MIU : This festival is held in
the first week of May every year.
One of the main significances of
this festival is to build cordial
relations and to forge close-knit
relations between the maternal uncle
and his sister’s off springs i.e.
nephews and nieces. It is during
this festival that the maternal
uncle offers a very special prayer
by invoking the supernatural Deity
to grant good health, prosperous
life and power over enemy to his
nephews and nieces.
On this occasion, nieces and nephews
visit their maternal uncles with
presents like Clothes, Daos and
other things beside edible items
like fermented breweries, sticky
rice and cooked or uncooked meat.
This is also a very special occasion
of FORGIVE AND FORGET between
maternal uncle and his nieces or
nephews. But if the difference of
dispute is beyond pardon on the
part of the maternal uncle, he will not
allow his nieces or nephews to visit
the house for getting blessing. In
the vent of such happenings it is
believed that the future life of his
nieces and nephews lay in shambles.
But refusing to give blessing is a
very rare case.
The significance of this festival is
also to mark the seedling in the new
field in which all the families of
the village of to their Khetis and
perform rituals and prayers by
offering animal blood and flesh with
other food stuff to the Deity. The
people also pray to bless them with
strong, handsome and beautiful
children,. They too pray for
increase of animals and grains in
the field and also for prevention of
crops from damage and visitation of
plague over human and animals.
This festival is also known as
dividing line between merrymaking
season and the start of working
season. From this festival onwards
people stop performing folk songs
and dances till the next joyous
festival called “TSOKUM” comes. The
elders of the Tribe and also the
villagers stop to enter into any
treaty or hold any diplomatic
welfare ties with any tribe and
villages.
TSOKUM : This festival is
held during the first week of
October. This is mainly observed to
give thanks to the Almighty Deity
for giving good crops and
safeguarding lives in the family.
During this festival animals like
Mithun, buffaloes, cows, pigs etc
are killed and sacrificed to appease
their God. A portion of neck and
ribs of the animals killed is then
collected in the “Morung” in the
form of compulsory donation. The
next day all the male folks of the
village go to make or repair the
roads and bridges between the
villages and also the roads leading
to their Khetis. On their return
home from work, they partake of the
food and brews or drinks that have been
kept arranged by the villagers out
of the meat donated by those who
killed animals during the festival.
One of the main significances of
this festival is to grant permission
of right to harvest and test the new
crops. It is also during this time
that each warrior of the village is
at a liberty to display his hunted
trophies by marking on the sharpened
wood so that the people will come to
know how many men he has killed
during his lifetime.