Newmai News Network
Imphal | March 28
The five-day Yaoshang, the biggest festival of the Meitei community, commenced in Manipur on Sunday with the state chief minister’s appeal for scaling down the tempo of celebration of Yaoshang festival.
The festival traditionally involves mass gatherings like sports competitions, Thabal Chongba (traditional dance by young people), jatrawali (courtyard play), musical concerts, etc. during the festival.
Fearing a second wave of the COVID-19 that has already hit some states of the country, the state government has imposed a ban on events involving person to person contact like Thabal Chongba, jatrawali and musical concerts. However, relaxation is being given to the sports events with advice for strict adherence SOPs laid down by the government.
Traditionally, the festival began with the symbolic burning of a Yaoshang (a small hut built with bamboo and thatch) in the evening and is followed by the Naka-theng, during which children go from house to house in localities to collect money for their Yaoshang festivities like buying colours and other items.
However, with sport competitions in almost all the localities across the valley areas of the sport-crazy state, torch rallies were organized in the morning to mark the kicking off the events. Sacred flames were lighted from temples of deity in their respective localities in the rural and far off places.
Locals in Imphal and its outskirts, however, converged at Kangla fort located in the heart of the state capital for lighting torches with sacred flame from a temple inside the fort.
Enforcing restrictions of allowing entering only five persons at a time to lit the sacred flame of the Kangla shrine, the police had a hard time throughout the day today owing to convergent outnumber rallies to take the sacred flame. Traffic jam was witnessed at almost all the streets across the city since early morning.
