Festivals of North East India

North East India, is a land of diversified culture, which reflects a chain of festivals of different tribes throughout the year. The perfect fusion of heritage of tribes and sub-tribes has made North East India the home of the most colorful festivals. Different sister states of the Seven Sisters and one brother state of North East celebrate different festival, either to commemorate the new year, religious celebration or cultural festivals. The simplicity of life of the people is reflected in their celebration.

Majuli Festival

Considering the climate conditions as well as road communication facilities in Majuli, winter is presumed to be the suitable time for holding the festival.

Therefore it is proposed to hold Majuli festival, in the month of November. The festival includes a number of attractive allied activities covering various aspects. Leading exponents from wide spectrum of activities are being approached to make the occasion a remarkable one. Seminars are also being organized on different topics. Exhibition will also be there with the demonstration of various Assamese products specially designed and prepared by expert artistes highlighting traditional glory of Majuli too. Assamese and tribal dishes of Majuli will also be made available, and food festival will also be organized during this time. Festivals take place in a communal way, usually in a Namghar or in open space. Bamboo sticks and banana leaves are profusely used and rather than offering cooked food, nutritious food such as sprouted grams and fruits are offered during worship. The festival makes you reach a desired destination for adventure and spiritual tourism. During the festival time coolest period will run, when average temperature is 100 to 150c. In this season different cultural activities encourage Majulian to engage themselves in creative activities. So that the ideal time for festival of this nature. In other hand, Majuli has its environment still protected from pollution in all climatic conditions.

What to see

The assemblage and assimilation of all ethnic groups under the same sky, retaining their respective individual and traditional cultural entities is a very striking phenomenon that easily attracts the visitors to this island. With the glories history of five hundred years of Satra living cultural tradition, the rich and colourful tribal cultural elements and the natural beauty with a unique assemblage of flora and fauna; Majuli has the charm to beckon the tourists unraveling itself as paradise on the earth. Extinct species of various migratory birds are found in Majuli, which creates an environment of bird sanctuary.

RONGALI BIHU - Assamese New Year

Assam is a beautiful land in the north east of India snuggled in folklore and anonymities. Assam is almost a different world, the doorway to the eastern states of the Indian subcontinent, the colored wonderland of India. It has always been abundant in nature. In Assam, the distinctive phases of an agricultural cycle are celebrated as the three Bihu festivals - the Bohaag Bihu, Kaati Bihu and the Maagh Bihu. The Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu occurs in April, Magh Bihu or Bhogali Bihu in January and Kati Bihu or Kongali Bihu in October/ November. The Bohaag Bihu also called the Rongali Bihu marks the sowing time, the advent of a new agricultural year. Gay spirit of spring marks the celebration of Bohaag Bihu, which continues for several days.

During the celebrations, the young girls in the villages put on their traditional attire and sing Bihugeets (folk songs). These gatherings of young girls singing Bihugeets and dancing are known as the Mukoli Bihus.

Hence to put it in a precise way, Bihu means the Assamese New Year Celebrations. The Spring-Festival, Rongali Bihu, celebrated in mid- April is the most colorful. Essentially a festival mar king the beginning of an agricultural season, the people of Assam enjoy it with dancing and singing. Bhogali Bihu, the harvesting festival is celebrated in mid- January by community feasts. The festive food of the occasion is the special cake known as the pitha. The people visit each others houses, distribute sweets to their neighbours and hold grand feasts. The Bihu fairs are organized where people participate in the games and the general revelry.

Dehing Patkai Festival Assam

Assam, the prosperous, green land of rolling plains and dense forests in the northeastern part of India is a land of festivals too. This mystic land of eternal blue hills and beautiful rivers is renowned for its tea, rich flora and fauna and exorbitant spending on rich festival celebrations. Assam is one of the most beautiful and fertile areas in the heart of India and almost all of its festivals are related to agricultural growth and prosperity. One of the very famous and effective festivals is Dehing Patkai Festival in Assam. Pleasant sub-alpine climate prevails in the hills of Assam.

Dehing Patkai Festival in eastern Assam derives its name from the lofty Patkai range and the playful Dehing River. It is a heady cocktail of ethnic fairs, golfing, tea heritage tours, adventures sports, wildlife excursion and down the memory-lane trips to World War II cemeteries and the Stilwell Road, once the passage to the golden land of Myanmar. It is organized in the month of January every year.

