Decolonizing Reverence

Abstract

The article discusses the abandonment of shamanic beliefs among the Naga indigenous tribes, reflecting a cultural stigmatization inflicted by colonialism. The article contextualizes two select novels, “Spirit Nights” and “Son of the Thundercloud” by Easterine Kire, situating the narratives within the Indian decolonial discourse. Employing a close textual reading method, the article reassesses how Kire employs the indigenous tribes’ oral tales and rituals, which tie humans to eco-epistemology through shamanic practices in her novels. The article studies indigenous shamanic traditions and ecological consciousness in the novels, highlighting the marginalization of peripheral epistemologies. In the selected texts, the shamanic spirituality woven into the narratives also discloses indigenous ways toward nature; the tribe treats the forest as a living entity, respecting and adhering to its rules. Drawing on the concept of “indigenous eco-epistemology” and Walter Mignolo’s theory of “decolonial epistemology,” this study also analyses the intercorporeality between humans and the environment among the tribes, while investigating how Kire delinks indigenous Naga eco-epistemology from colonial legacies.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Shamanism ↑Supports

  Argues that Kire's novels employ shamanic spirituality and oral traditions to delink indigenous Naga eco-epistemology from colonial legacies and highlight the marginalization of peripheral epistemologies.

  Synthesized September 20, 2026

Comparable studies

Other theoretical and historical papers on shamanism, most cited first.