Longsa (Mokokchung), August 2 (MExN): The colours of tradition and the spirit of the forefathers was reawakened at Longsa village as neighboring villages, guests and invitees celebrated the premier festival of the Ao community – Tsüngremmung – with Minister for RD & REPA, C.L John as the chief guest.
Tsüngremmung, the pre-harvest festival of the Aos, is also known as Longsamung, and each year the Longsa Village Council has been celebrating the Tsüngremmung in a grand manner. Over the past few years, the Tourism Department, Government of Nagaland has been actively collaborating with the LVC in celebrating Tsüngremmung at Longsa village.
Speaking as the chief guest, C.L John, Minister for Rural Department & REPA, said that festival is a time for giving, for reconciliation and a time to forgive and forget. He asserted that festivals are given by God and therefore, should be celebrated in true Christian spirit. In this regard, the minister strongly advocated for Christian spirit among the Nagas and said that the Naga people were recognized as a people by the world only through Christianity. Therefore, he called for celebrating cultural festivals (like Tsüngremmung) in true Christian spirit invoking God’s blessings, to forgive and forget and to bring reconciliation in the society.
About the present Naga society, the Minister lamented about the disunity, the tribalism and factionalism prevalent today. He said that, the division that we have today in our Naga society is our creation, not of our forefathers. The minister strongly asserted that it is ‘we that has brought the division in the society, and that it is we (the present generation) to bring about unity and reconciliation in the society’.
He said that the Nagaland Legislative Assembly with sixty representatives in united today; he therefore questioned why the civil society and the Naga Political groups are not united. In this regard, he urged the civil societies, especially the tribal hohos and the village councils, to works towards bringing unity and reconciliation in the Naga society.
An official from the Tourism Department also spoke at the programme and declared that the Department is always willing to assist Longsa, a declared tourist destination, in any way in the day to come. A village elder and leader of Longsa, Yashimeren (tatar) spoke about the significance of Tsüngremmung. The partakers of Longsa Tsüngremmung were also highly entertained by cultural presentations by students of Government High School Longsa. The festivity was also heightened by the dancing troupes from Tsatanger village (Sangtam) and Sapatomi village (Sumi) who joined in with Longsa, their neighboring villages.
A host of dignitaries, Legislators, officials from the Rural Development and Tourism Department, representatives from the Mokokchung Town Lanur Telungjem etc accompanied the chief guest and attended the grand festivity.
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