of a combination of cultural samples and software, including revolutionary in internal structure), the principle of generalisation of the information obtained concerning the multimedisation of contemporary art were applied.

The way of modernisation of cultural works, connected with the computer design of their individual components, unfolded progressively, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. Multimedisation, as a voluminous complex phenomenon, has a rich and interesting history of its development and enrichment. The beginning of this process was the phonograph silent film. The first was responsible for fixing and transmitting the sound source, the second for recording, preserving, and broadcasting visual images (from short films to longer and voluminous ones). Later, as is known, there was a successful unification of audio and video series into a complete complex, the quality of which gradually improved due to progress in the development of engineering technologies. Cinematography has allowed almost all types of art performance (rites and rituals, theatrical productions, musical performance in all its varieties, and the performance of speakers) to be translated into a new format of the engineering industry. It was its modernisation, the discovery of information and communication technologies, digital software that led to those modern examples of multimedia art that are available to the audience now. At the early stage of the introduction of electronic media into artistic practice, the emphasis was on the character of audio design (sound accompaniment of art projects). Its qualitative updating and improvement produced the necessary “new expressiveness” effect, offered the possibility of showing new (related, among other things, to the world of fiction) images (Romaniuk, 2016). Afterwards, the latest software became responsible for creating the visual side of works of art. The fact that a modern electronic engineering system implies, as one of its properties, a communicative aspect, appears to be direct evidence and link in the integration of Russian culture into the Euro Union, more broadly, its active participation in such a phenomenon of the late 20th – early 21st centuries as globalisation (Aleksandrova et al., 2018; Sabadash et al., 2020). The gradual qualitative improvement of devices, components of audio and video recording, the creation of complex equipment and algorithms for recreating the picture of the world by means of digital software have provided humanity with the opportunity to learn art in all its depth, complexity, and immensity. Multimedisation not only allows artists of the present time to implement the most daring experiments in the field of creativity, reflection of reality, embodiments of ideas, but also ensures the universal dissemination of works, their creation by companies uniting representatives of various cultures, peoples, artistic traditions (Kokbas et al., 2020). In this regard, the objective phenomenon of modernity – Euro integration and globalisation – discloses its positive, deeply progressive side.

It is also necessary to consider the factor of the indispensable presence of a responsible attitude to the content of works of art that are currently emerging. The means of the engineering and technical base (including its latest models) are designed to serve the maintenance and continuous renewal of the humanistic component of the existence of the world society (Stepanchuk et al., 2016). Following the classical standards of the high culture of the past is a mission for the authors of the 21st century, contributing not only to the preservation of the great creations of past eras but also to the creation of a meaningful, deeply innovative culture that promotes progress in both the material and spiritual spheres of human life (Orazbayeva & Nurgali, 2017; Turysbek et al., 2021).

Results

Being an inherently unique phenomenon, multimedisation took the form that it is today through the gradual implementation and enrichment of its individual components in the context of world creative practice: video and audio series; technical processing of material obtained in the external environment; synthesis of all aspects of an art project into a single whole. The present time testifies that technological progress, including, also, the factor of multimedisation of modern art, has become a deep and solid base for communication, interaction, unification of individual countries and nationalities, due to new opportunities to learn and discover the whole world, unknown and distant, to improve the quality of life in general (Khrypko et al., 2020).

Stages of multimedisation of art: fixation and broadcasting of artistic creativity by means of video engineering (silent film); fixation and broadcasting of artistic creativity by means of audio engineering (radio operas, radio performances, radio concerts); fixation and broadcasting of artistic creativity by means of both video and audio engineering (sound cinema, television); fixation and broadcasting of individual elements and images associated with the idea of embodying an unreal, fantastic world by means of computer engineering; showing an artistic (modern type) composition that is based entirely on the achievements of digital technology software; showing an artistic composition synthesising computer graphics and classical elements of art.

Thus, the course of the renewal of the art sphere is a voluminous and meaningful evolution of its appearance, inextricably linked with the modernisation of the engineering and technical base, which ensures the recording and preservation (in the present period – long-term) of the developments of artists, creative groups, and entire peoples.

In reviewing materials devoted to the study of the problems of multimedisation of culture, the integration of individual artistic traditions into the world community (Euro integration, more broadly – globalisation), the categories of objects that play a key role in this area were determined, since each of them is an integral part of the general context of the phenomenon under consideration. Table 1 demonstrates the complex of the leading elements of the modernisation of art in the conditions of technological progress and the emergence of communicative sources to a new level.

