🌿 August Pick is live — Tales from the Dawn-Lit Mountains: Stories from Arunachal Pradesh by Subi Taba ↗
Isu Le: Songs of Ordinary Days
NAGALAND · 2025 · POETRY

Isu Le: Songs of Ordinary Days

Viyinoli sumi

Viyinoli sumi wants to read this. Nobody here has read it yet.

About the book
Featuring artworks by Caroline Kuki In her new book, Inakali Assumi has attempted a recreation of the spirit of a Sümi tradition, now no longer in practice. It is the Ìsǘ Le, which she translates as this morning’s songs. In addition, she calls it songs about the mundane. But her poems are far from mundane. A more acceptable translation of Ìsǘ Le, also offered by the poet, is ‘songs about…Show more
Featuring artworks by Caroline Kuki

In her new book, Inakali Assumi has attempted a recreation of the spirit of a Sümi tradition, now no longer in practice. It is the Ìsǘ Le, which she translates as this morning’s songs. In addition, she calls it songs about the mundane. But her poems are far from mundane. A more acceptable translation of Ìsǘ Le, also offered by the poet, is ‘songs about everyday activities’. Beginning with the first poem, which is based on the first day of the week, Sunday, and echoes her father’s words, ‘You must never be sad on a Sunday’, the volume of poems offers glimpses into a bright and happy childhood, a time of life that is remembered in verse. — Easterine Kire

Author’s Note: The Sümi ancestors had an exceptional kind of folk songs called Ìsǘ Le, which were songs about everyday activities; songs sung along the way to the field and while going forth to hunting expeditions. These were songs about simple moments of joy and sorrow surrounding daily experiences and activities. Though the early history of the Sümis were not written by themselves and were documented by the colonisers and outsiders, these folk songs were a proof that they were documenting their lives in the only way they knew, that is, through their songs. Drawing inspiration from this, the book is titled, Ìsü Le: Songs of Ordinary Days.
Book detailsPublisher · Published · Pages · Language · +2 more
Publisher
Red River
Published
08/2025
Pages
84
Language
English
Category
Poetry
ISBN
9789348111432
Thoughts

Nobody here has written about this book yet.

Read it too? Sign in and leave one line.

Sign in
Isu Le: Songs of Ordinary Days
Track this book