Windhover: Books

1982: Kelhoukevira, A volume of poetry in English
2000: Folk Elements in Achebe
2001: The Windhover Collection
2003: A Naga Village remembered
2006: Ah...People of Tromsø
2007: Three Nagas in Norway / Tre Nagaer i Norge
2007: The Battle of Kohima
2007: A Terrible Matriarchy
2009: Naga Folktales Retold
2009: Løven i kjøleskapet [The lion in the refrigerator]
2009: Nagalands døtre [A Terrible Matriarchy, Norwegian translation]
2010: Tage des Zorns [A Terrible Matriarchy, German translation]
2010: Der Raupengatte und andere Märchen der Naga [Naga Folktales Retold, German translation]
2010: Mari
2011: A slice of Stavanger
2011: Khonoma - Erinnerungen an ein Dorf der Naga [A Naga Village remembered, German translation]
2011: Forest song
2011: Life on hold
2011: Once in faraway Dorg
2011: Bitter wormwood
2012: Jazzpoetry
2012: Der Gesang des Waldes und andere Geistergeschichten [Forest song, German translation]
2012: Dinkypu
2012: JazzPoetry and other poems
2013: Mari [German translation]
2013: A study guide to A Terrible Matriarchy
2013: A Terrible Matriarchy, 2nd edition
2013: The Log-drummer Boy
2013: Different Strokes
2014: When the river sleeps
2014: My book of angels
2014: Thoughts after easter
2015: The Dancing Village
2016: A Naga Village remembered, second edition
2016: Son of the Thundercloud
2017: Ein verlorenes Leben: Geschichte einer Liebe bei den Naga [Life on hold, German translation]
2017: Don't Run, My Love
2018: Mari, 2nd edition
2018: Sky Is My Father [A Naga Village remembered, third edition]
2018: Mens elva sover [When the river sleeps, Norwegian translation]
2019: A respectable woman
2019: Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland

Kelhoukevira, A volume of poetry in English

Published 1982, J.B.Lama.

Kelhoukevira was the first volume published by a Naga in English, mourning Naga warriors of the 1950s Indo-Naga conflict.

[Out of print]

Folk Elements in Achebe

Published: 2000, Ura Academy.

A comparative study of Ibo culture and Tenyimia culture.

The Windhover Collection

Published: 2001, Steven Herlekar.

"This is a very quiet book, it has silences in it, the silences that you find in great books. The images are very visual as well." — Mahesh Bhatt

[Out of print]

At the Merhü Kuda, he drank in the cool morning air and closed his eyes against the strong wind blowing up from the valley. How good it was to be back in the village, to be among his people. Impulsively he picked up a bit of soil and smelt its earthiness. He felt bonded to the village, to the land, and feelings surged up in him that he'd never known before. I should feel so strongly for a mistress, he mused, smiling to himself. That was what this village did to her men, she bonded them to her so strongly that they were always striving to prove themselves men enough for her. Perhaps that was the explanation for the thirst that drove them out onto the battlefield, soul-thirsty for the danger and the thrill of coming so close to death.
(from Easterine's first novel, A Naga Village Remembered)

[Out of print]

Ah...People of Tromsø

Published: 2006, Nival Forlag, Norway.

Tromsø-dwellers
in rain or snow or sun
delighting or inspiring
most of all, warmly celebrated
in poems by Easterine Kire Iralu
poet, storymaker, dreamer.

Reviews:

"You have yoiked the people, in the Sami tradition, you have described each person in the same way as the Sami would yoik an individual person." — Professor Jacob Meloe

[Out of print]

Three Nagas in Norway / Tre Nagaer i Norge

Published: 2007, Avvik Forlag, Norway.

This is an upside-down book (tête-bêche), in english and norwegian.

The book is about the author's experience of traveling to Norway and the new experiences it offered. While it is an amusing account of adjusting to life in Norway, with many encounters of the cultural and linguistic kind, the core of the book also tells the Naga story, the tragedy of a race doubly colonized, and now, being further fractured by internal conflict and a people's vain struggle for freedom.

Denne boken handler om forfatterens opplevelse av reisen til Norge og de nye erfaringene Norge bød på. Selv om den er en underholdende fortelling om å tilpasse seg livet i Norge, med mange kulturelle og lingvistiske møter, forteller boken også nagaenes historie, tragedien om et folk som har blitt kolonisert to ganger og nå blir splittet ytterligere av interne stridigheter og en forgjeves kamp for frihet.

The Battle of Kohima

Published: 2007, Ura Academy, India.

Easterine on The Battle of Kohima: I spoke to and interviewed several survivors of World War II in Kohima village for "The battle of Kohima." They all told me the war was the most wonderful period of their lives. Exciting to be evacuated, to see aircraft, air fights, shelling of villages, intense military activity and soldiers from different nations. I wrote from the standpoint of the people who had experienced it. They felt that in spite of the horrors of war, there was an excitement about the times that they had never seen before or after it. Since the Nagas were not directly involved in the war, they participated like spectators.

A Terrible Matriarchy

Published: 2007, Zubaan Books, India.

