Whistles of the Siphoong: Tales from Assam’s Bodo Heartland

Old Ojhai has never loved anyone or anything more than his siphoong, the flute. Sometimes Ojhai’s siphoong overpowers scary spirits and sometimes it brings Heaven’s deity down to earth. It cajoles the skies to rain and it woos fire. It captivates reptiles just as its gentle lullaby soothes an unborn baby. It even helps an innocent youth see his dying mother and escape the clutches of the army. Spirits and humans, serpents and skies, fire and fireflies all surrender to the magic of Ojhai’s music. It is the miraculous melody from his siphoong that weaves through the fabric of lore, legend and culture of the Bodos of Assam in Narzary’s Whistles of the Siphoong. The eight tales in this collection move through the real and fantastical to bring alive the threads of joy, compassion and care that connect humans to nature and tradition, to stories and music and, above all, to each other.