Etiben and Jina were the residents of Mopungchuket village during the 12th century. Jina was a poor, unrefined boy unlike Etiben who was intelligent, beautiful and belonged to a wealthy family. Etiben's beauty was known throughout the region and many rich and good looking men wanted to marry her.
The relationship between Jina and Etiben was greatly resented by Etiben's parents. Suddenly Etiben was married off to Tenyur, a handsome and rich man from Sungratsu village. But even marriage could not stop the love between Jina and Etiben. They were determined to go to any extent to preserve their love.
SUMMARY: The poem “Jina-Etiben, A Romance Retold” is based on an Ao legend and is written by Nabina Das. In this poem, the poet tells the story of two an unforgettable lovers Jina-Etiben who despite every circumstance that was against them continued to remain in love and became the paramount example of true love
Etiben, a woman, and Jina, a man, were the residents of Mopungchuket village during the 12th century. Their love story is still legendary in Mokokchung district, but particularly so in Mopungchuket, where the two lovers have been commemorated with their own towers and with additional sculptures at the village’s ecology park.
Fresh out of a Morung (a men’s hostel in Naga villages where young men learn the skills of life), Jina was a brave warrior. Able and strong, he was considered the bravest of men in the village. He was also a highly skilled player of the cup violin, a stringed musical instrument made of dried gourd, a vegetable grown and used widely in the area. But his family was poor.
Etiben was the daughter from a rich family and loved to decorate herself with her ornaments. She is said to be very beautiful, with the skin the colour of amber and with big dovey eyes.
Secret meetings
Etiben and Jina knew about their respective families’s wealth gap and felt that their love would never be approved. They didn’t feel comfortable declaring their love publicly. So away from Mopungchuket, the two started meeting secretly in Longkhum, a village 18 km south.
At Longkhum, they used to walk along a certain trail in the forest. They used to take breaks while walking and sit on the stones along the trail. Every time they sat, Jina would play his cup violin and Etiben would listen to him in a trance. Sometimes she too would keep herself busy, taking off her ornaments, cleaning them, polishing them and wearing them again. Their walking and sitting would continue until they reached a point where the hill ended in a cliff overlooking the valley of Doyang river. Here they’d just sit for hours happy in each other’s presence. They’d make sure to reach their homes before someone spotted something amiss.
Unfulfilled opportunity for marriage
Despite all the care they took for not being spotted, Etiben’s parents did come to know. They made the two lovers confess their feelings for each other. While Etiben’s parents didn’t have a problem with Jina, they were wary of his poverty. They felt that love alone was impractical to take care of their princess-like daughter. They doubted Jina’s ability to provide for Etiben in day-to-day life.
Those were the days when men used to pay dowry to marry a woman. This was to prove to the bride’s parents that the groom was affluent enough to provide for their his wife and for his future children. The dowry usually consisted of an asset that the bride’s parents could use over a long time, e.g. goats, cows, poultry, goats, oxen, etc. Keeping with the tradition, Etiben’s parents demanded a dowry of cows and oxen from Jina.
Jina knew that he had no way of procuring the cattle with his poverty. But he accepted the challenge. Etiben wanted to protest, but she knew that her parents’ mind was made up, so instead she decided to wait for Jina, no matter how long he took.
Jina tried several ways to procure the cattle dowry, but his poverty worked against him and he had to give up. He discovered that he also had run out of time. Because other circumstances were brewing around him.
Tenyur, the rich land owner
A rich land owner named Tenyur heard about Etiben’s parents’s conditions for marriage to her. With his abundant wealth, he wasted no time in getting the cattle and presenting himself in front of Etiben’s house. With dowry ready, he asked for Etiben’s hand. Etiben’s parents were only too happy to oblige, since they had found a rich match for their daughter.
Etiben tried several tricks to postpone her marriage with Tenyur, so that she and Jina could find some way for their own. Even on the days leading upto the marriage, she feigned sickness and remained bedridden so that the occasion would be postponed. But in the end, she had no choice but to consent to Tenyur.
Etiben’s marriage to Tenyur
In a gala event, Etiben was married to Tenyur, while Jina had choice but look on helplessly. Despite the turn of events, he never got angry at Etiben. He acknowledged that she was a victim of circumstances and continued to love her dearly.
Meanwhile, Etiben’s own marriage was not a happy one. Jina was an empathetic man. He respected Etiben and loved her exactly for what she was. But Tenyur had the mentality of a manipulative businessman. For him, Etiben was a housewife who should do his chores. That’s exactly how he treated her. Etiben could no longer be her original personality, but had to fulfill the role that was expected by a man with a powerful stance in the society.
Secret meetings again
Etiben felt like a prisoner in her new home and soon could no longer take it anymore. While Tenyur was away for the day overseeing his vast farmlands being worked on by the farmers he had hired, Etiben slipped out of the house and started meeting Jina again. With Jina, Etiben found love and comfort.
