The Nagas are the lovers of festivals where throughout the year numbers of festivals are observed, so also the Zeliangrong Nagas. The Zeliangrongs resides in three states of NEI - Nagaland, Manipur and Assam. Like most of the Nagas, the Indigenous Zeliangrongs have numbers of ceremonies and festivals, they are not only related with eating, drinking and merry making but which is closely related or revolves around agriculture or soil. It is celebrated to invoke and thanking the blessings of the Supreme Being. Although some religious and spiritual sentiments are interwoven with the similar rites and rituals pediments of festivals are offering to supreme God. Among many festivals observe by the Zeliangrongs, Chaga Ngee is one of the biggest and most important festivals of the Zeliangrongs, for the Liangmais in particular, which is usually celebrated in the last week of October 30th and 31st every year. The Liangmai community celebrates this distinct festival with pageantry of colors and feast of cultural showcase in almost every villages, towns and cities where Liangmai resides.
Chaga Ngee is predominantly a festival of purification, sanctification, rededication, reconciliation-peace and harmony, sharing of resources and a festival of honoring God for showers blessings which brings good harvest and good health. Chaga Ngee has a great impact in the Liangmai society making their lives moving and meaningful since the days of yore. However, since the coming of Christianity, the church regards the celebration of Chaga Ngee as anti-Christian; it was considered as secular, worldly and sacrilegious. Today liberation from enslavement to secular and sacred is needed. Perhaps, the gradual awareness of the religious values of traditional festivals came some few decades ago. Gradual liberation slowly accommodated the Liangmai traditional festivals into the folds of Liangmai society. Today, Liangmais have begun retrieving and reinterpreting traditional festivals with the aims of contextualizing and reviving the lost culture. Here some of the distinctiveness of Chaga Ngee and its reading from a modern perspective.
1. Distinctiveness of Chaga Gadi
The celebration of Chaga Ngee usually stretches for five days and is very cautiously observed. As the festive days come the herald would make a public announcement to all the people that no more war, quarrel or riots during and after Chaga. Chaga Ngee begins with “Chamimalapbo” (making fire) which is also called “day of welcome.” On this day, after eating their choicest food youths gather up in their morungs with the elders to crack jokes and sing songs. On this day the children also gathered their own chaga cock/rooster competing in sizes and strength.
The next day is the day of “Npengkiapbo” (totem shooting). Npeng has to be made in resemblance to human being representing their enemy. Keeping themselves pure and holy from sexual impurity and with a loud ‘ho-hoing’ proclaiming their forefather’s name or by yell identifying oneself to the power, Npeng is shot with an arrow. Certain features are made on the spot where they could hit: if it happens to hit on the head - the enemy die of head pain; if on the neck - the one who shot will have plenty of rice; if on the heart - the enemy will die with much trouble; if on the right chest - the enemy will die in war; and if on the left chest - the one who shot will win many girls. If anyone can’t hit Npeng then the singkupao (priest) will take the Npeng stick (arrow) by hand and put it in the feet of Npeng as a sign of surrender. After shooting of Npeng boys went back to their dorm yelling and ‘ho-hoing’. The following day is a day of “Gadi” which was also called “pon malaungbo” (sharing of meals and resources) where everyone enjoy to the fullest irrespective of any socio-cultural and religious strata. This day is the day of celebration for eating meat, drinking of rice beer, and all the community young or old come with their best traditional customs and join in merry making of mega feast. The next day is “chagapabo.” On this day and Last day is particularly for the elderly people and women folk who continue to drink and eat the left over food and drinks which is called zauba sakbo/ganjung kalumtiubo (eating leftover). Till zauba is finish up, it is a taboo to do any domestic works.
During festival married and unmarried men and women were carefully maintained disciplines in everything in order to make sure to keep away from impurity. Accordingly, men and women used their own hearth in making dishes in order to purify themselves. It is a taboo to have sex or even touch and eat food prepared by women till the festival ends. During Chaga, particularly men folk are asked to maintain discipline by not touching anything of women’s goods. If they fail to do, bad luck follows them (Padonsa-e) in the war. Furthermore, it is believe that the grand celebration of chaga brings more rice, less war and less dead in the village. It is also a harvest festival because it is usually observed after new paddy is received: people said, “As we eat new rice, people will not die anymore or lack no food.” To put in nutshell, Chaga Ngee is a festival to purification, reconciliation, thanksgiving and sharing of one’s resources
2. Modern Perspectival’s
(a) Chaga Ngee as Honoring God: Chaga Gadi is the festival of honoring God. After much toiled all the prosperity with richly harvested crops and everyone had enough for their daily needs was ascribed to the blessing of God and the people honor their God. This indicates that festival and God are always interconnected. Therefore, to celebrate festival without honoring is to neglect God’s providence and blessings. Chaga Ngee is to pray and praise for the protecting, security and safety in their day-to-day life. This view is worthy to redevelop or reformulate in our society today.
(b) Chaga Ngee as Reconciliation-Peace and Harmony: Another important element of Chaga Ngee is Reconciliation-Peace and Harmony. The announcement made to a public no more war, quarrel or riots during and after Chaga, may it be within individual – husband and wife, society and even to other living creatures. Peace and Reconciliation occupied the central stage in the celebration of Chaga Ngee. Therefore, today our society with diverse cultures should strive for the realization of the harmonious existence which is in complete agreement with our belief.
(c) Chaga Ngee as Purification, Sanctification and Rededication: This is one element found in the Chaga Ngee as it is celebrated by keeping oneself pure from any impurities. Even washing away dirty things, preserve pure and unblemished life during the festival in order to make oneself clean and renewed. House would be cleaned and dirty clothes would be washed and above all it’s a time for self purification and social transformation. Today this cleansing of self, society and community can transform our society and can be a means for the realization of the reign of God.
(d) Chaga Ngee as Postulation of an Egalitarian Form of Society: One outstanding feature of the Indigenous Liangmai society is sharing one’s resources generously with others whatever one has. Their society was an egalitarian society where there seemed no beggars and poor people. This festival is celebrated by all irrespective of any social classes or strata whether men and women, young or old, rich or poor, learned or illiterate. The love, care, concern, and peaceful relationship were built between one another. If we reflect this sharing, it is equivalent to love in action which is against selfishness, exploitation, corruption and misappropriation. This principle is very requisite to overturn and transform the social inequalities and divisions in our society today.
(e) Chaga Ngee as Fostering Due Respect towards Women, Elderly and Physically Handicapped people: The festival has much concern and respect; love, care towards women, elderly and physically handicapped people. Today our society unfortunately with the new posh in many spheres may it be in public life, family, clan etc (to mention one amongst, reserving seat in the buses plying on the road) in both urban and rural have almost abandoned the age-old humanitarian values which need to reinstate for harmonious human-in-living.
Modernization has brought a radical change in the life of the people but do not give sufficient alternative that is congenial to people. This led the present generation greatly influenced by outside culture that today majority of our people do not know the importance of ones’ own culture. Hence, it is vital for socio-cultural transformation not only in terms of going to the cultural roots but also to discover its values for the social transformation today. The present Liangmais continue to celebrate Chaga Ngee with new perspectives by honoring God in their respective places crossing denominational and religious barriers giving corporate new identity as a Liangmai emphasizing building-up-community. Thus our society need to rekindle by using its values of honoring God, sharing resources, renewing morals - respect and value each member of the society and uniting all people to build the kingdom of God here and now by being awe and worship with whole heartedness.
Tunchapbo SP
