By Our Reporter
Jowai, Jan 10: Nul-Ding Kût – popularly known as the “Festival of Renewal of Life” – is one of the most revered and celebrated festivals of the Biates. This festival was celebrated by the Biates since time immemorial and in modern times it was revived with the initiative taken by the Biate Cultural Organisation of Meghalaya in 2005 and since then it is celebrated every year on 11th of January.
The Government of Meghalaya through the office of the Deputy Commissioner, East Jaintia Hills District, granted a Local Holiday from the year 2014 till date.
Nul-Ding Kût being a post-harvest Festival is celebrated during this season to mark the end of a long arduous farming period. This marks the celebration of life with the people being happy with the sweet harvests of their back breaking-labour.
This festival is a special one; as king and commons, men and women, young and old come together and join the festivity with one heart and soul keeping aside their differences, forgiving and forgetting their past misgivings and misdeeds.
The celebration of Nul-Ding Kût in itself is the revival and preservation of the age-old and long lost cultural and traditions of the Biate community. Nul-Ding Kût Festival therefore serves as the platform to showcase and demonstrates the various art forms of the Biates – traditional dances, folk music, folk-songs and folk-tales. Knowledge and skills of various art forms of the Biates are passed on to the young generations by training them during this festival. It is during this very festival, that the traditional experts in handicraft such as bamboo craft (usually done by men) and clothes weaving (usually done by women) teach the young ones the special traditional art of weaving and crafting. Since, only a very few members of the Biate Community know this art; it is during this festival such expert exhibit and sell their hand-made traditional items to preserve the Biate culture from extinction.
The Biate Cultural Organization of Meghalaya (BCOM) came into being during the year 2004. The BCOM was founded solely for the purpose of reviving and protecting the unique culture and traditions of a very microscopic Biate Community. Its motto is – “To Protect & Preserve One’s Culture”.
