Author(s): Visier Sanyü

Biography / Memoir

Visier Meyasetsu Sanyu, his family and fellow villagers of Khonoma, fled for their lives to the jungles of Nagaland in 1956. He and his family survived privations and starvation for over two years, though many others did not. Visier emerged from the jungle aged eight and into a turbulent world altered by Western influence, civil war and colonial oppression. He found refuge from war in Australia, where during two decades he faced the loss of home and tradition, and found healing and a second home. This powerful story tracks Visier's fascinating journey from indigenous religion to Christianity, from village school to a professorship, and from small town life to appearances before the United Nations. His kaleidoscopic sixty-year odyssey to find peace, tranquillity, and forgiveness for others, is vividly told against the rich tapestry of the Naga quest to be free. About the authors Visier Sanyu, an Elder of the Meyasetsu clan of the Angami tribe, Khonoma, Nagaland, was the inaugural Head of the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Nagaland. He is President of the Overseas Naga Association, an International Elder of Initiatives of Change, and on the Board of the Melbourne Interfaith Centre. Emeritus Professor Richard Broome, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, has authored twelve books, including three on Indigenous Australians, including Aboriginal Australians (4th edition 2010). He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and a Fellow and Vice President of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, Melbourne.