Shangkai village celebrates 'Good Friday Fishing' after 10 years
Source: The Sangai Express

Ukhrul, April 20 2019: As the Christian community across the globe observed the blessed Good Friday, people of Shangkai Kuki village in Ukhrul district resumed its 'Holy week fishing festival', commonly known as 'Good Friday Fishing' .

The Shangkai Kuki villagers are celebrating the traditional festival after almost 10 years owing to the construction of Maphou Dam.

The Christian communities in the past, in most parts of the hill districts especially the remote villages, go for group hunting in the forest or fishing during the Holy week to organise a joint feast on Good Friday.

This practice is continuing till today in some villages in the hill districts, reports our correspondent.

Shangkai Kuki villagers used to organize the festival annually along Thoubal river during Holy week but had to stop for a while owing to the increase in water level as a result of the construction of Maphou Dam.

Shangkai village celebrates 'Good Friday Fishing' after 10 years

Shangkai is situated south of Uhkrul district in Lungchong Meiphai Sub Division and 30 Km towards south from Ukhrul DHQs and 34 km away from State capital.

The village comprised of around 60 households with a population of about 284 according to 2011 census.

The recent release of Maphou Dam water has once again allowed the people of Shangkai village to resume its annual traditional fishing festival.

Most of the villagers including men and women, young and old, boys and girls in the village spend the whole night of April 16 in the river by engaging in beating Guson or Tolgu (an underground stem of a particular plant).

In the next morning, the entire villagers catch the fishes which get paralysed and float near the surface as a result of the effect of 'Guson/Tolgu' solution.

Some women cooked food near the river bank while others engaged in catching fishes.

A video clip of Shangkai villagers fishing during the Holy week which went viral on social media, showed a good catch by the people which according to them is triple the quantity than the past years.

In the video, when the fishes were laid on the ground, people started posting questions on how the locals could manage to have a good catch.

"It is not new to us but it gives us immense happiness and pleasure as we get to celebrate this festival once again after a long gap", said Helhing, a woman from Shangkai village.

She added that the people are very excited to see such a huge quantity of fish and enjoyed it very much.

According to her, the men in the village set out to take Guson/Tolgu (which is abundantly found in the village jungle) on April 15 noon.

After returning and camping near the river, the men folk used to beat the stems in a stout stump, made from tree trunks upon a big and long log inside the river till dawn.

While in the morning, all the villagers rush to the riverside to get a good catch.

The catch would even last till the next morning, she narrated.

She also said that the local Pastor launched the catch with a prayer and the fish were shared among all the households (at least 40 Kg each per house) adding that even if we want to continue the festival, it is decided by the Dam.

She also said that, not only Shangkai village, even villages below Shangkai located around 1/2 Km away also had a better catch since the foam that emanated from the beaten stem has been mixed with the river water and flow down along with the current.

Another villager said that solution of Guson/Tolgu is not poisonous for the fish habitat, upto the extent of extinction, as the effect last only for some hours.

The villager said that the solution only paralyses the fish for an easy catch.

The annual traditional fishing festival remains the best time of the people of Shangkai village and it also widely marked the Holy week which will culminate on Easter Sunday for the people.