From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Today is the first Wednesday of the Assamese month of ‘Phagun’, the day when the Mising tribe in Assam starts celebrating their traditional festival ‘Ali Aye Ligang’ to mark the beginning of the season for sowing of seeds on the paddy field.
From Wednesday the farmers of the community, one of the oldest ethnic group in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh starts working on the paddy field to prepare ground for sowing of seeds of a particular variety of paddy.
All Guwahati Mising Kebang (Association) on Wednesday began the celebration of Ali- A-ye Ligang in traditional way in presence of community members. The association’s general secretary Mukesh Doley informed that the festival begins with worship of gods and preparation of a feast for the community in the traditional way.
The community also showcases it colorful culture and tradition during the celebration of the traditional festival. A gala cultural event is being arranged for February 18 and 19 in the city for central celebration of the festival where all the acclaimed artistes of the community will perform.
The first day of the celebration will be dedicated after the renowned Mising musician Ganesh Pegu while the second day will be a tribute to late Dr Bhupen Hazarika, the colossal musician who died in November last year. Popular Mising singers like Taraboti Bori, Gajen Narah, Sadananda Payeng, Tarulata Kutum etc. will perform in the cultural extravaganza that will also have performance by several to singers from mainstream Assamese community.
The Misings are the second largest tribe, population-wise, in Assam after the Bodos. The community basically dominate the demography in North Assam districts of Dhemaji and Lakhimpur and Majuli River island in Jorhat district. The community was granted an autonomous council by the Assam government to take care of their development and welfare and has been living in harmony with all other communities.
