MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies MZU JOURNAL OF LITERATURE AND CULTURAL STUDIES A Refereed Journal UGC Approved Journal No. 64788 Volume IV Issue 2 ISSN:2348-1188 Editor : Dr. Kristina Z. Zama Editorial Board: Prof. Margaret Ch.Zama Prof. Sarangadhar Baral Prof. Margaret L.Pachuau Dr. Lalrindiki T. Fanai Dr. K.C. Lalthlamuani Dr. Cherrie Lalnunziri Chhangte Dr. Th. Dhanajit Singh Advisory Board: Prof. Jharna Sanyal, University of Calcutta Prof. Ranjit Devgoswami,Gauhati University Prof. Desmond Kharmawphlang, NEHU Shillong Prof. B.K. Danta, Tezpur University Prof. R. Thangvunga, Mizoram University Prof. R.L. Thanmawia, Mizoram University Published by the Department of English, Mizoram University. 1 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies 2 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies FOREWORD MZU Journal of Literature & Cultural Studies (MZUJLCS) has consistently focused upon facets that are integral to the study of literature and culture. It has always aimed for excellence and a sense of resolute distinction and at this point in time, it is my proud privilege to announce that since June 2017,the journal has been accepted as an UGC approved journal, and furthermore, that our readers can now access the journal at http:// mzujlcs.wixsite.com/mzujlcs. The present volume focuses upon concepts that are related to the disciplines of literature and culture, with a distinct thrust upon cross cultural perspectives. Our contributors have written well researched and thought provoking articles that have dwelt upon trends from the northeast and beyond and these have made the present issue of the journal unique and well worthy in terms of reading pleasure. The intermingling of various literary traditions have been reflected in the journal and the representations of literature from the 'east' and the 'west' both in terms of the canonical as well as the more contemporary have been amply elucidated by the contributors. While doing so, the much debated issues of identity and the concepts of stereotypes that accompany the same have found much needed space within the realms of its pages. Deliberations that have bordered upon the oft debated nuances of the 'colonial' and 'territories', and the 'subaltern' ; which have continued to loom large even after decades of studies on 3 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies the colonial and the postcolonial, find coherent representation in this issue. Accompanying these very relevant dialogues are perceptions on narratives and narration; concepts that have remained inherently central to the study of literature. Eloquent arguments on gender, as well as cultural and social interplay, along with negotiations on nations and tribes amidst other interrelated issues have been encapsulated within the journal. Poetry too has carved its own special niche within the journal. Ideologies that are interlinked to reinterpreting literary and cultural identity in terms of food habits, notions of sex and sexuality, courtship language and the distinct association of all these with the all pervading notion of 'power' have been significantly portrayed in the journal. Rewriting and reinterpreting the stereotypical beliefs that are associated with 'traditional values' has always been an exigent task, and the present issue of MZUJLCS has well met these literary challenges with enhanced proficiency and ardour. Margaret L.Pachuau Professor and Head Department of English, Mizoram University. 4 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies EDITORIAL I am very pleased to present our readers the December 2017 issue of the MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies. Contributors have sent these excellent articles and poems which have been a reflection of different areas pertaining to concerns of literature and culture in their varied perspectives. The issue contains a short essay, three poems and sixteen articles. An essay from Frederic Will is reflective and lets us explore the landscape of his great creative mind. Eight articles centre round various cultural experiences and practices of the North East of India while others represent past histories of Europe. Two articles explore the current trends of social media and their effects on sexuality and the youth in general. All the articles, however, share a common theme of identity, especially the cultural one. The poetry section includes one from the renowned Robin Ngangom who is simultaneously reflective and deliberate in his poem Imphal . It is also with great pride that I announce to our readers that our journal has been given a UGC approval as it is of immense importance to the contributors from the academia. The journal website will also reflect all contributions and can be read from anywhere in the world. Such an achievement is heartening as it has been long coming. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the contributors for their excellent articles which has given our journal a boost. Also special thanks to the Head of Department, Prof. Margaret L.Pachuau to whom I owe greatly for her constant guidance and support. 