Easterine on A Terrible Matriarchy: I wrote this book in the middle of 2005 experimentally but stopped at page four, thinking it was too dark. I sent the four pages to my publisher in India, who encouraged me to write the rest so that is how it grew. As it is a book about the Angami society that I grew up in and had intimate knowledge of, it was good to be writing it in Norway, geographically distanced from it. I could then see that the patriarchal structure of my society was underlined by a very strong matriarchy. Of course, this differs from village to village but women do hold an invisible sway over the social dictates, especially older women in the family.

Yet, it must be added, that it is stronger in some families and some villages and almost non- existent in others. Ambivalent, sort of.

I saw it as a negative female energy manifestation when the little girl who is the central character of the book is suppressed by her grandmother when she goes to live with her. Her grandmother calls it cultural education. But for the girl it is denial of things that were permitted to her brothers. It is not a life.

The struggle of the girl to get educated, the sacrifices she makes and the position she creates for herself in later life is also true of what is happening to women in my society today. I think that she discovers a positive female energy inside of her and uses it to shape her social reality for the better. The problems of alcoholism amongst men and dropouts at school and frustration are all related to the unsolved political conflict at home.

The overwhelming presence of a spiritual reality is also true to the Naga experience. There are flashbacks into the Naga past, a colonial history under British administration, the second world war and the Japanese invasion of our lands and the struggle for freedom and all its complications after Indian independence. These form the background of the story which is the young girl, Dielieno's story, and through it, the telling of a people's life now disappearing very surely.

My own grandmother was from Meghalaya, from a matrilineal society. It was interesting for me to see her people and society and the position of the girl-child in the matrilineal society as opposed to the patriarchal society of Naga society she had married into.

Reviews:

"Every society and age seems to have a girl's coming of age story that captures the society and the time so well that it becomes part of the people's living memory for good. Antigone for ancient Greece, Jane Eyre for Victorian England, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl for early nineteenth century American south, The Diary of Anne Frank for Nazi Europe, Abeng for postcolonial Caribbean, Nervous Conditions for 1960s Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), The House on Mango Street for Hispanic America, to mention a few. For mid-twentieth century Naga society, Easterine Iralu's A Terrible Matriarchy could very well be that story. It also has the distinction of being the first Naga novel in English." — Paul Pimomo

"It's possible to describe Easterine Iralu's insightful novel, A Terrible Matriarchy (2007, Zubaan, New Delhi, 314 pages), as simply a story about a nasty grandmother named Vibano and a disenchanted child. Actually, the book offers much more -- a generation-long saga of a troubled family in a troubled place. The unusual setting is Nagaland, now a state in northeastern India, at an unspecified time in the second half of the 20th century.
Even ordinary domestic activities suggest past turmoil. 'Mother baked a cake in the ammunition box that had been left behind during the war by British troops. Almost every house had one of these.'
Although many characters struggle with near-poverty, they own plenty of high-growth seeds of conflict. Problems stem from extreme alcoholism, domestic violence, simmering resentments, neighborhood gossip, fearful superstitions and constant tension between modern thinkers and traditionalists. Anyone reading that 'Vini was dead drunk the night his wife delivered a healthy eight-pound baby boy' instantly sees trouble coming." — John Cairns

"Such realistic portrayals of the evolving Naga Society, leaving aside its inherent humour, contextualizes to mind a “non-diary” Anne Frank, a “non thick-book” Roots, by Alex Haley “or less than a hundred years” Garcia Marquez for the consuming references to their umbilical roots, from where its literary spirits beautifully haunt many to this day." — Rangam Thoitak Chiru

Links:

"A Terrible Matriarchy", A Review - by Paul Pimomo
A Terrible Matriarchy, reviewed by John Cairns
Book Review: A terrible Matriarchy - Rangam Thoitak Chiru

Naga Folktales Retold

Published: 2009, Barkweaver.

Barkweaver's first book, "Naga Folktales Retold" was launched at Dream Cafe, Kohima on the 18th December. Guests arrived well before the launch and one of the sweetest arrivals was 90-year-old oral narrator Salhouthie. The other oral narrator who was present was 77-year-old Kelhouvikuo.

The presence of the oral narrators meant that it had to be a bilingual launch. Which was quite alright. Nagas are adept at code-switching so the first part of the launch began in English and then we rounded it off in Tenyidie. Signing of autographs took place in English, I think.

The response from the local press was heartening. Next morning at breakfast, my sister pushed the papers to me saying, "Well you and David Beckham made it to the front page." Indeed there we were, Dave on one side of the four-columner and yours truly on the other. Hope Victoria doesn't subscribe to Naga newspapers.

[Out of print]

Løven i kjøleskapet [The lion in the refrigerator]

Published: 2009, Thinkbank, Norway.

En sen høstkveld ser Kirstine to enorme hundeøyne stirre inn på henne. Inger åpner kjøleskapet og finner av alle ting en blå løve ventende der inne. Terje åpner øynene og ser til sin forskrekkelse at tannlegen hans har forvandlet seg til en krokodille. Hva er det som skjer? Finn ut mer i Easterine Iralus samling av fantasifulle historier.

