Kohima, Dec 3: The State capital was brought to a stand still for almost five hours today as the Angami Sports Association (ASA) organized a stone pulling event to commemorate its 50th anniversary year.
Starting from 10 am till 3 pm, vehicular movement was fully restricted between Kohima Municipal Council slot, Old Minister’s Hill and Kohima local ground. The one-day event prolonged more than the expected duration as the participants were forced to make many stoppages as the ropes could not withstand the weight of the mighty stone.
The stone pulling ceremony culminated at Y. Junction Phool Bari, Kohima, followed by the grand feast at Kohima local ground. A host of dignitaries including legislators, government officials, NGO leaders and others attended the day’s programme.
Addressing the gathering at the culmination programme, the chief minister TR Zeliang, who was the chief host for the stone pulling ceremony, emphasized on preserving our roots, our identity, culture and traditions.
“Unless we take care to preserve our culture and identity, the bigger communities will not recognize us or respect us,” he said maintaining that the innate desire of the Nagas to preserve our culture and identity is one of the important issues in the Naga political movement, as well as the on-going talks with the government of India.
The chief minister also lauded the Angami Sports Association for organising the stone pulling event, which he said is one of the most interesting traditions of the Angamis being practised since time immemorial.
“This is one cultural event which every visitor or tourists would like to witness. Through this colourful event, I strongly believe that the message of unity, peace and progress will reach out to other parts of the world,” he said.
The guest of honour Allan Gemmel, OBE, Minister Cultural Affairs, British Council, India, shared about the special connection between the Nagas and British people.
“I am excited about our shared history. Our passion for education, sport and culture means for our future,” he remarked.
Stating that 2017 is the year of cultural exchange between the United Kingdom and India, Gemmel expressed hope that there will be a special connection between the two countries during next years Hornbill Festival.
“You have an inspired vision chief minister to continue to continue to improve the education of the people of Nagaland and use culture to promote the State to people all over the world. I hope we will use this commitment to education and culture to deepen the long and special bond of friendship between the people of Nagaland and the UK, he said. It may be mentioned that the Kohima Educational Society ad Kohima Educational Trust have supported young people’s education in Nagaland since 2004 and awarded 153 scholarships this year.
Secretary of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Vinay Sheel Oberoin lauded the Nagas, particularly the Angamis, for preserving the rich cultural heritage, which he said will go a long way in telling the world about the Nagas.
“The people of Nagaland have become a model for other regions and countries. This is preservation of intangible cultural heritage,” Oberoi said.
Over 7,000 people representing all the four Angami regions took part in the historic event which was organized in collaboration with the Government of Nagaland. The stone could have been pulled within three hours, but it continued for five hours as the ropes could not withstand the weight of the heavy stone. Majority of the time was consumed as the stone pullers had to reconnect the broken ropes to the stone and restart pulling. However, the stone was successfully pulled down till the culmination point at Phool Baro, Y. Junction.
The commander-in-chief for the stone pulling event was Khrielie Chüsi. The main celebration of ASA 50th anniversary celebrations is tentatively scheduled in the month of February next year.
