Mopin festival celebration
ITANAGAR, 5 Apr: “Arunachal Pradesh is a blessed land of numerous tribes who have maintained their customs and traditions over the years,” Governor KT Parnaik said while participating in the Mopin festival celebration here on Friday.
The governor, who was accompanied by his wife Anagha Parnaik, greeted the Galo community on the festive occasion, and offered prayers to invoke the blessing of Mopin goddess Anyi Pinku Pinte for better crops, proliferation of domestic animals, and preservation of nature.
Commending the Popir teams for their excellent cultural presentation during the celebration, he said that “the participation brings about community cohesion and language revitalisation, reinforces collective identification, and encourages the younger generations to learn their cultural practices, traditions, as well as linguistic nuances.”
Besides urging the Galo community to contribute in nation-building in various areas, including empowerment of women and girl children, he suggested to them to “work at the community and village levels to ensure basic education of 10+2 of each child, provide skills to the youths and basic knowledge on health and hygiene to every mother,” and urged all to fight the menace of drug abuse.
“As Mopin is related to agriculture, the people must adopt a holistic approach in the agriculture and allied sectors,” he said, and advised the people to “utilise modern techniques, explore market avenues, and promote self-help groups and cooperatives.”
Senior citizen of the Galo community, Gumde Karbak, recalled “the concerted efforts of the pioneers of Itanagar and Naharlagun in preservation and promotion of Galo culture, including Mopin.”
Mopin Celebration Committee president Pebom Bagra and its secretary Margam Ori also spoke.
A cultural presentation, depicting the rich cultural heritage and traditions of the Galo society, was presented on the occasion, while 15 Popir teams from different parts of the ICR participated in the celebration led by Mopin head priest (nyibo) Nyago Bagra and assistant priest (bo) Mijo Bagra from Jeyi Bagra village in West Siang district.
The organising committee also conducted volleyball, archery and other sports competitions, besides cultural competition, including folk dances, yaan kaben (traditional ritualistic narration), Galo aagam (Galo language speaking), basket-making, decorative bamboo flower (rime)-making competition, and community local beverages (poka)- and rice cake (itti)-making competitions as part of the celebration. (Raj Bhavan)