A collection of imaginative short stories and illustrations for children, written in Norwegian.

Links:

Easterine Kire: Løven i kjøleskapet
Løven i kjøleskapet (eBook)

[Out of print]

Nagalands døtre [A Terrible Matriarchy]

Published: 2009, Orion, Norway.

Dette er en tankevekkende og vakker beretning om en ung kvinne som vokser opp i et tradisjonsbundet samfunn nordøst i India preget av langvarige uroligheter. Lille Lieno skal ikke få utdannelse, ømhet eller tid til lek, men hun vil ikke la seg knekke.

Med stor varsomhet skildrer Iralu et eksotisk, men annerledes landskap og menneskeskjebner som rører deg dypt inn i hjertet.

Links:

Boklansering av "Nagalands døtre"

Tage des Zorns [A Terrible Matriarchy]

Published: 2010, Brandes & Apsel, Germany.

Die aufrüttelnde Geschichte eines jungen Mädchens, das in der von Tradition wie vom schnellen Wandel geprägten Naga-Gesellschaft im Nordosten Indiens aufwächst. Als Fünfjährige kommt Dielieno zu ihrer strengen Großmutter. Diese kennt nur ein Ziel: das kleine Mädchen entsprechend alter Naga-Überzeugungen zur gehorsamen Ehefrau und Mutter zu erziehen. Doch Dielieno wehrt sich und geht ihren eigenen Weg ...

Tage des Zorns @ buecher.de

Der Raupengatte und andere Märchen der Naga [Naga Folktales Retold]

Published: 2010, Loecker Erhard Verlag, Austria.

An die 16 Ethnien mongolischen Ursprungs, die 60 verschiedene tibeto-burmesischen Sprachen sprechen und unterschiedlichen Traditionen folgen bewohnen die grünen Nagaberge. Nach der Homepage des Government of the People's of Nagaland sollen 3,5 Mill. Menschen aus 39 Gruppen zur Naga-Nation gehören, die sowohl auf indischer wie auch auf myanmarischer Seite der Grenze wohnen. Das indische Nagaland erreichte 1963 den Status eines eigenen Staates in der Indischen Union, ist etwas kleiner wie das österreichische Bundesland Steiermark und hat 1,98 Mill. Einwohner (2001).

Bei diesen Gruppen hat sich ein bislang im Westen kaum bekanntes, großartiges Kulturerbe erhalten, das jedoch durch jahrzehntelange politische Unruhen in der Region und Verarmung der Bevölkerung durch politische Korruption gefährdet ist. Unübersehbar ist der rasche Kulturwandel. Zwar setzte 1871 die Christianisierung ein, doch erst in den 60er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde die Kopfjagd als beendet erklärt. Um sich in der Indischen Union Gehör verschaffen zu können, müssen die einzelnen Gruppen der Naga lernen, nicht tribal zu denken, sondern als ein Volk der "Naga".

Bis jetzt wollen die Naga-Nationalisten einen unabhängigen Staat. Schließlich waren viele Naga-Regionen auch während der Britischen Kolonialzeit unabhängig. Sie gründeten schon 1946 den Naga National Council. Ihr militärischer Arm, die Naga-Armee wurde in Burma, China und Pakistan ausgebildet. Obwohl sie zur Erreichung ihrer Ziele den Weg der Gewalt wählten, wollen sie einen christlichen Staat und eine christliche Regierung. Einer ihrer Slogans lautet "Nagaland for Christ". Die Hauptziele ihrer Angriffe sind Armee und die Polizei.

Die Naga betrachten ihre Erzählungen und Gedichte als Träger ihrer Kultur. Beides wird mündlich überliefert. In den Geschichten wird zum gesellschaftlich richtigen Benehmen angeleitet und moralische Anleitung gegeben.

Der Raupengatte und andere Märchen der Naga @ loecker-verlag.at

Mari

Published: 2010, Harper-Collins, India.

I open the diary slowly. The childish scrawl of a young girl fills its pages, and as I read on, I am almost that girl again. Carefree, innocent, and oblivious to the way in which the war would change my life forever. I am drawn once again, irresistibly, into that mad whirl of living, dying and loving. That was the war I knew. I had thought then that life began at seventeen. And that life began in spring. And the world was green with the young green of new plants, the hills bathed with thin mist every evening and the nights velvet with the songs of Bing Crosby. How little I knew of life then.

Kohima. 1944. The Japanese invade India, life changes overnight, and seventeen-year-old Mari O'Leary and her young sisters are evacuated from their home and separated from the rest of their family.

Even as she pines for her fiancé Vic, a soldier in the British army, Mari and her sisters are forced to run from village to village, camping in fields, eating herbs for food, seeking shelter or a trustworthy friend, until the madness has passed.

A sensitive recounting of a true story, Mari is also the story of Kohima and its people. Easterine Kire brings alive a simpler time in a forgotten place that was ravaged by war before it was noticed by the rest of the world.

