Sky is My Father: A Naga Village Remembered

by Easterine Kire

The celebrated novel—the first Naga novel in English—about the legendary battle between Britain and the little warrior village of Khonoma in the nineteenth century, now reissued.

Between 1832 and 1880, the Angami warriors of Khonoma 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, this revised edition 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.

Genres: India, Fiction

200 pages, Paperback

Published September 10, 2018

About the author

Easterine Kire (Iralu) is a poet, writer, and novelist from Nagaland. She is one of the finest story tellers from the region and has written several books in English including three collections of poetry and short stories. Her first novel, A Naga Village Remembered, was the first-ever Naga novel to be published.

Easterine has translated 200 oral poems from her native language, Tenyidie, into English. She has been actively involved in working on creating better opportunities for the Naga youth and nurturing and evangelizing the Naga folktales.

She is also the Founder-partner of the publishing house called Barkweaver, which publishes Naga folktales, children’s stories and real stirring stories of ordinary people. Easterine Kire has a Ph.D in English Literature from University of Pune.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A real man does not need to roar to show that he is a man."

This book deals heavily with wars and rituals the people of a certain Naga tribe, Angami, used to follow during the times of war. Also, focused a lot more in details during the first half of the book with the harvesting times and the distinct roles and responsibilities of every member in the community.

The actual story mentioned in the blurb becomes more real towards the second half of the story.

The ending is heartbreaking. There's a lot of blood bath going on now and then during the entire story.

I wanted more character development and more insight to the plot.

However, it turned out to be a unique, different read.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s often that I get to read a book that captures in intimate detail the life of a place I have visited. There are hardly any books from India’s forgotten North-East. We might remember all the states of the United States of America, but we might struggle to relate all the states of the North-East.

Visiting Nagaland in 2017 gave me unique insights into this beautiful place. Easterine Kire’s ‘Sky is My Father’ offered me further perspectives on the unique customs of Khonoma village in Nagaland. I remember being saddened that I knew so little when I walked around the village.

And therefore, I am glad I shed some ignorance with this lovely little book. This is not a novel as much as a book to enlighten us on Nagaland’s rich cultural history. It’s not really about a great story. Nagaland is the story. It’s not about plot and character. It’s about people and their dying traditions and beliefs.

I would also call this a bookumentary, therefore.

[Padmaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Sky is my father' was originally published as 'A Naga village remembered', this was the revised edition. It's also the first Naga novel which is written in English.

I loved reading this book. It gave me such a nice insight into the history of the state and about an important historical event which is unknown to most of us Indians today.

The book starts with an introduction which tells us in detail about the Angami warriors and it helps us to understand the events happening in this book a lot better.

This is a story if the Angami warriors of Khonoma, a village in Nagaland. The story is told through three generations of a family. The narrative is in true blue Easterine Kire style, laden with descriptions of village life, folklore, beliefs, the fields and their simple and sustainable lifestyle.

At its core, it's a historical drama about a Angami tribe's resistance against the British when they come to raid their region, between 1832 to 1880. The Khonoma warriors resisted the British, joined by other neighbouring villages as well. Despite being outnumbered by them and by using only traditional methods in war, they later sign a peace treaty with the British on the 27th of March, 1880.

You all should definitely read this book. It beautifully tells the story of a proud community.

I am happy and proud of authors like Kire who bring forth such brilliant stories from their homeland and introduce us to a chapter in history we are otherwise unaware of.

Highly recommended.

4.5⭐

[Divya Pal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idyllic lives of a proud, clannish and spiritual people living in harmony with Nature, communing with spirits and their ancestors, are shattered with the arrival of the rapacious white man - in the form of the East India Company. These interlopers, who could not conquer the brave Nagas on the field of war, eventually succeeded in vanquishing them insidiously by converting them from their traditional animism to Christianity.
Evocatively written.

[Prabodh Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is considered to be the 1st Naga novel to be written in English. It's describes the culture and story of Khonoma village of Nagaland during the Anglo-Naga battles (1850 to 1880) and the coming of Christianity (1890 onwards). It describes in some detail the pre-christian taboos and beliefs of Angami tribe of Khonoma and nearby villages, such as rituals during birth and death, hunting of tigers, and victory in wars with nearby villages. It also describes the warrior nature of Naga tribes and the challenge they posed to the might of British, by raiding their plantations in Assam. The war description between the British and Khonoma is extremely well written. Khonoma is now touted as a green village and is a tourist attraction. In all this make-up, it is important to remember the real community inside and how they came to be. This is what this novel attempts to do.

