Tokhü Emong

Tokhü Emong is a village festival celebrated by the Lotha Nagas in Nagaland, India. The nine day Fall festival celebrates the end of the harvest season.

Tokhü means feast (eating food and drinking). Emong means the Halt on the appointed time.

Overview

Tokhü Emong is celebrated in the first week of November every year and it lasts for nine days. This festival is associated with the harvesting of crops. It is also accompanied by folk dances and singing of folk songs.

During Tokhü Emong, the adherents praise the gods for their blessings. Tokhü Emong is also a celebration of brotherhood, forgiveness, and oneness. It is celebrated through sharing of food, gifts, folklore narration and a community feast.

Customs and rituals

Before the festival

The village priest proclaims the opening of Tokhü Emong. He travels door-to door in the village with a basket to collect edibles. For this purpose Yinga, or supporters, also accompanied him. This collection is an offering to the Limha Potsow Ha Oyak Potsow (Earth-God and Sky-God). The priest takes a small quantity of the contribution and put it into his basket after offering his prayers. It is customary for the fellow villagers to contribute liberally as it is believed that more contribution facilitated more crops during cultivation. According to legend, anyone who refuses a contribution brings a bad curse upon themselves and ends up as a beggar.

A fraction of this gathering is used to buy a pig and the rest was kept for making rice beer. Later, with the help of a bamboo spear, a perforation is made in the pig's heart, then the abdomen is sliced open to interpret the prophecy. The priest reads the destiny of the village from the entrails.. The pig is then divided into small portions and distributed amongst every household.

If a stranger arrives in the village before the festival starts, he or she can either leave or stay as a guest throughout the festival, enjoying the hospitality of the village.

The wells of the villages are cleaned and the houses are repaired as well.

During the festival

There may be a slight difference in some ritual performance and other celebrating activities in between the villages among the Lothas. The village itself had its own priest and customary laws within its village and therefore, act or perform accordingly. However, the identity of Tokhu Emong, its significance, and subjects or aims are all same.

The people wear their conventional dresses to the ceremonies

Prayers are offered to the spirits of the people who had died in the previous year. Any family who lost any member is expected to stay in the village until the last rituals are performed. Villagers are expected to put aside bitterness and settle all problems with others. People express their gratitude for what they have and strive to create new ties of friendship.

A meal is served to everyone, followed by folk dance, folk songs. and the exchange of gifts

After the festival, marriages are arranged for the young couples, who were engaged during the year.

Dates

Tokhü Emong is an annual festival that begins on 7 November and continues for nine days. Historically, the festival did not have a fixed start date; Lotha Naga elders settled on a fixed date in order to strengthen unity among the community. Recently, the Nagaland Government has set a date on Nagaland Government calendar as holidays for Lothas Tribe only, on 6 and 7 November.

External links

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