Correspondent
RAYANG, Aug 12: A 10-day theatre and drama workshop on the mirii aabang (priest song) pertaining to the Solung mythology of the Adi tribe got underway at the Karpung Karduk Cultural Research Centre here in East Siang district on Sunday.
The programme is sponsored by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, with the aim of promoting the living traditions of the state’s tribal communities.
Renowned singer, lyricist and music composer Delong Padung, who is conducting the workshop, said the workshop aims at “presenting a dramatic demonstration of the aabang persisting among the Adi community of the state.”
Padung, who runs the Karpung Karduk Folk Music Academy in Rayang village, observed that “many people of the state, and even some cultural researchers, are unaware of the mythological significance of aabangs (Liimiir-Libom, Ekop and Binyat Aabang).”
He expressed hope that the dramatic expression of the mythological facets would make them easier to understand.
Padung informed that cultural troupes from different branches of the Adi community are attending the workshop and will make dramatic presentations of aabangs during Solung, the agriculture festival of the Adi tribe, which begins on 1 September.
Several members of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, including theatre expert Bhaskar Goswami from Guwahati (Assam), are participating as resource persons of the workshop, which will conclude on 20 August.
