Irai Hingleu,General Secretary
Jalukie Pumling Nko, Old Jalukie; Nagaland
The Jalukie Pumling Nko presages the advent of Mlei-ngyi festival, one of the most important festivals of the Zeliangrong people, usually celebrated during the month “Mdui” (March: beginning 9th March until 11th March), marks the advent of a new farming season and a time to invoke God’s blessings for a productive farming year. The festival is a 5 (five) day event involving a sequential day-by-day activities like traditional fire-making, merry-making and traditional games and sports and which are highlighted as follows.
Prelude to festival:
Hengyi-sa: The village high priest/harbinger conveying all good wishes to his community proclaims the arrival of festive season and set the date of the festival so as to enable for preparation of self, food, drinks and dresses etc. All preparatory agricultural activities such as jungle clearing for current jhum and millet cultivation in fallow jhum areas are supposed to be completed well ahead of the commencement of the event.
Kecimpu: This is an act of self cleansing and purification ahead of the festival and involves cleaning of clothes and belongings, seed treatment so that seeds sown after the festival are vigorous and healthy.
Mlei zautau: This involves preparation of local rice brew especially meant to be drunk by the traditional fire makers.
Main Festival events:
Day 1- Mlei-teu: This event marks the commencement of Mlei-ngyi festival and is usually performed by the clan headman (kizeu-pei) of each dormitory, who will make fire traditionally by using strands of bamboo (mlei-ria) and bamboo fine fibres and keep the flame burning until culmination of the festival. During the entire festive period, the clan headman will abstain from having any indulgence with wife and female.
Heteu hebak dap/ Leidi: This event involves slaughter of domestic animals meant for food during festival in different dormitories. The evening also witnesses engaged couples being invited to their respective in-lows for dinner and blessing; boy invited to would-be-wife’s home and vice versa and this dinner invitation by village folks usually continues during the entire festive period. All male members usually with their cup of beer and meat preparations from home, while entering their dormitory usually make a howl as “Aoo...yieee… ketyei kesak ngyi, kehing kelia ngyi… aki, mlia pungla”…which means “festival of food and drinks, festival of prosperity and longevity”… Dreams were also interpreted the next day.
Day 2-Rodi: In the early morning hours, some matured male members from the two major clan viz. Heu and Hau, forays into the jungle to make wooden totem (Herie) for each clan which is usually a 6-8 feet length wooden plank split and shared one each from a single tree. The plank is then brought to the village with each clan carrying their respective wooden totem and placed on a clean predestined location in front of each dormitory. Then all male members in traditional attires gather to howl around the totem thence proceed to play ground for traditional games and sports like hedau (kicking the plank), heram (high jump), tsugi (shot put), hesim (long leap), hejo (long jump), hepo (wrestling) etc… This event usually witness wide participation and stiff competition from capable youngsters and the event marks the best athletes of the village for the year. The sporting event culminates with a traditional howl (nro) by male members congregated around the field (hejo).
Day 3- Bamsak: The day is significant with families sharing hengyi-dom (festival food package) to family members living out of the village. The evening hours are occupied with male members visiting female dormitories and calling them out by name and having verbal exchanges. Interpretation of dreams follows the next day.
Day 4- Tsingpo nsa: The day is marked with different clan collecting firewood and piling in their respective dormitories and the headman serving dormitory wine to members. In the evening hours, female dormitory members, usually singing soulful ballets visits male dormitories and perform traditional events like heba lia (finger identification), heriang teu (tug-o-war) and tsingpo nsa (firewood snatch).
Day 5- Zausa: Merry making in respective dormitories prevails.
Day 6- Gwangnim: The final day in which the clan headman (hegwangme) douses the Mlei-mi (festival fire). Members of the female dormitories collected “kemniebi” (sticky rice) from respective households and after cooking shares it with male dormitories as well as each female member including young girls.
Post festival events:
Regapa: The event after the festival when male members begin agricultural practices of burning their jhum fields and in the process any wild animals and birds killed or captured are gifted to female dormitories. Female members collect meat from their homes and cook in dormitories. Discarded pieces of meat and bones (hailodum nsa) are collected by younger boys.
Gaipia mna: Boys and girls together have recreation and merry making with bride-to-be by singing soulful ballets and conundrum. The bride-to-be along with friends from her dormitory selects a married man to lead during “nta” (traditional dances) and gives him mouthful of salt and wine.
Mtim: A day for facilitating and solemnizing traditional marriage ceremonies akin to Christian holy marriages and involves marriage feast for the entire village folks.
The office of the Jalukie Pumling Nko Nagaland, while pronouncing observance of “Mlei-ngyi” festival in its land from March 9-11, 2013, also coveys Mlei-ngyi greetings to its people and wishes everyone a festive season and bountiful blessings from the almighty God for a prosperous year.
