Indigenous Ecological Wisdom and Ecocritical Consciousness in Mamang Dai’s The Legends of Pensam

Abstract

This paper articulates the bonding between the Adi community with their environment, based on an eco-critical reading of Mamang Dai's The Legends of Pensam where myth, memory and ecological wisdom add to a novel interface over time. It asserts that, in addition to encapsulating indigenous environmental consciousness, Dai's narrative also critiques anthropocentrism by offering a cosmology of all-encompassing reciprocity, reverence and interdependence. Through an analysis of animistic beliefs, oral traditions, and place-based practices, this study focuses on the capacity for nature-informed consciousness to resist cultural erasure and environmental decline, inspired by eco-spiritualism, bioregionalism, and ecofeminism. At the same time, the paper critiques the disruptive forces of modernization, colonial intrusion, and the Anthropocene, which threaten to sever this delicate human-nature bond. Through close textual analysis, supported by Dai’s interviews and critical scholarship, the study demonstrates how The Legends of Pensam engages with pressing ecological concerns while offering a counter-narrative to homogenizing development discourses. By explicating the Adis’ profound intimacy with their land and their resilient cultural memory, the novel bridges traditional ecological wisdom with contemporary environmental thought. Ultimately, this research accentuates how indigenous narratives like Dai’s enrich ecocritical discourse and reaffirm that the survival of human society is inseparable from the vitality of the natural world.