Ali-Aye-Ligang or Ali-Ai-Ligang ''(in Assamese: আলি আঈ লৃৃৃগাং )'' a spring festivity associated with agriculture celebrated by the Mising or Mishing tribal people of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

and other Northeast indian states on the occasion of the beginning of the Ahu paddy cultivation. The festival marks onset of sowing seeds. The name of the festival is made up of three terms, 'Ali', legumes, 'Aye', seed and 'Ligang', to sow. The festival begins on the first Wednesday of the ''

Phalguna Phalguna ( sa, फाल्गुन ) is a month of the Hindu calendar. In India's national civil calendar, Phalguna is twelfth month of the year, and corresponds with February/March in the Gregorian calendar.Henderson, Helene. (Ed.) (2005) ' ...

(ফাগুন), the 12th month of the Hindu calendar.''

Time of the festival

The festival begins on 'Ligange lange', the first Wednesday of 'Gimur Polo', which occurs in February in the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...

or on Wednesday of the month of Fagun of the

Assamese calendar The Assamese Calendar ( as, ভাস্কৰাব্দ, , Bhāskarābda) is a luni-solar calendar, followed in the Indian state of Assam. The New Year in the Assamese calendar is known as ''Bohag Bihu''. The calendar is counted from the date o ...

and in the month of February in English calendar which lasts for five days. Its 2016 date was 2 February.

Activities

In this festival young people of the community in particular participate 'GUMRAAG SOMAN' and dance to the tune of folk songs and melodious 'oi: nitom'. The first day of the festival is marked by the ceremonial start of paddy sowing and throughout the festival many others activities such as ploughing and tree cutting are forbidden.

Feast

The last day of festival called as ‘Lilen’ is observed with a grand community feast. During this festival
Misings
indulge in great banquet with Poro Apong or Nogin Apong (homemade Rice wine) with various dishes, especially made with pork meat. ‘Purang Apin’ (packed boiled rice) is cooked in water with special leaves. This is a special dish prepared by Misings which is cooked only during Ali Aye Ligang.

Dance forms & songs

In this festival a popular dance is performed by the youn
Mising
people which is known as Gumrag. The formal dance of the festival starts from the easternmost house of the village and in the end it extending towards the field and the river. This dance is performed by encircling the courtyard of the house of the villagers.

Songs & music

The songs of Ali-Aye-Ligang do not remain restricted to the songs of youth alone. The subjects and themes of the songs are varied. They include the life of a man, his sufferings in this life and his death. Apart from them, the songs describe the matters of individual love and affection including joy and pain. Mainly the songs of the festival speak of the various experiences of th
Misings
in their day-to-day life. The Music composed for these festivals consists of instruments like the dhul, taal,

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

and gungang (

gagana Gagana is a miraculous bird with an iron beak and copper claws featured in Russian folklore. She is said to live on the Buyan Island. The bird is often mentioned in incantations. It is also said this bird guards the Alatyr, alongside Garafena the ...

References

External links

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Ali-ai-Ligang is celebrated in Sivasagar district
assamtimes.org.
Ali Ai Ligang
Everything you need to know about the Mising spring extravaganza {{Fairs and Festivals in Assam Festivals in Assam Spring festivals February observances Mising people