Title: Büpa lei vangngai kü Nyei Yongnyei [In His Light I Stand]

Language: Phom dialect

State: Nagaland

Büpa lei vangngai kü Nyei Yongnyei

Nyei Longtei-
Mangkhang neshiui,
Lithadhü phangkü vihpü-lüpü yemmei nyu.
Kahdoknyiü lei shah-i nyei monglaishi pong
Shejao phahji-i nyei dang hadü bümei leihü.

Nyei Büpa pongteke- Büpalei shahhing, Büpalei Ihem-
Büpa bampü nyei shing wong longpü lei.
Hanghihpü nyihdhü hadü yinglükleishu heüshingkü,
Büpa nyei mü nenshi nyu.

Shaangü nyei vangngai changei nedainyih-
Nyei vangngai kü nyudainyei-
Hadü hapa mongong aeüh-ei yennyüke,
Büpa daülangshemshepü wongi jaa leihüpü yiangnyu.
Dohpü neshiüi mongong, Büpa phahji jung nyei enyei-
Nyei yimleipüba, nyeilei shem, nyei loishing.

Glossary:

1. Vangngai- symbol of ancestral wisdom, divine presence, and clarity gifted by nature or spirit.
2. Vihpü-lüpü – the longing for recognition- not from society, but from ancestors, land, and spirit.
3. Phaji-i – healing from the land or Creator, like rain over drought- restorative and ceremonial.
4. Wong – gifts inherited from elders, shaped by tradition and responsibility to the community
5. Loishing- a sacred bond with land, people,and spirit; not earned but remembered and
   reclaimed.

Summary:

This poem came from a place of quiet wandering—like walking through mist-covered hills,
listening for something older than words. I wrote it while thinking about how we often search for
validation in distant places, forgetting that the land beneath our feet already knows our name.
The journey I describe is not just spiritual—it is ancestral. It is about returning to the stories
etched into stone, whispered through leaves, and carried in the breath of my elders.

When I say “Büpa lei vangngai kü Nyei Yongnyei”(In His light I stand), I am speaking of a light
that feels like morning sun on river water—gentle, healing, and alive. It is not just divine in the
Christian sense, but sacred in the way my people understand it: a presence that walks with us,
speaks through dreams, and holds us in ceremony.

“Nyei yimleipüba, nyeilei shem, nyei loishing”(He called me His own) is about being
claimed—not by power, but by kinship. It is the moment I felt the ancestors gather around me,
reminding me that I belong. This poem is my way of standing in that light—with bare feet, open
heart, and the strength of those who came before me.