KIMIN, Feb 27: The Nyishi Festival Council (NFC) has decided to launch scholarship programme for students interested in learning Nyishi rituals from 2018-19 academic session.
The scholarship will be given to students from class-VI onwards.
NFC secretary Amit Bengia disclosed this while addressing revellers of Nyokum Yullo celebration at Kimin on Tuesday.
The NFC, which is the apex body of the Nyishi festivals – NyokumYullo, Buro Boot Yullo and Longte – decided to offer scholarship in order to maintain the age-old tradition and cultural mosaic of the community.
Further, the council has decided to go for uniformity in alter (yugang) and dress codes for males and females.
An expert panel consisting of renowned academicians, experts and priests (nyibus) would issue manuals, which are to be strictly followed by all celebration committees within and outside the state, shared Amit.
Congratulating the Nyokum celebration committee, he said that festivals, symbolizing rich cultural heritage of the Nyishis, should not be diluted in any manner.
He enlisted dos and don’ts in order to end commercialization of the festivals by prohibiting gambling in any form.
The NFC secretary also sought blanket ban on accepting donation, cash or kind from any visiting guests, discouraging VIP culture, shunning selling of wild meat, prohibiting mass slaughter of mithuns, including in social functions and marriages.
He also lauded the state government for inviting the community based organizations and taking inputs from them, particularly accepting the proposal to allocate festival funds through CBOs.
