Zeliang community celebrates Mleingyi Festival with traditional fanfare

Dimapur, March 11 (EMN): The inaugural programme of the Zeliang Nagas’ festival “Mleingyi” was celebrated with great fanfare at the GHSS ground of Jalukie in Peren district on March 10 with the deputy commissioner of Peren, Sentiwapang Aier, as the event’s special guest.

The department of Information and Public relations (IPR), the government publicity agency, gave updates to the media on Wednesday informing about the festivities.

Mleingyi marks the event of “self purification and the advent of a new farming season seeking God’s blessings for health and productive year,” the IPR stated.

The festival is a weeklong event involving various activities such as fire-making (Mleiteu), merrymaking and games and sports activities like ‘hedau’ (kicking planks), ‘heram’ (high jump), ‘tsugi’ (shot put), ‘hesim’ (long leap), ‘hego’ (long jump), and ‘hepo’ (wrestling) among others.

Fire-making marks the commencement of the Mleingyi festival and is usually performed by the clan headman of each dormitory by using strands of bamboo and fine bamboo fibres. The flame is kept burning until the culmination of the festival, the IPR stated.

Speaking during the inaugural programme as the event’s special guest, the deputy commissioner of Peren, Sentiwapang Aier, said in his short speech that Jalukie is a cosmopolitan town where mixed groups of people from different tribes live.

The official was stated to have encouraged the public attending the festival to live an exemplary life as well as live life in the right way. He urged the gathering to maintain peace and harmony and to love one another in order to flourish in life, the IPR quoted him as having said.

The government servant also said that the festivals being celebrated among the Naga tribes are mostly related to agricultural activities, be it pre-harvest or post-harvest. Likewise, Mleingyi festival also signifies sowing, marking the beginning of new agricultural activities, the deputy commissioner said.

Aier mentioned that the festivals are celebrated to honour customary practices, the updates stated. He spoke about the need to strengthen, preserve and utilise the rich culture and its traditional values, which have been passed down from the Naga forefathers, the updates stated.