Golaghat: Ali-Aye-Ligang, the vibrant agricultural festival of Mising tribe was celebrated on Wednesday in many places across Golaghat district with traditional fervour. The festival has been celebrated every year on the first Wednesday of the Assamese month Phagun. It is a nature-based festival which marks the beginning of cultivation season. Ali-Aye-Ligang is a prime festival of the Mising tribe. The name Ali- Aye- Ligang is the combination of three words ‘Ali’ means root, ‘Aye’ means fruit and ‘Ligang’ means sowing. The festival is observed at the starting of the ‘Ahu’ paddy cultivation.
The festival has been observed at Bokakhat, Dergaon, Merapani, Sarupathar and in many other Mising denizen areas of Golaghat district. Irrespective of age, everyone at the celebrations’ site took part and sang Oi:Nitom, Anu:Nitom and danced traditional ‘Gumrag So:Man’ at the sprawling Merapani’s Bijoypur community field amidst the Mising Morong-Okum and Greenary. Women were seen dressed up in beautiful handmade and woven dresses - Ege, Ribi Gaseng, Gero, etc. that depict their culture while the men were spotted wearing Gonro Ugon, Tongali and Mibu Galuk, which are very colourful hand-woven fabrics.
Earlier, local villagers and Founder of All & Sundry NGO, Abhishek Singha paid floral tributes to Oiram Bori, The Pioneer of Mising Art and Culture, followed by sowing ceremony of Ahu paddy seeds by Kamal Kanta Pegu, Jayanti Pegu, Jitu Tayung and other invited guests, while organising committe president Kamaleswar Doley and secretary Dilip Kr. Pegu explained the mythology of Ali-Aye-Ligang festival. A ‘mega dance’ presented by local group of Bijoypur village, exhibition of Mising traditional attires and crafts were some of the special attractions of the Bijoypur villages’ Ali-Aye-Ligang celebration, stated a press release.
Also Read: Assam: Vibrant Celebrations Underway for Ali Aye Ligang at Taubhanga, Jamugurihat
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