Reviews:

"Easterine Kire brings to life for the first time the authentic voice of the Naga people amidst the horror of the war that overwhelmed their mountaintop home in 1944. It is a voice which has for too long been silent. In her vibrant telling of the story, Easterine shows just what it meant for Nagas to be refugees in their own homeland, their homes and livelihoods around them crushed by the weight of conflict and bloodshed, their families split up and separated forever."
– Robert Lyman, military historian

"Even if you haven't read about or heard of the Battle of Kohima, which stopped the Japanese march into India, you will never forget the battle after reading this book. It is based on Mari's living memory and a diary she kept during and after the war. Vic, Mari and Pat show by example that it is by living passionately and loving unreservedly that we give depth and meaning to the scattered events and accidents of our lives. Mari and the people around her love deeply, and that sees them through life and death."
– Paulus Pimomo, Professor of English & Co-Director, African and Black Studies, Central Washington University

"Easterine's writings are pivoted on her yearning for truth and grace, enveloped at the same time in the existential human predicament. Her writings are aimed at all categories of readers: young and old, traditional and modern."
– Dr A.J. Sebastian, Head, Department of English, Nagaland University

"It is an engrossing story of indomitable spirit which brings to life a forgotten period of history. As Easterine Kire writes, the book “is not just Mari's story. It is the story of Kohima and its people”." — Hindustan Times

"Mari is most effective as a novel where it is a picture of the times, recording the community spirit of the Naga people, the valiance of the British soldiers, and the narrowly escaped tyranny of the rampaging Japanese army." — Karishma Attari

"At the end of the book I ask myself, why should people fall in love in times of war? Why should there be hope and happiness in the midst of a battle? Now I keep coming up with an answer, which is a question - why not? After all, what’s the story of a young girl caught in the midst of a terrible war, if without love. The war is long over but the memory of Mari will live on." — Kezhakielie Whiso

Links:

Mari on Vimeo
ICORN: New novel from Easterine Kire
Mari : a tale of romance in times of war - Hindustan Times
Review: Mari - timeoutmumbai.net
Book review: My reading of Mari - nagalandpost.com

A slice of Stavanger

Published: 2011, Barkweaver.

A Slice of Stavanger is title for a fotopoem book project on Stavanger city. The book is an attempt to capture the soul of the city by the poet-photographer team who are sponsored by Shahrazad's Neighbourhood challenge.

Khonoma - Erinnerungen an ein Dorf der Naga [A Naga Village Remembered]

Published: 2011, Loecker Erhard Verlag, Austria.

Easterine Iralus Roman ist die erste literarische Arbeit einer Naga, die das Eindringen der kolonialen Herrschaft in eine funktionierende Gesellschaft beschreibt. Ihr Roman ist das erste literarische Dokument, das sich mit dem Zerfall einer Kultur beschäftigt, die im heutigen Nordosten Indiens – lange auf sich allein gestellt – eine eigene Entwicklung nahm.

Iralu beschreibt das reiche kulturelle Leben einer indigenen Gruppe, die lange an ihren vorchristlichen Vorstellungen mit Tabus, Ritualen und Festen festhielt und die an die helfende Kraft ihrer Geister glaubt. Durch den Vertrag vom 27. März 1880 zwischen der britischen Krone und dem Ältestenrat des Dorfes Khonoma endet die Unabhängigkeit der Naga.

Dabei vermeidet sie eine Idealisierung und stellt stattdessen die reichen Traditionen, die komplexen moralischen Codes, aber auch die inneren Widersprüche der Naga dar. Der Roman von Easterine Iralu entstand in der Phase des Nagalands, in der die dort ansässigen Menschen, verstärkt begannen sich ihrer eigenen Identität bewusst zu werden. Von der englischsprachigen Kritik wurde der Roman mit »Things fall apart« von Chinua Achebe verglichen.

Khonoma - Erinnerungen an ein Dorf der Naga @ loecker-verlag.at
Khonoma - Erinnerungen an ein Dorf der Naga @ amazon.de

Forest song

Published: 2011, Barkweaver.

"Forest Song" is a collection of short stories which take place in typically Naga village and town settings. This is the second instance of an artistic visualization of the Barkweaver stories in collaboration with Ura Academy and Barkweaver.

Released on December 5 by Nagaland minister for urban development and higher education Dr. Shürhozelie Liezietsu during Hornbill Literature Fest 2011.

Life on hold

Published: 2011, Barkweaver.

Reviews:

"Life on hold is a novella set in Nagaland during the troubled years of the independence movement. Everything is kept in abeyance, except sacrifice and pain, in the name of a greater future.

It takes Easterine Kire just a few scenes and bits of conversation to reveal and unravel Naga life with admirable accuracy. Life on hold is a well-told, realistic narrative that works equally well at a symbolic level.

The hard-edged, relentless, stubborn Roko is as tantalizing to his girlfriend, Nime, as Naga nationalism is to many Nagas. Women like Nime have to put life on hold for men like Roko, as Vituo does his because of his father's wayward life, and Nagas do theirs for the dream of an independent nation."

