[ Prafulla Kaman ]
OYAN, 15 Feb: Ali-Aye-Ligang, the traditional festival of the Mising community, began with traditional rituals at the Oiram Bori Memorial Cultural Ground in Oyan village in East Siang district on Saturday.
The three-day celebration started with paying homage to the pioneer of Mising art and culture, Ba-bu Oiram Bori by Oyan Bane Kebang president Mojit Pao and hoisting of the Ligang flag by Oyan HGB Jotin Bori.
This was followed by taku-kubat (opening rituals) by the mirii (priest), who offered the Ligang ritual and prayed to the almighty Kiine Naane (goddess) for a bumper harvest and wellbeing of the community’s people. With the rituals, the senior villagers ceremonially started sowing of Sali seeds as per tradition.
Extending festival greetings to the community’s people, Oyan GB Basansing Pao stressed on the need for preservation and promotion of the traditional customs of the Mising tribe. He urged the community’s youths to shoulder the responsibility to preserve their ancestral culture for keeping their ethnic identity intact.
As part of the festivities, the organisers took out a cultural procession along National Highway 515 from Oyan to Sille-Teromile in the morning.
A ‘mega dance’ presented by the Oyan Ane (women) group, showcasing Mising folk dances called Gumrag Soman, and Lo:le dance presented by the village women were the special attractions of the inaugural programme.
On the first day of the festival, the members of Oyan Recovery Club demonstrated the ill-effects of alcohol, narcotics and psychotropic drugs, and appealed to the youngsters to stay away from such harmful substances.
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 Arunachal, while it is started on the first Wednesday of mid-February (fagun month) as per the Assamese calendar in Assam every year.
Meanwhile, Pasighat West MLA Ninong Ering extended his festival wishes to the Ali-Aye-Ligang organisers. The MLA in a message said he has prayed to almighty Donyi Polo, seeking their blessings for peace, prosperity, and wellbeing of the community’s people.
Reports of Ali-Aye-Ligang celebration in Mer-Gadum (Mebo), Bijari and Namsai areas of the state have also been pouring in.
