Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, JULY 8
Tuluni, the prime festival of the Sümi Naga tribe was celebrated with pomp and gaiety on Wednesday..
In the state capital Kohima the festival was celebrated at the Local Ground (Khuochiezie). The festival is a celebration of abundant and fruitful season of the year wherein, traditionally, prayers and offerings were given to Latsapa, the deity of agriculture.
Governor P B Acharya and chief minister T R Zeliang have extended their greetings to the Sumi community on the occasion of Tuluni festival.
P B Acharya in his message greeted to all “my beloved brothers, sisters and children of Sumi community on the occasion of Tuluni festival”.
“Tuluni festival is significant for its abundance and fruitful season of the year in Nagaland. May the celebration of this festival would bring prosperity, peace and serenity to all the people of our Nagaland,” the Governor said in his message.
Chief Minister of Nagaland TR Zeliang also extended greetings and good wishes to all the Sumis as they celebrate their most important festival Tuluni.
“The celebration will be meaningful and mark new beginnings, and that the festive occasion will promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood in the society,” the message added.
Meanwhile, in the state capital Kohima the festival was celebrated at the Local Ground (Khuochiezie). The festival is a celebration of abundant and fruitful season of the year wherein, traditionally, prayers and offerings were given to Latsapa, the deity of agriculture.
Hundreds of people belonging to the community participated in the mass celebration dressed in their colourful traditional finery. The event was organized by the Kohima Sümi Hoho.
Kohima Village Council (KVC) chairman, Neivor Rutsa, who was the honoured guest of the festival celebrations here said festivals are the integral part of the rich culture and tradition of the Nagas. He maintained that festivals do not have status but are meant for all the people, both rich and poor, and they symbolize unity and oneness. Despite this, he lamented, it is unfortunate that when the communities try to protect and preserve their culture and traditions, a section of people tend to advocate that these culture and traditions are against Christian principles.
Underscoring the importance of maintaining peaceful co-existence and oneness amongst people from different communities, the village chief remarked that the state capital reflects the entire Naga society and the people need to have a sense of belonging here. “Kohima belongs to all the Nagas and not just to the Angamis or the Kohima village,” he emphasized and added that it is the collective responsibility of all to uphold peaceful atmosphere and the progress of the capital town.
On the occasion of Tuluni festival, Rutsa called upon all to repose faith in one another and work together for a new beginning so that the spirit of fraternity would spread to the entire Naga society.
Minister for Road & Bridges (PWD), Y Vikheho Swu, who was the ‘Father of the Festival’, while extending Tuluni greetings to the people, reminded that Nagas were known in the past for their bravery, hardworking nature, self-reliance and honesty and these qualities have to be revived. He said the present situation has come about as a result of mismanaging four major factors- Christianity, Education, Government and Money. The minister appealed to the people to re-introspect and ask themselves whether or not they have been and are practicing Christianity as true believers, how education is being valued and managed today, whether the government is being run/taken in the right approach, and whether money is being used/transacted in the right track. If the people are not satisfied with their lives today, it will indicate these four factors were not used in the right way and it will also mean that the people are incapable of managing themselves, he candidly asserted. Swu also feels that the overground along with ‘too many underground governments’ are also responsible for corrupting the system. He also pointed out that the state is now totally dependent on central funds, and the people think only of getting government jobs. Expressing his distaste to the current scenario, the minister stressed on the urgent need to revive the ‘rural glory’ of the Nagas and urged upon the people to become self-reliant and self-sufficient in the likeness of their forefathers.
“It is time to revive our good and noble qualities and move forward,” he said, adding, “The way forward is that, we have to start talking about Nagas as a whole instead of talking much about our own tribes.”
The significance of the festival was narrated by Vihuto Yepthomi, retired secretary and former president of Kohima Sümi Hoho. Earlier, the invocation prayer was pronounced by SBCK pastor, Rev. Zuhokhu Kiba and KSH president Edward K Zhimomi delivered the greetings.
A host of state legislators, dignitaries and invitees from different communities also participated in the festivities.
The occasion was marked by a cultural show including folk songs and dances, indigenous games and traditional practices.
