Clash of Storyworlds: A Karbi Perspective

Abstract

The Karbi people of Assam uphold a rich oral tradition, exemplified by Mosēra, their creation myth, which stands in contrast to dominant Hindu text-based narratives. This study examines how Karbi mythic storyworlds, particularly Mosēra, articulate cautionary tales of spatial conflict and negotiate their contested interaction with Hindu grand myths. It explores how these narratives inform placemaking, epistemic sovereignty, cultural resilience, and identity formation. Using a decolonial ethnographic methodology within a mythopolitics framework, this research analyzes storytelling as a dynamic, worldmaking process. The findings reveal that Mosēra shapes Karbi epistemology, structuring socio-political space, territorial concepts (longri-longpat), and human/non-human relationships. While Hindu mythic structures historically imposed assimilative tendencies—such as census reclassification and syncretism (e.g., linking Karbi ancestry to Bali in the Ramayana)—the Karbi actively resist these incorporations. By reaffirming their mythologies as domains of cultural sovereignty and narrative autonomy, the Karbi reclaim ancestral lands and challenge displacement narratives. This study concludes that Mosēra, through counter-hegemonic strategies and potent symbolism, is a crucial assertion of epistemic sovereignty, resilience, and identity negotiation in a contested socio-religious and political landscape.