5 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies It is our hope that this journal and future issues to come will facilitate a strong base for intellectual and thought provoking conversations that we so often silence or wilfully ignore. Dr. Kristina Z. Zama, Editor Department of English, Mizoram University. 6 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies CONTENTS 1. Nyquil for Anubis ...................................................... 9 Frederic Will 2. North East Indian Literature: ................................. 27 Contemporary Trends Dr. Anil Kumar Boro 3. The Queen of Sheba: An Exotic figure ................... 42 in the Western Imagination Her Representation in European Music and Literature Nesrine Abdullah EL ZINE 4. 'Walking Morts and Upright Men': ........................ 54 Anxieties of Early Modern Travel Sonia Sahoo 5. Defining Identify, Defying Stereotypes .................. 73 Navaneeta Bhuyan 6. Representation of Subaltern Women Literature: ... 83 A Study of Selected Contemporary Indian Fiction Sayar Singh Chopra 7. A Dialectical Approach to Zhosou :......................... 96 The Poumai Naga World behind The 'Standing Stones' D.A. Esther 8. Exploring Social Media in Gender Imagery ......... 113 and Social Movement Nayan Jyoti Nath and Dixita Deka 9. Dynamics of Interpretation: Nation or Tribe, ....... 131 With Reference to Bujuur Naga Elija Chara 7 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies 10. Something Rich and Strange: ............................... 148 Exploring Food and Identity in the Diaspora Pauline Lalthlamuanpuii 11. Re-Imagining Traditional Values: ......................... 159 Sex, Sexuality and the Youth Culture of India Henry Lalmawizuala 12. The Tradition of Weaving and Courting: .............. 172 Women's Cultural Space Vanlalchami 13. Traditional Institutions of the Thangkhals ............ 181 S. Haukhanlian Mate 14. Decoding Sichangneii : The Winged Beauty .......... 197 Lalrindiki T. Fanai 15. Construction of Gender Identity in The Bluest Eye .... 204 K.C. Lalthlamuani 16. Postcolonial Resistance in Regional Language:... 215 With Special Reference To Assamese Language Lakhyajit Nath 17. Interplay of Class and Power in Chinua Achebe's.... 226 Things Fall Apart Sourav Upadhyaya POETRY CORNER: 18. Imphal ................................................................... 235 Robin S. Ngangom 19. Devotion ............................................................... 239 Malsawma 20. Green Apples from China ..................................... 240 Kristina Z.Zama 8 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies Nyquil for Anubis Frederic Will Writer and Poet Vice President for Research Humanities University, USA 1 Everyday life can be seen as a series of problems to overcome. As with all problems, these problems of everyday life need to be overcome with tools. Say we get a cold. We want to make ourselves feel better. We want to solve the problem of having a cold. We can make several moves. We can buy and take Nyquill. We can breathe in steaming hot water from the stove. We can cream the inside of the nose with Mentholatum. Or of course we can do nothing, we can avoid these tools for solving a problem, can sniffle and overcome naturally. That method too is a tool. A method can be a tool. In ordinary parlance, tools usually concern us for their capacity to solve material problems like fixing parts of a car, or of a kitchen sink, or raising a heavy weight with a relatively small pulley. These are smart aids to doing things which become difficult situationally. That is, opening a jar of olives can be difficult for some people in some situations. It happens that my wife finds this job difficult, while I (ta da!) still have stronger wrists than she, and can twist off the cap. If it comes to something harder than that, though, like unscrewing the plastic pipes that carry water from the kitchen sink to the sewer, it is probable that neither my wife nor I can do the job. We need either a MZU JLCS December 2017, ISSN 2348-11889 MZU Journal of Literature and Cultural Studies plumber or a wrench. With luck the wrench can become the tool with which we unscrew the pipes under the kitchen sink. Tools fit a situation, and at the same time fit our needs-if they are good and useful tools. Gloves that fit my hand are potentially good gloves; and yet they must do more than fit my hand, they must fit the world they protect me from. That world may be icy weather. My gloves may be there to reduce the icy effects of weather on my knuckles. I know this is an unfamiliar sense of the kind of fitting of a tool to the world. But in fact a tool is like that. It fits the user of the tool, the hand that moves it, the person that chooses it for a certain purpose, and at the same time it fits the weather it protects from, and the virus it warms you against. How can we go about characterizing that second instance of being part of a thing's being a tool, the world that you use the tool to deal with? Nothing becomes a tool unless somebody want to use it as a tool.