– Paulus Pimomo, Professor of English, Central Washington University

"Life on Hold brilliantly captures the essence of the Naga life that has been stained by the struggle, some of which have resulted in permanent scars. The fact that so many people were forced to take important decisions such as marriage out of compulsion, consequent upon the impact of the struggle is so vividly narrated in the book.
(snip)
Rich in content and reflective of the Naga Society, the Author has once again written a charming story that needs to be read and truly a book that does not disappoint." — Vishü Rita Krocha

"Life on Hold is a novella that captures the lives of a bunch of friends and their families – ordinary people living through the difficult and confusing times of factional violence in Nagaland. It’s a story with a 'theme' that won't escape you if you are familiar with Easterine's more recent writings-ordinary people affected by events that are hardly in their control. Life on Hold is made up of 26 short yet poignant chapters and should be an easy read for anyone." — Kezha Whiso

Links:

Life on Hold: Chapter one
Eastern Mirror - BOOK REVIEW: Life on Hold
Nagaland Post: Life on hold - A book review

Once in faraway Dorg

Published: 2011, Barkweaver.

Life on the planet of Dorg is close to perfect. There is food in abundance and the Dorgels have never heard of war. One day a stranger comes to live with them, and weird things begin to happen.

This children's book inspired by four-year-old Luisa Brake. Along with her sister Marieke and her parents, they live in a forest near Cologne. The two sisters love looking for frogs.

Bitter Wormwood

Published: 2011, Zubaan Books, India.

Kohima, 2007. A young man has been gunned down in cold blood - the latest casualty in the conflict that has scarred the landscape and brutalised the people of Nagaland.

Easterine Kire s new novel traces the story of one man s life, from 1937 to the present day. The small incidents of Mose s childhood, his family, the routines and rituals of traditional village life paint an evocative picture of a peaceful way of life, now long-vanished. The coming of a radio into Mose s family s house marks the beginning of the changes that would connect them to the wider world. They learn of partition, independence, a land called America. Growing up, Mose and his friends become involved in the Naga struggle for Independence, and they are caught in a maelstrom of violence protest and repression, attacks and reprisals that ends up ripping communities apart.

The herb, bitter wormwood, was traditionally believed to keep bad spirits away. For the Nagas, facing violent struggle all around, it becomes a powerful talisman: We sure could do with some of that old magic now.

Bitter Wormwood gives a poignant insight into the human cost behind the political headlines from one of India s most beautiful and misunderstood regions.

Reviews:

"Easterine Kire is the keeper of her people's memory, their griot. She is a master of the unadorned language that moves because of the power of its evocative simplicity." — Paul Pimomo

"More than just a story, Bitter Wormwood brims with history, geography, culture, rituals, routines and amiable characters. A dark, somber cover and the initially-puzzling title may hamper this book. But once opened, it's tough to close, so congenial are the leading characters and so riveting the events in their lives." — John Cairns

"Easterine Kire has not only given her readers a glimpse of what may have been the situation back in the 1950s and 60s, but she also offers an opportunity to understand what could have been avoided or grasped. She cleverly weaves the theme of unrest in the Naga society and the desire to recover from the traumas by suggesting a human need to heal and forgive." — Veio Pou

"Brilliantly written, the novel is also suggestive of solutions that we have perhaps already heard, but ignored for too long. Interestingly, the story stretches to the present generation and time where the main character’s grandson get to experience life in the city in Delhi, the good and the bad, the discrimination and even an unusually close friendship with somebody from the mainland India." — Vishü Rita Krocha

"Simply written, the novel highlights important political and social points, the difference between the Naga people and the rest of India, the hardships faced by these people and their right to independence and the intolerable cruelty shown to them in the past and present." — Sean Sequiera

"It is a simply told story with few literary airs and graces but it packs a punch because the story itself pulls you in. The foreword by the author spells out the shocking scale and brutality of the events that have unfolded in Nagaland in the last few decades and with that at the back of one’s mind, the story has a disturbing ring of truth to it and makes progress through the novel an often gut-wrenching affair. The key characters are well-defined and relatable and bring a human element to the story that statistics and reports often cannot do by themselves." — Rohini Haldea

"It tries to bridge the psychological distance between the Nagas and 'India', compares the impact the conflict has had on Naga rebels and Indian soldiers, examines the birth of newer battles such as racism against non-Nagas within Nagaland and manages to balance hope with despair." — Rahul Karmakar

Read a comment from Easterine on the Rahul Karmakar/Hindustan Times review here.

"Though listed as fiction, this book walks a thin line between fact and fiction and is a recommended read for anyone who wishes to learn a little more about one of India's ‘most beautiful and misunderstood region'." — Swati Daftuar

Links:

Cairns Magazine Book Reviews - Bitter Wormwood
nagalandpost.com - A way to look forward in Indo-Naga conflict
InOnIt.in - Bitter Wormwood by Easterine Kire
Bitter Wormwood: Interview with Author Easterine Kire
Bitter Wormwood - Women's Web
Review: Bitter Wormwood - Hindustan Times
Showcase: In the hills of the east - The Hindu

Jazzpoetry

Published: 2012, Barkweaver.

A book of the brutally raw poetry performed with the band Jazzpoetry.

When on tour, people often ask to buy the poems from the concert. This thought was behind publishing a booklet of the poems, and making it available to the public.

Follow the link for more information on the band.

