"Oral cultures and cultural activism – Challenges and responses"
- With special references to Liangmai Community -
- Part 2 -

Adibo Newmei *

Chagah Festival of Liangmai community celebrated at Taphou Liangmai village, Senapati on Oct 30, 2012 :: Pix - Popcha Yambem

Important role of the Liangmai women:-

* Manabo (The Birth)

The birth of a child embraced by the community is significant. The birth rate was low and even delivered baby life was precarious. As such, there are many taboos among the Liangmai community. When a woman is conceived, she undertake various precautions e.g. avoid to harm living being, avoid meeting strangers, abstain from heavy works and eating meats of wild animals. Later on, she confines herself to household work. All these are done to avoid miscarriage. Even, the husband restrains himself from hunting.

A special rice beer will be kept in a gourd to celebrate the coming of the child. Family members and relatives do not venture far off. Selected elderly woman, experienced in delivery cases who are content with their offspring will be invited. Whenever there is a delivery of a child, everyone celebrates with drinks and eatables. No ritual is performed within these 5 to 7 days because if a child dies within this period it will not be counted as human being. It will be buried simply in the precinct of the house. During this period, a thorny plant call Mui will be hung on the gate of the house. This is called Muisiatbo, which means outsiders are not welcome and guest shy away whenever they see a Mui plant.

After Muisiatbo, if the child is alive, the family invites relatives, friends, elders and priest to name the child. This day is call Tajan Mathaknai or Naming Ceremony. Each family has traditional and clan name. Even new names are coined according to the deeds of the father or family. While choosing the name, the choice of the mother is taken into great consideration.

* Duangtipbo (To keep the barn secure):-

Before the arrival of the grain of the new harvest, the lady of the house will clean the barn neatly. Then a grinded Majatbiu (Majat-right, Biu-ginger) will be kept in a folded banana leave and she will place it in one corner of the barn. A special rice beer kept in a gourd will be poured over the ginger. Then, she will pray to Charawang (god) to bless her grain and the barn so that whatever is stored in the barn will be able to sustain and provide food for the whole year or until the next harvest. After performing all the rituals the family members take a special dish of white fish to purify themselves. It is considered as the most sacred and purest meal. Such preparation is usually assigned to the lady of the house. She is responsible for drawing out the grains from the barn. It is believe that it will provide more than what is actually drawn.

* Tadiabo (Period of mourning):-

It is believed that the death soul continues to live in the house. Tadiabo is a kind of ritual performed by the family members in reverence to the dead person and to appease his soul for one year. A nail of the right thumb of the dead will be drawn out and it is inserted in particular ginger call Majatbiu. This nail inserted ginger will be wrapped by a cloth and tied securely. The Liangmais called this wrapped ginger as 'Tala'. It is kept in the waist belt call Bungkam of the Chakypaopui i.e. lady of the house and if she had to venture out it would be handed over to another woman of the family who will stay in the house.

When the family takes food, the belt will be place in a winnowing fan secure from children or domestic animals. She will give a share of the food and drinks for the death soul near the Tala. This share will be consumed by the eldest male member of the family after his food with extreme care not to spill anything. It is a taboo to spill anything because the soul will be unhappy and may be bring ill-luck to the family or may refuse to leave the house.

This period of appeasing the soul of the dead is called "Tadiabo". During this period, the family members do not partake in any happy social activities. It is an act of mourning and respect to the dead soul. At the end of the year, the Singku (chief priest) will fix a particular common day for all the different families who are at Tadiabo. It is a very important day because it ends the period of Tadiabo.

The Tala is placed in a special winnowing fan with various eatables, foods and drinks. All the family members will march along with the Singku to the western gate. In a special marked place the Singku performed the ritual urging the soul to leave the village without any ill-feelings and wish them a happy journey to Chariuram (Hades). All the Tala's will be thrown away and this day is called Tala Thuanbonai (thuanbo-throw away, nai-day). All the family members freed from Tadiabo. They return back happily singing, dancing and it becomes a day of festivity where other family also join in their joy.

* Tapi Khengbo (Asking for the Head/Skull):-

During the olden days, head hunting marked the height of supremacy in the inter-village rivalry. Even in those turbulent days women were given due regards as a symbol of nobility and peace and to hurt a woman was considered regressive. Usually, when no man dare fetch the skull of their family members it felled upon to woman to take care of it. The skull and the Tala were very important for the completion of ceremony of the death members.

* Chari Khambo (Stopping war):-

When two warring groups wage in an inconclusive needless war, women may come in between the two groups and plead them to stop the confrontation. If the warring groups take no heed of their incessant persuasion, she may take off her waist cloth called Tanina (Makhela) as an extreme step to cease the fight. This act of extreme step has always been held in highest accountability by any warring group since the inception of Liangmai women.

Chaga (Blessed Festival):-

Chaga is an important festivals celebrated only by the males in the Olden days. The aim of Chaga is to appease the Charawang (god) and be blessed, each according to his devotion. Therefore, the literal translation "The Blessed Festival" has been accepted by the leaders of the community in a seminar organised by Liangmai Art and Culture Association in 2004 at Chiang Village, Tamei Sub-Division, Tamenglong District, Manipur.

It is a three to five day festival usually celebrated in the month of Chaga Hiu i.e. month of Chaga which falls between September and October depending on the sighting of the moon. During the month of Chaga, everything is blessed jhum fields are harvested, the barns are well stocked, vegetables in abundance, animals wild and domesticated are healthy even the weather is congenial. So man also wants to be blessed during Chaga.

By appeasing the god, he seek his blessing to be a great warrior, victorious against the enemies, each individual seeks for a good omen that he to endure for the forth coming New Year. Everyone clamours to sight the full moon first believing that he will be endowed with luck.

It is a taboo to fall sick during the Chaga. Hectic preparations by every individual in their respective khangchiuky (Morung) to please the god. The men initiate to purify the mind body and soul and a mere pretention will face the wrath of god. Every men folk will participate in the festival except women and children, man whose wife is pregnant and those who have escorted dead bodies to the graveyard or to other villages.

All the members will washed themselves, carry their own water for cooking and abstain from their women. Rice, meat, rice-beer, banana leaves, bamboo plate, bamboo mug and fire-wood are well stocked in advance. Chami Malap Wangbonai (day of making new fire is a day) where all the fire of the entire hearth of the village will be extinguished and a new fire made by the priest or Pakhangpi by rubbing over wooden piece by a bamboo or cane rope. This new fire will be rekindled by each male house holder in their hearth. It is believed to start everything anew and fresh for the New Year. After the new fire the restriction of men and women intermingling is relaxed.

"This paper was presented at the National Seminar on "Recovering the Oral Histories of North-East India" at Dimapur on October 31 and November 1 2012 organised by Indian Institute of Advance Studies (IIAS) and INTACH".

To be continued...