Lui Ngai Ni is the seed-sowing festival celebrated by the
Naga tribes
Nagas are various ethnic groups native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar. The groups have similar cultures and traditions, and form the majority of population in the Indian states of Nagaland and Manipur and Naga Self-Administered Z ...
of
Manipur
Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...
India. The festival heralds the season of seed sowing and marks the start of the year for the Nagas and the festival was declared a state holiday since 1988.
Etymology
The word "Lui - Ngai - Ni" is coined from three different
Naga languages
The Naga languages are a geographic and ethnic grouping of languages under the Kuki-Chin-Naga languages, spoken mostly by Naga peoples.
Northern Naga languages do not fall within the group, in spite of being spoken by Naga groups; instead, th ...
. "Lui" comes from "Luiraphanit", a Tangkhul word for seed sowing festival, "Ngai" means festival in
Rongmei language
Rongmei is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Rongmei Naga community in Northeast India. It has been called Songbu and is close to Zeme and Liangmai. The language has been nomenclatured as "Ruangmei" and studied as a First Language paper ...
and "Ni" is a Mao word for the seed sowing festival.
The festival is celebrated annually on 14–15 February at the start of the spring season. During the festival, the Naga tribes in Manipur namely
Anal
Anal may refer to:
Related to the anus
*Related to the anus of animals:
** Anal fin, in fish anatomy
** Anal vein, in insect anatomy
** Anal scale, in reptile anatomy
*Related to the human anus:
** Anal sex, a type of sexual activity involvin ...
Moyon
Moyon () is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Moyon Villages.Maring, Tarao, Lamkanq, Chothe, Kharam, Chiru,
Koireng
The Koireng people are one of the indigenous peoples inhabiting Manipur in North-East India. They have a shared common ancestry, history, cultural traits, folklore and dialects with their kindred people like Aimol people, Aimol, Ranglong and Kom ...
, and
Thangal
The thangals (also spelled tangals) are a social group among the Muslims of Kerala, south India.Kunhali, V. "Muslim Communities in Kerala to 1798" PhD Dissertation Aligarh Muslim University (1986/ref> The thangals are often regarded as roughly e ...
come together at the designated location to converge and showcase their rich cultural heritage. Apart from the major Naga tribes in Manipur, other Naga tribes from
Nagaland
Nagaland () is a landlocked state in the northeastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south and the Sagaing Region of Myanmar to the east. Its capital cit ...
,
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
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares int ...
partake in the festivities as special guests and invitees. The Ministry of Tourism of Government of India on 24 December 1986 gave away a special day of remembrance and recognition for the Nagas. Since then it is celebrated in various Naga's inhibited areas. It is the second major inter-tribe Naga festival after
Hornbill Festival
The Hornbill Festival is an annual festival celebrated from 1 to 10 of December in the Northeastern Indian state of Nagaland. The festival represents all ethnic groups of Nagaland for which it is also called the ''Festival of Festivals''.
Back ...
, which is celebrated by more than ten Naga tribes of Nagaland.
Significance
The festival is a special occasion to honour and appease the gods of crop and to pray for the well being of the people. Various cultural activities are showcased during the festival such as Cultural Dances and songs, including various cultural attire shows, lighting of the fire, drum beating, traditional folk dances and songs Lui-Ngai-Ni festival is celebrated in all the Naga inhabited areas in Manipur, however, the main festivity is hosted alternately at the Naga inhabited district headquarters namely
Ukhrul
Ukhrul/Hunphun ( Meitei pronunciation:/ˈuːkˌɹəl or ˈuːkˌɹʊl/) is a town in the state of Manipur, India. Ukhrul is the home of the Tangkhul Nagas. It is the administrative headquarter of the Ukhrul district. There are also four sub-div ...
Senapati
Senapati (Sanskrit: सेनापति; ''sena-'' meaning "army", ''-pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of military commander or general of the army.
It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha ...
and Chandel.
The festival is a unique event to respect and conciliate the divine forces of yield and to appeal to God for the prosperity of the general population. Different social exercises are exhibited amid the celebration, for example,
Cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human Society, societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, and habits of the ...
Dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
s and melodies, including different social clothing appears, lighting of the fire, drum thumping etc. All
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s comes together in unity and showcase their culture and identity which tighten their bond of brotherhood.