FESTIVALS
The festivals are mostly related to agricultural operations. The
important thing about the Naga festivals is their corporate character. The community as a whole participates in the celebrations. There is a
definite programme stretching over a specified period in which
all the village folk join.
MOATSU
Among the
Aos,
the most important festival is Moatsu, which is
celebrated after the sowing is over. The festival last six days. On the first night of the festival sexual intercourse was forbidden. Every man was required to wear a new belt, for hanging his
dao. The
unmarried men received belts as presents from their girl
friends, the married men got from their wives. During this occasion, the
restriction relating to dress and ornaments were relaxed. People could wear
even the forbidden ones according to their will.
The most important role,
during the festival used to be played by the youths of the
bachelor's dormitory. Before the festival, the morung had to be repaired
and cleansed. The dancing drums were also put to order by attaching new
skins. On the first day of the festival, the boys belonging to the younger age-groups used to go to the jungle and collect six bundles of
paired
bamboo strips each. These they handed over to the morung elders, for use
according to their discretion. On the second day, all the boys and grown-up
males engaged themselves in clearing the village, particularly the main
approaches to the village. That night, the cows and the pigs to be
slaughtered on the occasion of this festival were tied
outside the morung. On the third day, the cows and the pigs
would be killed. The meat was distributed among the boys of
the morung and some portion was kept apart, to be given as present. In
the evening, the boys would eat the meat outside the morung. Later some
old men would come to the morung and would be entertained with meat
and rice-beer. When they would eat the meat, the boys would be singing
songs inside the morung. On the fourth day, the people of Mongsen Khel
would dance in procession; in all the streets of the village. On the
fifth day, the people of Chungli Khel would dance similarly. The women were not
to take any part in these dances, but at intervals they served rice-beer to the
dancers. The old men also would not dance, but follow the dancer, singing songs.
A drummer always accompanied the party and the people would dance to
the beatings of the drum. On the sixth day, both the Khels used to dance
together.
SEKRENYI
The principal Angami festival in the
Sekrenyi. It is celebrated in February by the
Western Angamis and in December by the Southern Angamis. The festival is to ensure the health and well being
of the community during the coming year. It is an occasion of great merry
making, enormous quantities of rice-beer, beef and pork are consumed. An interesting feature
of the festival is
that the men have to prepare a separate hearth and abstain from any sexual
relation for the first two days.
SANKARNI
One
of the major festivals of the Zemis is the Sankarni Puja which coincides
with Shivaratri. Single boys and girls join in the Sankarni puja which
lasts over a week. Chanting songs, they smoke, eat and drink to their
hearts content. Contribution in money and kind is welcome from the participant
families as well as visitors.
The
Chakhesang Khilunyie and Rengma Ngadah are both harvest festivals.
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