Cheiraoba – Manipur New Year

Manipur is a land of celebrations, festivities and mirth's all the year round. A year in Manipur presents a cycle of festivals. Hardly a month passes without a festival or two. Cheiraoba is the New Year festival of Manipur. It is celebrated on the first day of the month Sajibu (March). To the Manipuri, festivals are the symbols of their cultural, social and religious aspirations, which, besides removing the monotony of life by providing physical diversions, mental recreation and emotional outlet help them, lead a better and fuller life. It is celebrated during the month of April.

This festival is related with the Chahitaba. The domestic deity, Sanamahi, is worshipped in each house. An annual festival is also arranged in the temple of Sanamahi. People wear new clothes and buy new utensils. On this day the 'Chahitaba' is also selected. The Chahitaba is the man who gives his name to the year, who bears all the sins of the people for the year of the whole luck, good or ill, influences the lick of the whole community. Chahitaba is nominated by Maibas after comparing the horoscope. Many people on this day also climb the hill called 'Cheiraching' where there is a small Shiva shrine. The hill is near Imphal town. People clean and decorate their houses and prepare special festive dishes, which are first offered to various deities. Villagers climb nearby hilltops in the belief that it will enable them to rise to heights in their worldly life. During the festival, people clean and decorate their houses and prepare special festive dishes, which are first offered to various deities. Celebrated during the month of April, a part of the ritual entails villagers climbing the nearest hill-tops in belief that it will enable them to rise to greater heights in their worldly life. The Pangals (Manipuri Muslims) also observe it.

The Sekrenyi Festival- Nagaland

Angamis of Nagaland celebrate the festival of Sekrenyi in the month of February. Sekrenyi normally falls in the 25th day of the Angami month of "Kezei". This 10 day festival of Sekrenyi is also called Phousnyi by the Angamis. “Keizi” is first of the rituals performed during the festival. On the first day of the festival, young and old men bathe in the village well. Prior to the day they clean the well thoroughly and post village youths at night to guard it. No one is allowed to fetch water from the village well after cleaning it.

Early in the morning village men take their bath. The whole ritual is performed in a ceremonial manner. This ceremony is called "Dzuseva". It is symbolic of cleaning away all the ills and misfortunes by purifying the water. After the bathing ceremony on returning home a cock is strangled with bare hands. It is considered a good omen when the right leg falls down. The bird is then hung outside the home for the elders of the village to inspect it. Form the fourth day the three day session of singing and feasting begins.

Young people sit together and sing songs through out the day while jugs of rice beer and meat are served around. Young men go hunting on the seventh day but on the eighth day the bridge-pulling or gate-pulling ceremony is very entertaining where other villages are also invited. All filed work ceases until the culmination of the festival.

This beautiful land of abundant natural beauty has immense tourist attraction. The ethnic tribes, the flora and fauna attract many. Log on to northeastindia.com to know about Fairs and Festivals of Nagaland.

Mim Kut, Pawl Kut and Thalfavang Kut -Mizoram

Mizos boast of a number of folk and community dances that have been handed down over the generations. It is in these dances that the visitor can get a glimpse of the tribal heritage of the Mizos. Most important of these dances are Cheraw (bamboo dance), Khuallam, Solakia and Chheih Iam. These dances have evolved through community involvement and participation.

Bizu Dance of Chakma

'Chaitra-Sankranti' is celebrated as valedictions to the Bengali Calendar year. The Chakma community performs Bizu dance. They dance to pay farewell to the year and welcome a new year. 'Khenggarang' and 'Dhukuk' (flutes) are played as an accompaniment to the dance form.

Wangala Dance in Tripura

Wangala dance is related to the Garo community's rice eating ceremony. Like most of the religious communities of the globe it is always customary of the community to offer the first morsel of a new harvest to the God, a way to thank him for the bountiful harvest. The Garos celebrate by offering prayers and the head of the community, Sangnakma, visits every house and sacrifices a pumpkin as a part of the ritual. Women dance to the beats of 'Dama' and 'Aaduri' made out of buffalo horn.