Der Gesang des Waldes und andere Geistergeschichten [Forest song, German translation]

Published: 2012, Loecker Verlag, Austria.

Die auf der Tradition der Naga (Indien) beruhenden Geistergeschichten des Bandes geben Einblick in Leben und Denken des Volkes im Schnittpunkt von Tradition und Moderne.

In der Kultur der Naga spielen die Vorstellungen einer allgegenwärtigen Geisterwelt, die den Alltag durchwirkt, eine entscheidende Rolle. Daher muss das Treiben der Geister beobachtet werden, ist doch niemand vor den bösartigen Attacken gefeit, denen jeder Mensch ausgesetzt ist. Achtlosigkeit kann unversehens zum Schaden führen. Das spirituelle Netz der Verbindungen umfängt jeden Menschen und nimmt auf den Lauf des Lebens entscheidenden Einfluss, gegen den man sich letzten Endes nicht wehren kann.

Die Geistergeschichten von Easterine Kire fußen auf traditionellen Berichten, die der Autorin persönlich von Betroffenen erzählt worden sind oder die durch die Oraltradition weitergegeben werden. In den Geschichten durchsetzen sich traditionelle, vorchristliche Vorstellen mit der besonderen Ausformung des Christentums, wie es sich die Naga angeeignet haben.

Den Geistergeschichten – sie haben nichts gemeinsam mit den in Europa üblichen Gespenstergeschichten – ist eine Auswahl an Gedichten beigegeben, die das von der Autorin bearbeitete Themenspektrum umreißen. Es handelt sich um Gedichte, die sich mit der Natur, der Stadt, mit Menschen und Träumen auseinandersetzen. Sie sind in den Jahren 2005 bis 2011 entstanden und reflektieren die Veränderung von Easterine Kire, die aus dem Nordosten Indiens kommend in Europa ein neues Zuhause gefunden hat.

Der Gesang des Waldes und andere Geistergeschichten @ loecker-verlag.at

Dinkypu

Published: 2012, Barkweaver.

One summer afternoon, Mally finds an unexpected visitor at her door. A strange looking creature who captures not just her imagination but her heart as well. Young Mally makes friends with Dinkypu, the friendly and intelligent long-eared wombat, and convinces her parents to adopt him.

But shortly after, mysterious things start to happen. Mally is contacted by Dinkypu's parents in a dream.

Find out what happens to the two friends in this children's story by Barkweaver's children's series. This is the second children's book by Easterine Kire in the Barkweaver series.

The book has been illustrated by English artist Rebecca Sands, and coloured by Kevilezou Z. Kevichusa.

JazzPoetry and other poems

Published: 2012, Barkweaver.

Jazzpoetry and other poems is a collection of poems by Easterine Kire. The jazz poems are from a concert by the band Jazzpoesi consisting of saxophonist Ola Rokkones, drummer Jon Eirik Boska and poet, Easterine Kire. The band performs in European cities.

The other poems are poems written over the last ten years. Easterine's poetry has been translated into German, Norwegian, Croatian and Uzbek. Some of the poems have appeared in European constitution in Verse.

Mari [German translation]

Published: 2013, Loecker Verlag, Austria.

Mari erzählt anhand der wahren Geschichte einer jungen Frau wie Kriegserlebnisse eine Stadt und deren Bewohner radikal verändern.

Kohima 1944. Die japanischen Truppen erreichen Indien. Über Nacht verändert sich das Leben der Menschen. Alles geschieht gleichzeitig: Das Erwachsenwerden, die erste Liebe, Krieg, Vertreibung, Hunger, Tod und Verlust. Der Roman basiert auf einer wahren Geschichte: Mari ist die älteste Schwester der Mutter von Easterine Kire (Iralu). Die 17-jährige Mari und ihre jüngeren Schwestern werden aus ihrem Haus evakuiert und vom Rest der Familie getrennt.

Easterine Kire (Iralu) erzählt nicht nur die Geschichte einer jungen Frau, deren Leben durch die Kriegswirrnisse stark verändert wird, sondern stellt anhand des Einzelfalls die Geschichte einer Stadt und ihrer Bewohner dar. Die Autorin erzählt, wie der Krieg die traditionelle Gesellschaft verändert. Damit erweist sich die Autorin erneut als Chronistin ihrer Gesellschaft.
Buy Mari @ loecker-verlag.at

A study guide to A Terrible Matriarchy

Published: 2013, Barkweaver.

This study guide for the novel A Terrible Matriarchy is designed for students of BA English Major, Nagaland University.

It supplies information on the historical and cultural background behind the book. The guide leads the student through the lives of the book’s characters, and the roles they play in five year old protagonist Dielieno’s life and development.

At the same time, it lingers on each character as an individual and opens up the complexities of a world that appears deceptively simple.

A Terrible Matriarchy, 2nd edition

Published: 2013, Zubaan Books, India.

The second edition of A Terrible Matriarchy is a textbook edition for students of Nagaland University. It has added materials such as five reviews from the US and Hong Kong, and three from India. There is a substantial introduction by the author. The additions are designed to help scholars and students using the book for academic purposes.

