Reading Easterine Kire: Sky Is My Father, and Son of the Thundercloud

Folklore, Oral Literature and Nagaland

As we finally pass the midway mark into 2022, I can happily say that I have kept up with my challenge to read literature (mainly fiction) from Northeast India. So far, I have read more than ten books from this region, and I certainly hope I shall continue with this endeavour.

In June and July, I decided to pick up Easterine Kire. I had previously read A Terrible Matriarchy by Kire for a class during my last semester in university. I liked it and, in fact, also wrote an article on Medium.

If you want to read more books from Nagaland, you can check out these articles as well:

Synopses of the Books

So when I saw that Sky Is My Father and Son of the Thundercloud were available in the library, I borrowed them!

Here is a synopsis for Sky Is My Father:

Between 1832 and 1880, the Angami warriors of Khonoma village in Nagaland, were a beacon of Naga resistance against the British, carrying out raids and disrupting the forced recruitment of the Nagas as bonded labourers. In this richly detailed historical novel — the first Naga novel to appear in English — Hindu Prize winner Easterine Kire brings alive Khonoma of the nineteenth century, a natural fortress nestled amidst high mountains. Life in the far-flung Naga hills was ordered by the seasons and the ceaseless labour of both women and men in the fields; by social taboos, rituals and festivals. Young men grew up on stories of valiant battles with rival villages, tigers, spirits and the British. Everyone had a deep connection with the land, and they took pride in fighting and toiling for it.

The Khonoma warriors clashed with the British a number of times, stirring other Naga villages to join them as well. After the death of an officer in 1879, the British laid siege upon the tiny village. But despite being outumbered and ill-equipped, Khonoma held out against them for four long months, eventually signing a peace treaty on 27 March, 1880. Originally published to great acclaim as A Naga Village Remembered, the book weaves together meticulous research, oral narratives and fabulous prose to tell the story of a proud and remarkable community reckoning with radical change — within and without. Source: Goodreads.

Here is a synopsis for Son of the Thundercloud:

In her new novel, Easterine Kire, winner of the Hindu Prize, combines lyrical storytelling with the magic and wisdom of Naga legends to produce an unforgettable, life-affirming fable.

After losing all his family in a terrible famine, a man leaves his village with just the clothes on his back, never once looking back. For endless miles he walks through a landscape as desolate as his heart. Until two ancient women who have waited for rain for four hundred years lead him to the Village of Weavers where a prophecy will be fulfilled. A single drop of rain will impregnate the tiger-widow and her son will slay the spirit-tiger. The traveller will help the woman bring up the boy. He will witness miracles and tragedy and come close to finding a home again. And he will learn that love and life are eternal. Source: Goodreads.

Why You Should Read These Books

Sky Is My Father is set in the Naga village of Khonoma and follows warrior characters from the Angami tribe. The first impression I got of this book was its position in narrating history — one that is not well known by most of us. In that aspect, it is quite a historical novel, although it straddles history and society on the one hand and folklore and myth on the other.

I also think that Sky Is My Father particularly sheds light on the everyday life of the Angami people. Reading about their rituals around tiger killings, hunts, title-taking ceremonies, community life for the youngsters in the dormitories, building a new home, and rituals related to taboos was fascinating. Since I belong to a culture that is not the same, this was all quite enlightening.

Sky Is My Father also shows the gradual change of this section of the Naga community from an animistic faith to that of Christianity. With the coming of Christianity and the conversion of one character in this story, I was reminded of this same situation in Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. Kire also talks about the other side of war. The Angami warriors of Khonoma were really brave, but at the same time, Kire explores the lives of the women who had to live long after the death of their men.

Of course, I have to talk about the British colonial angle. Here is one quote from the book that perfectly describes what befell them of what was said about the burning of Khonoma:

This was the punishment of a proud people who had dared to control their own destinies. (From Sky Is My Father)

Compared to Sky Is My Father, Son of the Thundercloud is more about myth and storytelling. One of the issues with the former was that it constantly changed the tone of narration — from fiction to what feels like a hardcore history schoolbook. However, Son of the Thundercloud is more about prophecy, human nature, faith, hope, and innate goodness.

Son of the Thundercloud is a much easier, quicker and smoother read than Sky Is My Father and, in fact, also won the Hindu Prize in 2015. In this book, we also see that tiger hunting is a very important social activity that binds the men together. Nonetheless, this book also touches on accidental killings of men, especially the rituals the killer had to follow in the aftermath. The idea of the spirit tiger was also new to me — and I had only come across it before in Avinuo Kire’s collection.

Overall, I am really glad that I read both of these books! Since I am also doing the Explore India Readathon reading challenge, I have to affirm that I have really been lucky enough to branch out and read books from genres that I haven’t read much before.

Easterine Kire’s works have the best of everything — culture, society with all its merits and demerits, human qualities, faith, folklore, myth — the list goes on!

I had a wonderful time reading these books. I hope you, too, give it a chance and be transported to the beautiful land of Nagaland.

Nayanika Saikia graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and was also a Dean’s List student. She recently graduated with a First Class Master’s Degree in English Literature. She is a Booktuber and Bookstagrammer. She can often be found on her Instagram account Pretty Little Bibliophile.

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