DIMAPUR, JULY 5 : A pre-Tuluni celebration organized by the youths of Thilixu village on Tuesday was the occasion to a striking message, one that resonated with piercing clarity, on the subject of how the true value and significance of tribal festivals in Nagaland has diminished today.
While addressing the villagers at the celebration, the parliamentary secretary for Irrigation & Flood Control, Jacob Zhimomi reflected that tribal festivals these days were celebrated with crops harvested through the hard labour of others.
“Should we continue to observe festivals in this manner?” the legislator said. Reminding that Nagas were still at a “transitional stage between modernity and tradition”, he said that it was all the more pertinent to “renew the real significance of tribal festivals.”
Fusion of tradition with modernity, he reasoned, should not be at the cost of neglecting one’s roots and origin. Zhimomi underscored that the Naga people should preserve one’s own dialects, culture and tradition, especially at this juncture of its history.
Also, on the occasion he reminded the people that Naga society was a consumer society wholly dependent on grants-in-aid from New Delhi out of which 70% were used for payment of salaries and the remaining 30% for development activities.
He encouraged the youngsters to seek skill development courses to help them find employment in private sector since, according to Zhimomi, the state government could not accommodate everyone into the government sector.
The legislator also lauded the initiative of the organizers, Thilixu Village Youth Organization and encouraged them to strife for peace and unity in the society. The celebration was held at Thilixu Public Ground.
On the occasion, the convener of GPRN/NSCN Naga Political Affairs Committee, Kughalu Mulatonu spoke on the significance of Tuluni festival. The celebration was marked with various folk songs and dances like thighale, thishole and imuno pi sujo sujo.
