Literary Representation of Human and Non-human Interaction in South Asia: Lummer Dai’s Fictional Narrative Mon aur Mon

Abstract

Lummer Dai (born on June 1, 1940) belonged to the Dai clan of Pasis, a sub-tribe of the Adis of Arunachal Pradesh. His literary production (authored five novels) is Phar Hile, Hile, Prithbi Hanhi Hanhi (The Earth smiles,1963) Mon aur Mon (1966), Konyar Mulya (The Bride-Price, 1978), amd Upar Mahal (published posthumously in 2002). He died on April 5, 2002 at the age of 62. As a member of the literate group and an intellectual, Lummer Dai chose fictional narrative as a medium to articulate the cultural identity of his tribe. An attempt at retrieval of their history formed an important aspect of forging the tribal cultural identity. Animals specifically dogs played an important role among the Tani group of tribes of Arunachal Pradesh. Lummer Dai’s novel novel Mon aur Mon (Heart to Heart) represents the unique relationship between an old Adi woman and her pet dog. This proposal is an humble attempt to show how literary texts can be read with a view to exploring their articulation of the animal world and the relationship of humans with that world.

Presenters

Jagdish Lal Dawar
Retired Professor, History and Ethnography, Mizoram University, Haryana, India

Details

Presentation Type

Paper Presentation in a Themed Session

Theme

The Arts in Social, Political, and Community Life

KEYWORDS

ANIMALS AND SOCIETY, LITERATURE, ANIMAL STUDIES