Festivals
Mention may be made of festivals of the Tribals of Churachandpur were mainly , Christmas, Chavang Kut, Zomi Nami, Pineapple Festival, Chapchar Kut, Sikpuoruoi, Zouton etc which are now resurgent celebrations of identification and solidarity.
Chavang Kut
‘Chavang-Kut’, the autumn harvest festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Kuki, Chin and Mizo tribes in the hill districts of Manipur.The event organized by the state level Kut committee is held at Imphal, the capital of Manipur. This thanksgiving festival shows gratitude to the almighty for a bountiful harvest with an offering of songs and dances. The vibrant folkdances performed by tribals reflect their joy and happiness. Traditionally known as Chang (Paddy) Kut, the week long festival gradually metamorphised in to the modern one day festival, the Chavang Kut. The present Manipur State level Chavang Kut was first held in Keithelmanbi village on November 1 in 1979 and is being held for over 30 years now.Celebrated annually in November, Chavang-Kut brings the people of Manipur together to ensure peace, harmony and love in the beautiful state. Besides Kukis, Chins and Mizo tribes, other tribes and communities including Nagas and Meitei also participate in the festival to make it an occasion of peace and unity in the state.One of the main attractions of the festival is the Miss Kut beauty pageant contest. Participants from different communities, dressed in their best ethnic attires, walk the ramp. Cultural programmes and musical programs add zing to the celebrations. Manipur is home to 29 tribes and it celebrates a number of traditional festivals. Such events not only highlight the vibrant colors of the region, but also play an important role in strengthening bonds between different tribes.
Zomi Nami
Zomi Nam Ni is celebrated on the 20th of February every year since 1948 in different countries. The Day is observed as a day of deliverance, love, peace, unity, political retrospection and remembrance of the history of the Zomi.The Zomi Nam Ni (Zomi National Day) is observed as a day to commemorate the end of colonialism and imperialism and to mark the liberation of Zoland from the alien rule, in other words, it signifies the installation of sovereign self-rule. For this, the 20th day of February is set aside and being observed as Zomi Nam Ni (Zomi National Day) since 1948 every year. It is also a national integration day for all the Zo Community of India and Myanmar. As such, the Day is celebrated with great elate every year in every parts of the globe where the Zomi settled since then. The Day was recognized as one of the National Holidays in Myanmar (Burma) and significantly coincided with the Mizoram Statehood Day. As time went on, the Zomis in Manipur and different parts of the world started celebrating the Day with a great zeal as an important cultural event whereby all the tribes presented their own traditional dances, conducting various items such as Miss Zomi pageant, Musical Nites, etc. Such meaningful annual event is found to have positive impact on the general psyche of the people. It also fostered mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence.
Pineapple Festival
This State Level Pineapple Festival is mainly celebrated on the 26th August every year pioneered by the Gangte People at Khousabung Village, Churachandpur District. For the pineapple farming community, the festival meant a lot as they get opportunity for wider exposure of their products.
The pineapple cultivators of Khousabung and adjoining villages have been cultivating pineapple as a major source of income since six decades.The Kew variety of pineapple is abundantly cultivated by the farmer.
Chapchar Kut
It is celebrated during March after completion of their most arduous task of Jhum operation i.e., jungle-clearing (clearing of the remnants of burning). It is a spring festival celebrated with great fervour and gaiety. Chapchar Kut is estimated to have started in 1450-1700 A.D. in a village called Suaipui. Chapchar Kut is now held annually in the Month of March. Chapchar Kut is one of three annual festivals of the Mizos celebrated to mark three different stages of the agricultural cycle. The other two are Mim Kut and Pawl Kut, also revived in the last century.
Oral traditions say Chapchar Kut was first celebrated in Seipui village in adjoining Myanmar that has a sizeable population of Mizos and their ethnic cousins. Chapchar Kut used to be celebrated to thank the gods for saving the people from harm during the clearing of forest on hill slopes for jhum cultivation at the beginning of a year.
ZOU-TON – ZOU-TON (Community Festival or Display of Success)
In the olden days, the forefathers of the Zou waged wars (inter-tribal and village war); captured ‘enemies’ (rival group) for slaves; hunted fierce animals; and reaped abundant yields from their cultivated lands. Then, they used to display their successes by hosting ‘Ton’ in their village inviting their clans and all members of the village or people from outside. ‘Ton’ is somehow synonymous with ‘Aih’. However, Ton is meant for a larger occasion signifying many events of success put together while Aih refers to a single occasion of success at a time. Before a person (or the whole village community) conducted or hosted any Tang-Aih, Sa-Aih, etc. he cannot celebrate or conduct Ton because he is not eligible without any prior and distinct accomplishment in life. That is the reason why Ton is also referred to as a mark of display or show-off of successes by a person or group of persons.
SIKPUI RUOI
This Festival is mainly celebrated by the Hmar peoples annually on the 15th December within the district after successfully harvesting of Crops bringing great joy to the people. On the Occasion the Hmar young boys & Girls performs Cultural dance such as Sikpui Lam, Chawn Lam, Pheipit lam, Dente Lam, Fahrel Lam, etc. A grand feast will be served on this day in several villages and towns.
CHRISTMAS
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 every year as a religious and cultural celebration among the people of Churachandpur and around the world.
A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, it is preceded by the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast and initiates the season of Christmastide. Christmastide includes an octave. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many of the world’s nations, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season centered around it.