Celebrating Ali Aye Ligang: Culture and Harvest

The Ali Aye Ligang Festival holds significant springtime celebrations for the Mishing Tribe in Assam. This festival marks the beginning of agricultural cultivation, blending prayers, dance, and feasting. It embodies the tribe's cultural identity and fosters unity through shared traditions and festivities.

Mishing Community Celebrates Ali-Aye-LigangI Source: The Sentinel Assam

The beautiful Ali Aye Ligang festival, also known as Ali-Ai-Ligang, is celebrated in Assam. Among the array of tribal celebrations within Assam, many are intimately tied to the arrival of spring, often revolving around the agricultural season and bountiful harvests. Notably, the Ali Aye Ligang festival holds a special place as it is fervently embraced by the Mishing Tribe, commemorating the advent of Ahu (autumn rice) cultivation.

The Ali Aye Ligang festival is an annual event celebrated on the first Wednesday of February in the Georgian calendar, corresponding to the first Wednesday of the Phagun month, known as 'Ginmur Polo,' in the Assamese calendar. This five-day festival marks the arrival of spring and the deep connection of the Mishing Tribe to this season. The name, Ali Ai Ligang, holds profound meaning, representing the tribe's bond with the land's fertility. Ali signifies roots and seeds, Ai embodies fruits, and Ligang captures the act of sowing. This symbolism perfectly aligns with the festival's purpose of heralding seed planting, encapsulating the essence of sowing for both roots and fruits.

The Mishing people have long thrived as agriculturalists, with roots and fruits forming the core of their sustenance in the hills. The influence of Aryan culture in the plains gradually changed their way of life and introduced rice cultivation, but Ahu (autumn rice) and Bau (deepwater rice) remained their primary crop. This celebration seamlessly weaves together prayer, dance, and feasting. While the timing of Ligang festivities used to vary due to local factors, education and modernisation united the Mishing people. In 1956, their pivotal group Nane Kcbang established a standard time for the Ligang festival, selecting the auspicious first Wednesday of the Phagunagun month, considered as ‘Lakshmi Day,’ a fortunate time for sowing, as the day of jubilation.

On this revered day, the head of each family undertakes a sacred ritual in their fields. Armed with a handful of seeds and an ensemble of ceremonial tools like Yokpa (Sword), Apong (Rice Beer), Purang (Bora Rice cooked in Alpinia nigra leaf), Take (Ginger), Peero (Plume grass), and Si-Pag (Cotton), often carried in a Vgvn (a cone-shaped bamboo structure), they cultivate a small patch of eastern land. Here, Peero and Si-Pag Onno are meticulously arranged in either square or circular patterns, measuring about 2 feet by 3 feet. The Apong*,* Purang*,* Take, and Si-Pag find their rightful places within this artistic arrangement. As the seeds are sown, ancestral chants like 'Sedi Melo (ancestors), Karsing-Kartag (nurturers), Do:Nyi-Po:Lo (creator)’ reverberate, inviting the forefathers to bear witness to this sacred act of embedding life within Mother Earth's womb, anticipating abundant harvests and prosperity.

After the chanting and sowing, a pledge is made to share the upcoming harvest with both those in need and others. This marks the start of Ligang, and the family head returns home, often completing these rituals in the morning. Meanwhile, women prepare two key elements: Apong and Purang, crucial to Ligang's essence, adding rich flavours to the festivities.

In the community, two types of Apong, Nogin(white rice beer) and Po:Ro(black rice beer), are carefully made in sufficient quantities for guests. Yet, it's Purang that truly embodies Ligang's essence. Regardless of age or status, both elders and visitors are treated to a meal with Purang, Apong, and fish curry. This culinary delight creates a sense of togetherness and celebration throughout the village.

Poroh Apong tonnam (filtrate rice wine) I Source: Pinterest

Mishing Women preparing traditional food I Source: Pinterest

As the sun sets, families gather once more to pray to their ancestors, including the Koje Yango, the Goddess of fertility. Following the feast, lively celebrations kick off with Gumrag So: Man (Dance form), a captivating blend of dance, drumming, and cymbal play rooted in the belief that Goddess Lakshmi bestows blessings through this dance, making it a propitiatory ritual for fertility. People of all ages and genders join the rhythmic Paksong Moman (Dance Song), while the distinctive clothing worn by youth during LigangGumrag reflects their cultural pride. Men wear Gonro Ugon (Dhoti), Mibu Galuk (Hand weaved Jacket), andDumer (Local towel), and women wear Ege (traditional lower wear), Ribi Gaseng (traditional cloth, specifically wore above ege), andGero Segreg (traditional upper wear). Graceful movements depicting planting and harvesting, set to young men's beats. The Gumrag dance comes with instruments and fitting songs, captivatingly continuing through the night. In some villages, house-to-house dances morph into a collective Gumrag So:Man, uniting the entire village. After festivities, villagers take a brief farming break for one to three days, called 'Yodlen Kunam,' marked by a small event for forefathers. Thus, Ali Aye Ligang concludes, with the community gearing up for cultivation tasks ahead.

Folk Dance of the Mishing Community I Source: The Sentinel Assam

Beyond reflecting the Mishing people's socio-cultural identity, the celebration of Ali Aye Ligang plays a key role in the cultural blend with the larger Assamese society. Frequent engagement showcases their enthusiasm, enlightening others about Ali Aye Ligang's significance, and fostering mutual understanding and appreciation. It also serves as a way to share this cultural gem with the world at large.