[Namitha Varma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I bought the book mainly for its pretty cover, and the title claims of "first Naga novel in English", "winner of the Hindu Prize". I did not enjoy the narrative, though. The book is aspiring to be the historical drama of a tribe but falls flat because of the unsure narrative voice. It moves between being a historically accurate retelling of the fight between Khonoma and the British and an attempt to tell the stories of the people involved in it. In the process, neither narratives stick.

There are too many characters, and many of them are introduced out of the blue. You can't remember most of the characters because very few get enough space on the pages. The only exceptions are Levi, his mother Vipiano, his wife Peno, and his son Sato. Everyone else just comes across as extras in a war epic.

It is also difficult to empathise with any of the characters. The language is unevocative. It reads more like a literal translation than an original English book.

All in all, I could not enjoy this book very well.

[| Shakshi | · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Who is honest, you are honest. Who is honest, I am honest. We will compete with each other in honesty.”

Sky is My Father formerly known as A Naga Village Remembered is a historical fiction without a doubt towards its authenticity. It is a story of a certain village called Khonoma, who doesn't want anything other than freedom. This book depicts the story of struggle of the village for freedom, first from British rule then from India.

The book starts with a meeting of village men yo discuss strategy to conduct a raid against nearby village for avenging death of their loved ones and old settling scores. The book further continues with the revolts and battlefield strategies and beliefs of the people along with their community beliefs.

It is described in the book that people of Khonoma are very Superstitious and have a complete belief in the spirits, who helps them to prosper and leads them to destruction as well. The people are alsovery malevolent towards masculinity and says men should always be ready for war and raids.

~ "A real man does not need to roar to show that he is a man"

This book contains so many accounts related to bloodshed,war and rituals of the people of Naga tribe, Angami, during those times. The relation of the plot with reality is done so well- celebrating during harvest season and taboos in various aspects. It is not a tale of one person but the different stories of people of village taken into account which also makes this unique.

When there was British rule in India, it is not only the Northern part that suffered and struggled for freedom (as we have learned mostly in our textbooks) but the whole country and this is one of a tale.

The ending is heart breaking with the amount of bloodshed told in the story. But this story is a one of a kind and unique.

With the glossary depicting meaning of all the Angami words and introduction containing a detailed account of geography of Khonoma, this book becomes easy to grasp.

Triggers for animals and birds cruelty, graphical descriptions and bloodshed. Definitely not for someone in mood of light read. And Definitely for those willing to read a new kind of story.

Happy Reading 📚😊

[Vinay Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read another book by the author, I picked this one up. I liked the story but did not love it. There's much to like about the culture of Nagaland and the story of bravery it shares. But it felt tedious to read at times because of the narration.

[Pretty Little Bibliophile · Rating 3 out of 5]

borrowed from the library

[Mitra Samal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the first Naga novel written in English with the rich description of their culture. It starts with a historical introduction which you should not skip. The story revolves around three generations covering details about their festivals, beliefs, life style and religious rituals. It also throws light about the advent of modernization and the new religion replacing the old one but doesn't show that new is better than the old, rather then fact that new embraces the old and takes it forward. I loved the book, simple, honest and innocent depiction of the life of Nagas. The simplicity and the innocence especially will stay with me for a long time.

[Saumya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked that the author shows us a glimpse of North Eastern - specifically Khonoma - culture. The story is simple and it’s easy to visualize the references because of how she’s written it.

At the same time, I felt the language lacked nuance. It was too rushed and bland to be impactful, and the unstructured, rambling story didn’t do much to help with that. There was also an unnecessary amount of death and tragedy, that weren’t nearly balanced by other aspects or themes.

While I was drawn to the book by the motivation of learning about a new culture, very little kept me motivated to finish it.

[Trisha Ghosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Naga Village Remembered—the actual title of the Book, the way I would prefer to remember it.

This historical fiction may come across initially as a bit dry. However, it is an engaging read.

Easterine Kire beautifully uses a globally recognised language to depict the community’s traditions, society, and history—making the story accessible to readers everywhere. In doing so, she preserves her culture by opening a window for others to understand and appreciate it.

A meaningful and memorable read for anyone interested in indigenous narratives. This book isn't merely a historical account, it's an immersive experience, inviting readers to walk through the trails of Khonoma.

[Mili Mishra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit unclear as it doesn't give the complete background of the characters mentioned.

Tough to follow the war narrative in absence of proper references..

The prose is simple and tells a story of a village and it's various customs like the ones after killing a tiger..

It seems that the story deserves more justice probably in a clearer setting or with proper references

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful narrative of a place and a people not frequently on the radar outside perhaps a short radius. I did enjoy her Son of Thundercloud more as I suspect the translation was done with a slightly different approach. Nonetheless, a beautiful heartbreaking tale with some extra treats at the end.

[Carl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slightly disappointed by the writing. Most interesting part of the book is about the actual historic interaction and wars with the British.