Lakhuti village brightens up to celebrate Tokhu Emong in a grand way

EMN DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 6 Reminiscent of the past era, Lakhuti village ground came alive with the sound of pounding of grains and folk tunes as villagers congregated Thursday to celebrate Tokhu Emong, the premier festival of the Lotha Nagas. Parliamentary Secretary for Women Resource Development and Border Affairs, Thomas Lotha, who also hails from Lakhuti village, is hosting the two-day celebration. The main objective of hosting the festival is to give the younger generation a glimpse of the tradition and past practices of the forefathers. Tokhu Emong, a thanksgiving festival for a bountiful harvest, is also a time for people from all walks of life to come together and share their hearts, a time to forgive and forget the past mistakes and to invoke the blessings of the Almighty as well as the forefathers. The highlights of the first day celebration included traditional method of rice pounding competition among womenfolk of the various khels of the village, construction of traditional jhum huts, tug of war among the menfolk and lottery draws for three different categories. For men and women, the lottery prizes include shawls and woolen shirts, which will also help them prepare for the coming winter and Christmas. On the festive occasion, the parliamentary secretary and his wife also distributed blankets to the GBs and elders of the village. This is probably the first time in the history of Lakhuti village that Tokhu Emong is being organized on a large scale to create awareness of the past traditional practices and to foster unity and bondship among the eight khels of one of the biggest villages in Wokha district.