See also 2007: A Terrible Matriarchy

The Log-drummer Boy

Published: 2013, Barkweaver.

"Dr. Easterine’s remarkable writing career as a poet and novelist has taken a fresh turn with her recent stories and tales for children. In this book, “The log-drummer boy,” she has brilliantly fused fictional narratives with dream sequences, bringing alive oral tradition to delight and instruct young minds in the tradition of their forebears.

The story of the little log-drummer boy, Nokcha, who had keenly learnt from his grandfather the traditional art of log-drumming, climaxing in his saving the village from enemy warriors, delights readers with a peep into the rich Naga traditions.

The book is illustrated by well-loved Sumi artist Canato Jimo and is a good example of how native artists can work together.”
— Prof. A.J. Sebastian sdb, Department of English, Nagaland University.

Different Strokes

Published: 2013, Barkweaver.

Two young students struggle with people who bully them just because they are different from the rest of the class. A contemporary story with an unexpected twist at the end.

"This is a lovely little book, easy to comprehend and with great potential to create some much needed awareness."
— Dee Diethono Nakhro, former editor, Eastern Mirror.

When the river sleeps

Published: 2014, Zubaan Books, India.

A lone hunter, Vilie, sets out to find the river of his dreams, a place from which he will be able to wrest a stone that will give him untold power. His is a dangerous quest—not only must he overcome unquiet spirits, vengeful sorceresses, and demons of the forest, but there are armed men on his trail as well.

In When the River Sleeps, Easterine Kire transports her reader to the remote mountains of Nagaland in northeastern India, a place alive with natural wonder and supernatural enchantment. As Vilie treks through the forest on the trail of his dream, readers are also swept along with the powerful narrative and walk alongside him in a world where the spirits are every bit as real as men and women. Kire invites us into the lives and hearts of the people of Nagaland: their rituals and beliefs, their reverence for the land, their close-knit communities, and the rhythms of a life lived in harmony with their natural surroundings.

“Reminiscent of García Márquez’s magic realism and Leslie Marmon Silko’s Native-American storytelling. At the end, though, this is a Naga story, unmistakably so, in its sense of place, time, and oral traditions.” — Paulus Pimomo, Central Washington University

My book of angels

Published: 2014, Barkweaver.

As dusk descends, as leaves fall, as trains chug along and fishermen cast their nets, there are angels ... hovering, dancing, busy keeping us safe and bringing us home. Just because we can't see them, doesn't mean they are not there...

My book of angels by Easterine Kire is a tribute to Heaven's messengers whose mission is to bring beauty, protect and comfort.

Beautifully illustrated and written in a delightful style, this is a gift book that will be enjoyed by young and old alike.

Thoughts after Easter

Published: 2014, Barkweaver.

A collection of articles and essays on varying subjects. They range from articles of social and environmental concern, to the deeply personal and the spiritual. All the articles have been formerly published in newspapers and journals.

"Like a Stream of Consciousness writer, Easterine Kire takes the readers through everything human, yet part of the Divine in the mystery of Easter. In the four sections of the book she takes us along with her as she reflects on various issues afflicting us, even as she offers solutions. Her stimulating reflections of world events are replete with truth, mystery, humour and irony of life." — Dr. AJ Sebastian sdb, Former Professor Department of English Nagaland Central University

The Dancing Village

Published: 2015, Barkweaver.

In *The Dancing Village* Dr. Easterine Kire brings to children a story to delight as well as to instruct them in the rich Naga cultural folk traditions.

Seven-year-old Rongsen who loved to dance, bridges the inter-cultural divide and gets an entire Ao Naga village dance to the rhythm of a Zeliang Naga dance, leading the two tribes to embrace each other in a celebration of friendship.

The pictorial presentation by Akuo Miachieo adds vitality to the narration.

A Naga Village remembered, 2nd edition

Published: 2016, Barkweaver

From 1832 to 1880, a little warrior village numbering about 500 houses fiercely fought and defied the invading troops of the Colonial power of Britain on their ancestral lands in the Naga Hills.

A major offensive in 1879, which later historians recorded as "The Battle of Khonoma" was launched against this little village.

It ended in a four month siege and a treaty was finally signed between Her Majesty's Government and the elders of Khonoma on March 27th 1880.

For the first time, the rich cultural life that fostered the spirit of the people of this village is recaptured in a novel. Warriors jostle with enemy warriors and with the spirits in a pre-christian world of taboos, rituals and festivals where women worked as hard as men and men strove to live up to obligations of manhood- protecting their village and their womenfolk, making the name of the village fearful and ensuring the survival of the old religion in the face of the ever widening influence of colonization.

Son of the Thundercloud

Published: 2016, Speaking Tiger.

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.

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.

Ein verlorenes Leben:
Geschichte einer Liebe bei den Naga

Published: 2017, Loecker Erhard Verlag.

"Ein verlorenes Leben" ist eine berührende und kluge Erzählung, die im Nagaland (nordöstliches Indien) während der unruhigen Jahre der Unabhängigkeitsbewegung angesiedelt ist.