Table 1. The modernising value of the multimedisation

Multimedisation as a process and areas of its transformative impact
Professional branches and specialities: art design, media design, sound design, software design. Spheres of public cultural life: media art. Genres: animated films, movies and television films, media art projects of the latest sample: installations and hyperliterature. Engineering and technical base: the latest equipment related to discoveries concerning software, means of fixation, storage, and processing of the material. The perception of cultural values and artistic thinking: the movement towards direct dialogue between the authors of art projects and the audience, the expansion of ideas about the cultural heritage of mankind and distant artistic traditions through the use of information and communication technologies.

Multimedisation of cultural objects and, in particular, contemporary art is inextricably linked with the opening of new branches of specialised activity of representatives of the field of art (art design, sound design, media design, software design). They arose as a response to the need for professional development of the latest achievements of information and communication technology software, to modernise the presentation of art samples and improve their fixation, storage, and in some cases – restoration, processing, radical transformation to obtain the necessary effects of exposure to all possible means of expression.

There are also absolutely new socio-cultural niches that did not exist before – media art. Modernisation of the technology of creation, design, and broadcasting of samples of contemporary art has led to the establishment of a new branch in the life of society – media art, which includes ample opportunities to familiarise the audience with various types of artistic practices. Such practices are orators’ performances, ceremonies and ritual actions, theatrical performances, musical performance (solo, collective, vocal, mixed instrumental), synthetic compositions combining the listed types of artistic reflection of reality.

In accordance with the evolution of the engineering and technological base, genres that embody the present (animated films, films and television films, media art projects of the latest model: installations and hyperliterature) appear. They represent a holistic and organic synthesis of such components as the performance of an actor or musician, sound and visual series, director’s dramaturgy and the actual technique of processing all available material by a group of specialists involved in the creation of an art project. Engineering and technical support is being modernised, providing new inventions that allow the implementation of the largest art projects in terms of volume and complexity. The newest components contributing to the fixation, storage, processing, and transmission of works of modern artistic practice include the latest models of compact discs, flashcards, portable and large stationary laptops, mobile devices. It is also important to update the internal content of technical means by expanding their capabilities regarding the volume of received and stored information and ways of processing it.

An updated type of thinking is emerging, based on the development of intellectual imagery and sensory modelling. This fact is due to the eternal desire of the creative personality to expand the scope of opportunities for self-fulfilment, the implementation of new ideas, the disclosure of broad horizons in the conventional field of activity. In many ways, the process of “mental revolution”, “modernisation of perception and thinking” is due to the active use by modern authors of the principle of experimentation in creativity. The latest digital technologies provide unlimited possibilities in this regard. A logically conditioned phenomenon of interdisciplinary relations appears, the leading sides of which are such different spheres as artistic creativity and engineering and technical field. Finally, the very process of perception of cultural samples by the audience, its interaction with the participants of art projects is transformed in the area of the implementation of the “dialogue of the parties”. Thus, listeners and viewers begin to take an active part in the construction of a compositional plot and its implementation. Examples of such interaction are various kinds of installations, where observers can change the layout of the composition at will, both indoors and outdoors. The reader can also take the initiative, during a virtual acquaintance with the works of hyperliterature, adjusting the course of the plot and creating its final result.

The result of all the above is the development of such a unique phenomenon as multimedisation of culture. It, according to I. Eliner (2009), permeates the entire information space, all social systems, no boundaries affect it. Its solid foundation includes the principle of dialogue, communication and interrelationships between representatives of various, sometimes very distant artistic traditions and schools provided by modern multimedia (Figure 1). Media culture is a phenomenon that embodies a comprehensive type of modern artistic practice, directly related to the processes of Euro integration and globalisation. It serves as an indicator of cognition of the mentality and, in particular, the creative traditions of other peoples.

Figure 1. The constituent elements of multimedia culture

The Euro integration contributes to the deep and comprehensive assimilation of the artistic traditions of the peoples of Europe (both past and present) by national representatives of culture, and to the familiarisation, comprehensive study and disclosure of the achievements of national creativity by people inhabiting other countries (Kostiukevych et al., 2020). It offers the possibility of using the latest information and communication technologies to a huge number of users, which contributes to the popularisation of culture all over the world. The latest engineering developments, including those aimed at creating ultramodern compositions, contribute to globalisation, both in a purely technological and ideological-humanistic context.

Discussion

Globalisation and, in particular, the modernisation of the artistic sphere, is one of those objects that modern specialists actively study. Thus, the issue of scientific and cultural cooperation in the context of the integration of individual countries into the world community is considered in the study by E. Myronchuk (2019). The author explores the role and promising areas of transformation of international scientific cooperation in the context of globalisation. The leading forms and methods of international scientific exchange in the modern world system are characterised there. The mechanisms of internationalisation of international scientific and innovative interaction and its consideration as an instrument ensuring the rapid transition of the national economy to stable, intensive, full-scale development are analysed.

