Gaan-Ngai celebrations get underway : 08th jan12 ~ E-Pao! Headlines

You are here: Home »

Gaan-Ngai celebrations get underway
Chinikon comes alive to unity call
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, January 07 2012: The post-harvest festival of Zeliangrong community, Gaan-Ngai was celebrated under the aegis of State Level Gaan-Ngai Celebration Committee, Manipur at Chinikon village in Senapati district today with cultural gusto and religious fervour.

The inaugural function of the celebration held at the village ground was attended by President of United Committee Manipur (UCM) Yumnamcha Dilipkumar and Special Class Contractor of PWD Kakhangai Gonthangmei as Chief Guest and President respectively.

Former Chief of Chinikon village Chingkhudunpu, President of State Level Gaan-Ngai Celebration Committee (Manipur) Poudongai Kamsom and General Secretary of Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak Phom (Assam, Manipur and Nagaland) Chaoba Kamson were also among those who graced the dais with their presence.

The actual celebration, however, commenced early in the morning with the rituals of Gakpai Jaomei; wherein a pig is sacrifice to examine its spleen to predict the future of the people.

Village elders who performed the rituals have conveyed that the prediction shows nothing untoward for the future of the people this year.

Zeliangrong youths extracting sacred fire (Meiba Chingba) using bamboo splinters at the occasion of Gaangai celebration at Chinikon village ground

This was followed by oblation of Holy wine to the supreme god, Tingkao Ragwang, shouting of Hoi (an invocation to God) and extraction of sacred fire.

According to the belief of followers of Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak (TRC), indigenous faith of Zeliangrong people, the sacred fire thus extracted with the help of bamboo splinters is to be used for lighting the houses and other household purposes including cooking during the five-day long celebration.

Speaking at the inaugural function, President of UCM Yumnamcha Dilipkumar observed that the true character of Manipur lies in the culture and tradition of its different groups of people which have been handed down through the generations from their forefathers.

So, discarding the cultural heritage of our forefathers could never be a wise decision.

Lauding the efforts being made by Tingkao Ragwang Chapriak Phom (Assam, Manipur and Nagaland) for the promotion of indigenous faith among Zeliangrong people, Dilipkumar noted that it is also the objective of UCM to help all the communities settling in Manipur in protecting their cultural identity.

In his presidential address, Kakhangai Gonthangmei observed that state level Gaan-Ngai celebration has come a long way from BOAT to Chinikon and the light emanated from the sacred fire ignited at the occasion of Gaan-Ngai should spread to other Kabui villages like the light from the stars and sun.

Presentation of cultural dances and songs 'in the purest form' marked the celebration.

* This news is as published by respected news daily at Imphal, whose name is duly marked as 'Source'. E-Pao.net is not responsible for it's sanctity & originality.

* Comments posted by users in this discussion thread and other parts of this site are opinions of the individuals posting them (whose user ID is displayed alongside) and not the views of e-pao.net. We strongly recommend that users exercise responsibility, sensitivity and caution over language while writing your opinions which will be seen and read by other users. Please read a complete Guideline on using comments on this website.