Der hartnäckige, unerbittliche, widerspenstige Roko wirkt auf seine Freundin Nime so verführerisch, wie es der Nationalismus für viele Naga ist. Frauen wie Nime müssen ihr Leben lang für Männer wie Roko warten. Das Ergebnis ist ein ständiges Zuwarten, das wenig Erfreuliches zu bieten hat. In diesm Roman von Easterine Kire wird alles in Schwebe gehalten, außer die Opfer und die Schmerzen, die im Namen einer größeren Zukunft eingefordert werden. Die Autorin braucht nur ein paar Szenen und Gesprächsfetzen niederzuschreiben und schon enthüllt und enträtselt sich, was es heißt, in politisch schwierigen Zeiten zu leben. Easterine Kire beschreibt Naga-Leben mit bewundernswerter Genauigkeit.

Don't Run, My Love

Published: 2017, Speaking Tiger.

Atuonuo lives with her widowed mother Visuenuo in Kija, an ancient village of the Angamis. Their lives are hard—regulated by the seasons and by the ceaseless annual labours of hoeing and digging, planting and harvesting. But it is also a life of peace, lived in a well-knit community of wise elders and caring—though sometimes overbearing—neighbours and relatives.

This peace is shattered when Kevi, a young hunter, lithe and possessed of an animal magnetism, better looking than any other man in the village, comes to them at harvest time offering help and a hunk of venison. Kevi falls in love with Atuonuo and proposes marriage. Atuonuo, young in years and unsure of her heart, turns him down.

But love becomes menacing when Kevi, angered by the rejection, viciously turns on Atuonuo, and reveals a side of himself that neither mother nor daughter could have imagined in their worst nightmares.

Mari, 2nd edition

Published: 2018, Barkweaver, India.

Sky Is My Father

Published: 2018, Speaking Tiger, India.

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.

Mens elva sover

Published: 2018, Orkana, Norway.

En ensom jeger, skogvokteren Vilie, drar ut på en farlig reise. Han vil finne den mystiske elva som en lokal spåmann har fortalt ham om. Han vil plukke en stein fra den sovende bunnen. En slik stein vil gi ham både styrke og visdom. Men han må overvinne mye før han lykkes.

Easterine Kires roman Mens elva sover bringer leseren til de fjerne fjellene i Nagaland nordøst i India, et levende sted med både naturlige og unaturlige undre. Kires spennende historie innbyr til å bli kjent med Nagaland-folket, livene og hjertene deres, ritualer og tro, ærbødigheten de har for landet sitt, sammensveisede lokalsamfunn og livsrytmen i harmoni med naturomgivelsene.

Mot dette bakteppet er det Vilie tar seg gjennom skogene, drevet av drømmens mystiske kraft og et ønske om å overvinne både ondsinnede mennesker og ånder i jakten på det han ønsker seg mest av alt.

Romanens originale tittel er "When the river sleeps", og kom ut i 2014. Den vant den prestisjetunge Hindu Literary Price året etter.

«... minner om Marquezs magiske realisme og Leslie Silkos amerikanske urfolksfortellinger. Men til syvende og sist er dette en Naga-historie, umiskjennelig sådan ...» - Dr Paulus Pimomo, Central Washington University.

A respectable woman

Published: 2019, Zubaan, India.

«It took my mother, Khonuo, exactly forty-five years before she could bring herself to talk about the war.»

These powerful words introduce the reader to Easterine Kire's stunning new novel, A Respectable Woman. In Nagaland, the decisive Battle of Kohima has been fought and won by the Allies, and people in and around Kohima are trying hard to come to terms with the devastation, the loss of home and property, and the deaths of their loved ones. Forty years after the event, Khonuo recreates this moment, stitching together her memories, bit by painful bit, for her young daughter.

As memory passes from mother to daughter, the narrative glides seamlessly into the present, a moment in which Nagaland, much transformed, confronts different realities and challenges. Using storytelling traditions so typical of her region, Kire leads the reader gently into a world where history and memory meld — where, through this blurring, a young woman comes to understand the legacy of her parents and her land.

Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland

Published: 2019, Aleph Book Company, India.

Walking the Roadless Road: Exploring the Tribes of Nagaland is a comprehensive history of the Naga tribes who live within the borders of Nagaland. Kire begins with an overview of migration narratives — both mythical and historical — of the various tribes, starting in the nineteenth century. She then delves deep into the origins of the Nagas, their early history as forest-dwellers, how the discrete Naga territories were formed, the written and unwritten history of the villages, the various struggles that have convulsed Naga society down the ages, as well as the sweeping changes that have transformed the community in the twenty-first century.

The book is divided into four sections. "An Overview of Nagaland" details the origins and history of the various tribes; it also gives an overview of the society and culture of the Naga tribes. "Christianity and the Naga Society" is an analysis of the community before and after the coming of the Baptist Christian missionaries. "From British Colonization to Statehood" delves into the history of the two world wars and the troubled political relationship between

India and the underground Naga leaders. "Turning Points in Naga History" features key moments in Naga history and also gives us a picture of the Nagas in the twenty-first century.

Drawing on oral narratives and current scholarship, Walking the Roadless Road is an engrossing account of one of the country’s most distinctive communities.

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