International cooperation in the field of innovation is also gaining one of the leading places in the field of modern research. In particular, researchers consider its role in the functioning of organisations and institutions, in the work of an individual and a group of individuals, entire countries. The authors also provide meta-principles as guidelines (instructions) for maintaining safe and successful international cooperation in the field of science and technology (Klueting et al., 2021).

Culture and globalisation are phenomena inseparable from each other at the present time. The evidence of this is the study of I. Oyekola (2018).

Recently, much attention has been paid to issues related to globalisation and culture, especially since the beginning of the 21st century. The main concern is the impact of globalisation on the creation and regulation of “world culture”, and the contribution of culture to the process of globalisation. From the very beginning, it should be noted that globalisation is both a cause and a consequence of cultural diversity and cultural similarity. Consequently, the continuous spread of cultures generates three possibilities. Firstly, a strong culture dominates the smaller ones (convergent thesis). Secondly, cultural interaction leaves the identity of each culture untouched (or unaffected), thereby creating a real gap between the cultures of the world (divergent thesis). Thirdly, the mixing of cultures generates a unique culture (combined thesis). To solve these problems, questions of explaining the general phenomenon of culture and globalisation are raised, and then the listed three options for the spread of culture around the world are discussed. (Oyekola, 2018).

Globalisation and the culture of education are becoming the leading subject of A. Verbrugge’s (2010) research. They are also addressed by I. Rifai: “Globalisation affects world society in economic, social, political, cultural, and many other aspects. With powerful technological advances, this impact has intensified in the last few years. This is a considerable moment for the educational sector as well. The study presents various dimensions of globalisation, taken from different sources, and suggests conclusions that the leaders of the educational sphere can make to manage the challenges of a globalised world. Countries have no choice but to adapt to the changes that have suddenly hit them economically, politically, and culturally. Education is seen as a way to interact with this phenomenon. A thorough analysis of the scale of globalisation and its consequences can be a positive start in terms of efforts to develop appropriate policies related to the development of education. Localisation and individualisation should be considered as two main aspects of globalisation in general and learning in particular (Rifai, 2013; Yereskova et al., 2020). The theory of culture in the life of modern society is becoming an actual subject of study by specialists of the present time. Thus, the role of common cultural models, the problems of their design and the possibilities of providing information to a wide audience are explored by A. Smith and T. French (2003).

Cultural interface as a phenomenon is covered by: M. Azeem, A. Tariq, F. Javed, and M. Butt (2015): “The World Wide Web has reduced the distance between its users, but it is still difficult to find a common interface model for everyone. People living in different parts of the world represent different cultures, religions, and traditions. It is necessary to develop a universal user interface that is in accordance with the user’s culture. The study provides a detailed overview of recent research in the field of the influence of culture on the design of metaphors and examines the problems and issues related to the localisation of metaphors in different cultures”.

World culture in metaphors is analysed by the researcher Z. Kövecses (2010). The leading subject of the researcher’s publication appears to be a “conceptual metaphor” consisting of a set of correspondences or mappings between the “source” and the “target” domain. The renewal of consciousness through culture, including through its multimedisation, comes to the fore in the publication of a group of specialists: J. Kwon, A. Glenberg and M. Varnum (2020): “In this study, we explore the dynamic relationship between culture, body, and embodied cognition from the standpoint that mental processes cannot be separated from our physical actions, body morphology, sensorimotor systems, and physiological characteristics. Firstly, the embodiment scheme can be useful for investigating the emergence of cultural psychological variations. Culture is a product of a cognitive system that primarily developed to control the body through its surroundings, and therefore must be sensitive to the natural and stable features of the environment that restrain bodily processes. Consideration of the environmental impact on collective sensorimotor experiences can provide useful information about how psychological variations occur at the group level. Moreover, embodied processes play an important role in cultural transmission, due to which such variations are preserved. Secondly, we argue that the consideration of the influence of culture on bodily processes can offer a new understanding of embodied cognition. Culture defines physical activity and changes existing assumptions about the interactions of the body and the environment, shaping the physical and social realities of people. Culture also shapes people’s chronic sensorimotor experiences through norms that regulate how we dispose of our bodies and how we should feel. Thirdly, we assert that culture-related embodied processes can ultimately facilitate the exchange of meaning within a group, determining how an action should be understood in different contexts. Finally, we show that this structure, combining culture, ecology, and embodied cognition, is capable of generating new hypotheses and providing a set of new predictions and conclusions arising from this synthesis”.

Globalisation (and the implementation of localisation principles in its depths) using the latest achievements of computer technology software is covered in the study of J. Byrne (2009). The specialist discussed the work of an entire industry, striving to ensure that engineering devices overcome the gap between different languages and cultures, imperceptible to users of the global Internet. This structure can be represented by the abbreviation GILT, consisting of globalisation, internationalisation, localisation, and translation. It is a consolidated process through which companies put into effect the procedures and mechanisms necessary for effective functioning in the global market.

