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Losar - Monpa Festival
Losar is one of the important festival of
Monpas. The festival is celebrated
to commemorate the advent of new year. Before the commencement of Losar, they
make arrangement for a feast with local drinks where all the relatives and
friends are entertained and wish each other happy New Year (Tashi Delek) of the
15th day of the same month they bid good bye to Losar festival with merry
making.
Jomu - Monpa Festival
A religious festivals of the Monpas, this is a get together sort of festival which is observed after the
completion of sowing of seeds between the 5th and 6th months of
Monpa, Lunar
calendar. In this festival the villagers go to the Gompa
in their traditional
dress. The function is graced by the oldest member of the village.
Chosker - Monpa Festival
In this religious festival of Monpas, the Lamas (Buddhist priests) read religious scriptures in
the Gompa (Buddhist temple) for a number of days. Thereafter the villagers carry
the religious books on their back in a procession under the guidance of senior Lama. The procession goes round the cultivated fields which fall within the
jurisdiction of the village. The significance of this performance is to ensure
better cultivation and protect the grains from the insects and wild animals and also
for the prosperity of the villagers. Normally this festival
is performed during the months of April-May, after the Jhum fields are prepared. The ritual involves the suspension of all outside activities for a definite
period.
Other Festivals
 The
Khamtis celebrate 'Sangken' a Buddhist festival annually once
in a month of April and similarly 'Nunhak' is also celebrated on
the full moon day in the month of May. The other ceremonies such as Khau-A,
Catang-Cale and Nyin-Cam-Meijung are celebrated in the Buddhist way by
offering flowers, vegetables and rice at the village monasteries- in the
last part of July for Khau-A, in the middle September for Catang-Cale and
before the start of winter for Nyin-Cam-Meijung.
The Mijis believe in many gods. Jang-Langnui is the most powerful of all of
them. A festival is observed in honour of the spirit in the month of October.
Each village has a deori who officiates in the ritual.
A new shed is
put up for Jang-Langnui every year in a selected spot. On the first day a cow is
sacrificed in the morning and a pig at night. Any villager can perform the
sacrifice of a cow but the pig is killed by the deori himself. The villagers
celebrate the occasion by feasting, dancing, singing etc for sever days.
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