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Answer:
Etiben and Jina were the residents of Mopungchuket village during the 12th century. Jina was a poor, unrefined boy unlike Etiben who was intelligent, beautiful and belonged to a wealthy family. Etiben's beauty was known throughout the region and many rich and good looking men wanted to marry her.
The relationship between Jina and Etiben was greatly resented by Etiben's parents. Suddenly Etiben was married off to Tenyur, a handsome and rich man from Sungratsu village. But even marriage could not stop the love between Jina and Etiben. They were determined to go to any extent to preserve their love.
SUMMARY: The poem “Jina-Etiben, A Romance Retold” is based on an Ao legend and is written by Nabina Das. In this poem, the poet tells the story of two an unforgettable lovers Jina-Etiben who despite every circumstance that was against them continued to remain in love and became the paramount example of true love
Answer:
Etiben, a woman, and Jina, a man, were the residents of Mopungchuket village during the 12th century. Their love story is still legendary in Mokokchung district, but particularly so in Mopungchuket, where the two lovers have been commemorated with their own towers and with additional sculptures at the village’s ecology park.
Fresh out of a Morung (a men’s hostel in Naga villages where young men learn the skills of life), Jina was a brave warrior. Able and strong, he was considered the bravest of men in the village. He was also a highly skilled player of the cup violin, a stringed musical instrument made of dried gourd, a vegetable grown and used widely in the area. But his family was poor.
Etiben was the daughter from a rich family and loved to decorate herself with her ornaments. She is said to be very beautiful, with the skin the colour of amber and with big dovey eyes.
Secret meetings
Etiben and Jina knew about their respective families’s wealth gap and felt that their love would never be approved. They didn’t feel comfortable declaring their love publicly. So away from Mopungchuket, the two started meeting secretly in Longkhum, a village 18 km south.
At Longkhum, they used to walk along a certain trail in the forest. They used to take breaks while walking and sit on the stones along the trail. Every time they sat, Jina would play his cup violin and Etiben would listen to him in a trance. Sometimes she too would keep herself busy, taking off her ornaments, cleaning them, polishing them and wearing them again. Their walking and sitting would continue until they reached a point where the hill ended in a cliff overlooking the valley of Doyang river. Here they’d just sit for hours happy in each other’s presence. They’d make sure to reach their homes before someone spotted something amiss.
Unfulfilled opportunity for marriage
Despite all the care they took for not being spotted, Etiben’s parents did come to know. They made the two lovers confess their feelings for each other. While Etiben’s parents didn’t have a problem with Jina, they were wary of his poverty. They felt that love alone was impractical to take care of their princess-like daughter. They doubted Jina’s ability to provide for Etiben in day-to-day life.
Those were the days when men used to pay dowry to marry a woman. This was to prove to the bride’s parents that the groom was affluent enough to provide for their his wife and for his future children. The dowry usually consisted of an asset that the bride’s parents could use over a long time, e.g. goats, cows, poultry, goats, oxen, etc. Keeping with the tradition, Etiben’s parents demanded a dowry of cows and oxen from Jina.
Jina knew that he had no way of procuring the cattle with his poverty. But he accepted the challenge. Etiben wanted to protest, but she knew that her parents’ mind was made up, so instead she decided to wait for Jina, no matter how long he took.
Jina tried several ways to procure the cattle dowry, but his poverty worked against him and he had to give up. He discovered that he also had run out of time. Because other circumstances were brewing around him.
Tenyur, the rich land owner
A rich land owner named Tenyur heard about Etiben’s parents’s conditions for marriage to her. With his abundant wealth, he wasted no time in getting the cattle and presenting himself in front of Etiben’s house. With dowry ready, he asked for Etiben’s hand. Etiben’s parents were only too happy to oblige, since they had found a rich match for their daughter.
Etiben tried several tricks to postpone her marriage with Tenyur, so that she and Jina could find some way for their own. Even on the days leading upto the marriage, she feigned sickness and remained bedridden so that the occasion would be postponed. But in the end, she had no choice but to consent to Tenyur.
Etiben’s marriage to Tenyur
In a gala event, Etiben was married to Tenyur, while Jina had choice but look on helplessly. Despite the turn of events, he never got angry at Etiben. He acknowledged that she was a victim of circumstances and continued to love her dearly.
Meanwhile, Etiben’s own marriage was not a happy one. Jina was an empathetic man. He respected Etiben and loved her exactly for what she was. But Tenyur had the mentality of a manipulative businessman. For him, Etiben was a housewife who should do his chores. That’s exactly how he treated her. Etiben could no longer be her original personality, but had to fulfill the role that was expected by a man with a powerful stance in the society.
Secret meetings again
Etiben felt like a prisoner in her new home and soon could no longer take it anymore. While Tenyur was away for the day overseeing his vast farmlands being worked on by the farmers he had hired, Etiben slipped out of the house and started meeting Jina again. With Jina, Etiben found love and comfort.
Explanation: