This is a much revised, and hopefully, improved version of my earlier book, Liangmai Nagas, Legends and Stories, 1991 (Vikas Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.). The stories and legends put together here were collected with the help of my research student Newmai Honibo; and, as far as Newmai and I know, this is the first time that these tales are being told in English.
The Liangmais are a sub-tribe of the Zeliangrong Nagas. The Zeliangrong region straddles the present day Nagaland, Manipur and Assam. They believe in a golden age when they lived together and flourished as a powerful community-prosperous, unmatched in skills of warfare, the envy of other communities because of their great excellence in the art of weaving, making implements of warfare and many other crafts. But now this great community is much depleted and lives in discrete enclaves.
My first debt of gratitude is to the elders of the villages of Ritiang, Incheng, Thalon, Impa, Pheluang, Reng, Innemning, Tamingzam and Inkan. They told these tales to Newmai and allowed him to record them on a rather primitive tape recorder. These were then transcribed and finally translated into English. In the present revised version, I have tried to improve the translation as well as the presentation. But I have no doubt at all that much of the spirit of the original is lost in the translation and in the retelling.
The stories are vigorous, permeated by an earthy wisdom, and a sturdy sense of humour in the midst of the inevitable deadly twists and turns of life. I have tried to present them in a way so that both children and adults can enjoy them.
I wish to express my gratitude once again to Newmai Honibo, for his hard work in bringing this book to life.
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