Shadow Power of Matriarchy in Eastern Kire’s A Terrible Matriarchy

Eastern Kire, born in Kohima is an Angami Naga writer.Her works are an insight into the Naga culture, history and also the customs and traditions of the Angami society.Kire's A Terrible Matriarchy is a Buildungs roman; meaning it is about the protagonist coming of age.The protagonist, Dielieno is the youngest daughter of Visa and Nino.From an early age she is put under the tutelage of her grandmother Vibano who's very conservative woman and whose sole purpose is to groom Dielieno to be a good Naga wife and mother.Dielieno suffers from double oppression; first her grandmother's dictates and her Patriarchial subjugation and secondly the socio-economic discrimination evident in the Naga society.But Dielieno does not feel dejected and lost because of her conditions.She bravely struggles against all odds.The one thing remarkable about her character is her fearlessness.The proposed paper traces the growth of Dielieno from a young, innocent girl to a mature woman; her struggles at myriad junctions in her life and her victory at the end of the novel.