Unique aspect of youth fest brought fore ; Chosen girl hosts Halang Youth Festival
Source: The Sangai Express / Mungchan Zimik
Ukhrul, October 07 2017:
The uniqueness of the Halang Youth Festival lies in the fact that this is the only festival of the Tangkhul community where a single girl is named to host the festival every year at this time of the year, when October is picnic season in Ukhrul .
Halang village youth celebrate the festival annually in the name of a local flower called Maitheiwon “festival of flowers” in the first week of October during the full bloom of the flower .
The flower festival can only be hosted by a responsible village girl, while the other youths contribute through subscription/chip in money from their own pocket for the festival .
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This year, village lass Wungshimla Chamroy hosted the youth flower festival.
It is a three day celebration and this year it was from held from October 4 to 6 .
It is mandatory for participants to wear the flower garland and anyone not wearing the garland is not allowed to join the festival .
Competition in cooking, singing, dancing, personality development make up the crux of the festival .
The youth would gather in an open space and perform a traditional dance, where all have to follow in a systematic pattern.
All visitors and guests are welcome to the merry making.
The village youth are divided into different peer groups for the competition .
According to them, anyone who has been baptized is considered a youth .
Youth gather and march through the village singing the traditional song “Yangyir laa.”
The dinner is hosted lavishly, while night time is entertainment programme .
Halang village youth have been celebrating the festival for more than 74 years.