History and Art and Culture
Context: Recently Gaan Ngai festival was celebrated in the state of Manipur.
About Gaan Ngai festival:
- Gann Ngai is a regional public holiday in the Northeastern Indian state of Manipur on the 13th day of the month of Wakching in the Manipuri calendar.
- It falls in either December or January in the western calendar.
- It is also known as Chakaan Gaan Ngai and is the biggest festival of Zeliangrong community.
- Gann Ngai takes place after the end of the harvest season.
- Gaan-Ngai literally means the festival of winter season. Gaan or Ganh means winter or dry season and Ngai means festival.
- The Zeliangrong people, comprising the Zemei, Liangmei and the Rongmei tribes, are one of the major indigenous communities living in Manipur.
- They also have sizable populations in the neighbouring states of Assam and Nagaland.
- The most significant part of the festival is the worshipping of “Tingkao Ragwang”, which is the Supreme God.
- This is a festival during which those who died in the previous year are given a ritual farewell or departure; their graves are beautified; dances are performed and a feast is held in honour of the dead, which is why this festival is sometimes known as the festival of the dead and the living.
- At the beginning of this festival the head of the village creates a ‘new fire’ by rubbing bamboo cord with bamboo gauze placed under a piece of dry wood.
- This traditional method of making fire is called “Mhai Lapmei”, meaning extraction of the sacred fire.
Source: NewsOnAir
