[ Prafulla Kaman ]
OYAN, 15 Feb: Celebration of Ali-Aye-Ligang, the main festival of the Mising community, started at Babu Oiram Bori Lotta here in East Siang district on Monday.
The community members, wearing their traditional attires gathered at Oyan and celebrated the festival with traditional fervour and gaiety.
Oyan village HGB Muhim Pait urged the youths of the community to shoulder the responsibility of preserving and promoting their culture and traditions.
Senior villager Hari Nath Bori, who performed the ‘Ligang’ rituals, prayed to Kiine Nane for a bumper harvest and wellbeing of the people
and their domestic animals, while organizing committee secretary Mojit Pao explained the Ligang mythology.
Earlier, floral tribute was paid to pioneer of the Mising culture, Babu Oiram Bori, followed by sowing seeds by the invited guests.
A cultural procession was also taken out along the Sille-Oyan portion of the NH-15.
The Gumrag so;man (traditional dance) was one of the main attractions of the celebration on the first day.
Ali-Aye-Ligang stands for ‘first sowing of seeds and roots of Sali crop’. ‘Ali’ stands for Sali crop, ‘Aye’ for fruits or seeds, and ‘Ligang’ for the beginning of sowing.
The five-day festival begins on 15 February in Arunachal Pradesh, while it is observed in Assam on the first Wednesday in the month of Fagun of the Assamese calendar which occurs in February in the English calendar. This year the day falls on 17 February.
Meanwhile, Divisional Forest Officer (T) Boken Pao, who was looking after the celebration activities, informed that the villagers have put restrictions on mass celebration of the festival this year because of the pandemic.
