[Prafulla Kaman]
OYAN, 15 Feb: Mising people living in East Siang district are centrally celebrating Ali-Aye-Ligang Gidii, the major spring festival of the Mising tribe, with three days of festivities at the Babu Oiram Bori Memorial Cultural Ground in Oyan village, bordering Assam’s Jonai, from Sunday. The festival is being organised by the Oyan Bane Kebang.
The opening days’ festivities began with Taku Ta-bad (opening ritual), during which Oyan village Head GB Jatin Bori urged the community’s people to keep up their traditional practices. He prayed to the almighty Kine-Nane (goddess) for a bumper harvest, prosperity, and wellbeing of the community’s people.
Following the ritual, senior villagers ceremonially started sowing of sali seeds as per tradition. They also paid homage to Babu Oiram Bori, the pioneer of Mishing art and culture, with floral wreaths.
Addressing the participants, retired community health officer Ghana Kanta Pait laid stress on preservation and promotion of the living traditions of their ancestors for keeping the ethnic identity intact.
Earlier, in the morning, local villagers took out a cultural procession along National Highway 515 from Oyan to Sille-Teromile as part of the festivities.
Several dignitaries, including Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering, ZPMs Annu Paboh (Oyan) and Miti Paron (Ruksin), DFO (T) Boken Pao, and retired elementary education director Tapi Gao attended the inaugural day’s programme.
The second and third day’s events include exhibition of traditional attires, a food mela, and cultural competitions, besides musical presentations by eminent Mising singers and artistes, informed the organisers.
Ali-Aye-Ligang stands for ‘First sowing of seeds and roots of sali crops’. ‘Ali’ stands for sali crop, ‘aye’ for fruits or seeds, and ‘ligang’ for the beginning of sowing.
The festival begins on 15 February every year in the state, while it is observed on the first Wednesday of mid-February (Fagun month) as per the Assamese calendar in Assam.
Reports of Ali-Aye-Ligang celebration in Mer-Gadum (East Siang), Bijari (Lower Dibang Valley), and Namsai district have also been pouring in.
