Memory, culture and identity: A cultural reading of the legends of pensam

Abstract

Located at the intersections of memory, culture and identity, this paper attempts a literary and cultural reading of Mamang Dai’s novel The Legends of Pensam (2006), an extraordinary piece of tribal narrative from the North -Eastern part of India, imbued with the colours of its traditions and the flavours of its geography. This paper argues that literature, in particular tribal literature, has the potential to uncover the profound wealth and resources of an underrepresented culture and tradition camouflaged behind the curtains of mainstream cultures. This paper focuses on the robustness of literature in preserving a marginalized culture informed by the multiplicity of its rich cultural traditions, social beliefs, religious views, oral tradition, and colourful lifestyle. The study focuses on how a literary work can preserve and document the history, culture and identity of the Adi tribes, imbued with lore and myths from the memory of people defining their unique identities.