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The festival of colours is commonly known by the name of Holi and is celebrated all over India. However, in Manipur, this festival does not only take on a new name, but it also has many unique aspects, going much beyond the play of colours.
Manipur's Majestic Culture
The state of Manipur boasts many folk traditions and festivals that are authentic to its ethnic inhabitants. The festival of Yaoshang is one of them. Every year, in the month of Lamta (In the ethnic Meitei calendar, the month of Lamta corresponds to the months of February-March in the Gregorian calendar) the ethnic community of Manipur celebrates the festival of Yaoshang with great pomp and show.
The festival of Yaoshang starts on a full moon night and lasts for five days. On each of these days, the community gets together to engage in various performances like singing, dancing, playing with colours and so on.
The five-day festival is inaugurated by the symbolic burning of ‘Yaoshang’, a small hut made of straws and bamboo. Perhaps, that is where the festival of Yaoshang gets its name from.
Then, after this ritual, children get dressed in their new colourful attires and visit every house in the neighbourhood to give their best wishes. In exchange, they receive small amounts of money as donations/gifts from the people.
The people of Manipur refer to this tradition as “nakatheng”. It is an extremely joyous occasion for small children as they get to buy sweets and other goodies from the money they receive from their elders.
However, the most interesting part and the most stunning visual of Yaoshang is the Thabal Chongba, a Manipuri Folk dance performed by men and women of all age groups. The name Thabal Chongba literally translated to ‘Moonlight dance’, implying that it is performed during the night when the moon is high up in the sky. This performance usually takes place on the second day of the five-day festival, but sometimes they are performed on other days as well.
One fascinating thing about the Thabal Chongba is that it transcends all age barriers and includes people from the entire community.
Men, women, children, families, friends, and even strangers mingle easily for the Thabal Chongba, holding hands and dancing and singing around in a circle.
Even the families that are conservative in general, allow their daughters and sons to go out there and take part in this joyous occasion.
Apart from these, the people during the Yaoshang also engage in devotional activities, particularly the elders. They sing devotional songs and visit important temples like the Shree Bijoy Govindaji Temple to offer their prayers to their Gods on this auspicious occasion.
The festival of Yaoshang is incomplete without colours. Just like in Holi, during Yaoshang too, people gather around in groups and play with colours. The children fill their pichkaris (water guns) with water, splashing and running around, spreading joy.
The Yaoshang also sees many budding sportspeople coming together to take part in the local sports competitions organized during this time. The Yaoshang is also known as the festival of sports because the community organizes a big sports event for people to partake in. Various games like spoon and marble, sack race, tug of war memory game, etc. are witnessed all around the state. The idea behind this, according to many local people, is to divert the youth from the evils like drugs and alcohol and instead encourage them to focus on something as meaningful as sports. No wonder this state boasts of so many professional players!
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