Participants during the Karam Festival celebration at SFS Community Hall, Kohima on September 28.
KOHIMA, September 29 (MExN): The Adivasi community celebrated the Karam Festival on Sunday at the SFS Community Hall in Para Medical, Kohima under the theme “Celebrating Cultural Identity.”
The Eucharist was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Manohar Dung Dun, SDB, Parish Priest of St. Maria Goretti of Zubza, and concelebrated by Rev. Fathers Paulus Kerketa, SDB, Vice Rector of Christ King Parish, and Rev. Fr. C. Joseph, Counsellor at St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous), Jakhama. Rev. Sisters along with a large number of people joined in the celebration which featured cultural dances and speeches.
Karam Festival, one of the most popular festivals of the Adivasi people, is associated with the harvest and is a tribute to the Karam tree. This tree symbolises fertility, prosperity, and auspiciousness.
During the festival, the branch of the Karam tree is carried by the Karma dancers accompanied by singing and dancing. Smeared with milk and rice beer, this branch is raised in the middle of the spot where the group performs their dance.
At the same time, the unmarried tribal girls celebrate the Jawa festival, which has its own songs and dances. This is held mainly with the expectation of good fertility and better household. The unmarried girls decorate a small basket with germinating seeds, believing that worship for good germination of the grains would increase fertility.
The entire day of celebration was marked by vibrant and entertaining activities combined with prayer and worship. The community shared a meal to conclude the festivities.