Culture and information and communication technologies (globalisation and interfaces) are investigated in the study by the authors: E. Duncker, J. Sheikh, and B. Fields (2013). Experts give an overview of cross-cultural interface design solutions combining cross-language information retrieval and cross-cultural design. According to researchers, internationalisation does not require changing the user interface. It provides a general way of understanding this phenomenon on a global scale without changing its design in relation to each of the individual cultures. Multimedisation (and the important role of music) in the field of mobile phone applications is also becoming an object of research. In particular, the features of the most common audio and video formats are discussed (Xin, 2009).

Cultural thinking in the context of globalisation is analysed in detail in the study of O. Polishchuk. Thus, the specialist introduces readers to such categories of the sphere under consideration as “artistic and imaginative thinking”, “design thinking”. The author also warns against the trend of technicalisation of culture, urging to preserve the best humanistic traditions of both Ukraine and the world powers, observing the laws of harmony inherent in art in general (Polishchuk, 2021). The role of innovative technologies in the development of social, political, economic, and cultural life of society is of crucial importance for researchers of the problem stated in the title of this publication. The motivation for a positive attitude, with regard to software, which becomes a means of redistributing ideas, cultural achievements, and means of preserving progress, is covered in the publication by L. Kalinichenko (2011).

The protection of society and humanistic values, their role in ensuring progress are highlighted in the study of P. Ostolski (2021). In particular, the researcher determines the functional value of individual elements of culture that contribute to maintaining security in the life of society (Buribayev et al., 2020). They are represented by such components as the intellectual sphere, emotional potential, ethical values. According to the author, they are capable of updating their content and expanding their scope.

The responsiveness of culture in the context of globalisation and Euro integration is considered in the study by D. Alt and N. Raichel (2021). The aim of the authors is to cover the development of cultural evaluation of various artistic traditions belonging to other nationalities. Intercultural integration, in particular the creation of multicultural teams, is being studied to discover the most effective ways of cooperation between specialists in various fields at the international level (D’Iribarne et al., 2020).

The unification of multicultures into an integral group – as a factor of the success of training of all participants of this community is also analysed in modern science. In particular, the cultural patterns underlying the team learning model and having a direct impact on the processes and conditions of learning in a team are investigated (Cseh, 2003; Bidaishiyeva et al., 2018; Bhate et al., 2021). Intercultural dialogue is the key to economic stability and progress, as evidenced by the study of specialists: A. Bhate, L. McCusker, and M. Prasad [40]. The role of social networks in the functioning of culture is studied by B. Erickson (2021). Thus, upon analysing the fate of individuals through social networks, the author gets a visual picture of the probability of future events in the life of society. However, the problem of multimedisation of contemporary art in the context of globalisation and Euro integration is still open and requires thorough research.

Conclusions

As evidenced by the material of this publication, the modern era has offered to the world such bright phenomena as the integration of art and technical sciences (interdisciplinary synthesis of areas and spheres of activity); computerisation of culture; digitalisation of artistic creativity, in particular the modern art sector. Having become an object of innovation, the considered branch of humanitarian thinking raised the interest of various traditions in relation to each other, contributed to familiarisation with outstanding examples of their heritage and, as a result, unification into a single information and technical space (Euro integration, more broadly – globalisation).

The process of multimedisation has been going on gradually for over a hundred years. It began with the invention of silent film. No less urgent was the problem of providing high-quality audio accompaniment of works of art and, primarily, samples of the art performance. This stimulated the powerful development of the sound industry, as a result of which mankind acquired various models of engineering devices designed to fix, store, expand, and process artistic sources. The idea of synthesising technological achievements in the field of the visual and sound design of compositions appeared to be progressive. Finally, the use of images, scenes, and integral storylines created using digital technology software appeared to be a breakthrough in the field of intellectual activity of mankind. The result of the technical renovation of works of art was the emergence of specialities that did not exist before sound design, software design, art design, engineering design. A whole branch in the life of society originates – media art. Genres such as installation, hyperplot (more broadly, the area called hyperliterature), art projects are born. The broadcast of works of art is being updated, aimed at creating a direct dialogue between the participants of the media performance and the audience. All of the above leads to the expansion of the boundaries of perception by the viewer and listener of the creations presented by various authors at the present time.

Undoubtedly, the multimedisation of contemporary art is a phenomenon created by the combined efforts of various countries, schools, and trends. This, in turn, is a reflection of globalisation and, at the same time, the basis that contributes to its further development. There are a number of unexplored, unique, rich and long in history of cultures, the discovery and renewal of which are also possible due to technological progress and the integration of individual nationalities into the world community, the future of which will ensure respect for the high artistic ideals of other nations.

Declaration of Conflict of Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Funding

No funding has been received for the publication of this article. It is published free of any charge.

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