Rewriting Naga Culture: A New Historical Study of Temsula Ao’s Poetry

Abstract

Temsula Ao, a writer of the Indian state of Nagaland, is renowned not only for her short stories and novels but also for her exceptional poetic work. Her poems serve as a repository of Naga culture and society, providing historical insights into the traditions, religions, superstitions, and practices of the Naga community that were once part of their past. Ao's writings sparked significant change and renewed interest in the preservation of the Naga's old traditions and oral culture. According to the principles of Cultural Poetics, also known as New Historicism, literary works are deeply embedded in social and political discourse. To fully comprehend their meaning, these texts must be interpreted from social, cultural, and historical perspectives. Greenblatt posits that art and society mutually influence each other, with every work of art being shaped by a specific cultural milieu. This study aims to analyse Temsula Ao's poems as an important historical resource that offers a “thick description” of the Naga community in the light of “Cultural Poetics” theory.