''Tokhü Emong'' is a

harvest festival A harvest festival is an annual celebration that occurs around the time of the main harvest of a given region. Given the differences in climate and crops around the world, harvest festivals can be found at various times at different places. ...

celebrated by the Lotha Nagas in the Indian state of

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 ...

. The nine day Fall festival celebrates the end of the

harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most labor-i ...

season. ''Tokhü'' means feast (eating food and drinking). ''Emong'' means the Halt on the appointed time.

Overview

''Tokhü Emong'' is celebrated in the first week of November every year and it lasts for nine days. This festival is associated with the harvesting of crops. It is also accompanied by folk dances and singing of folk songs. During ''Tokhü Emong'', the adherents praise the gods for their blessings. ''Tokhü Emong'' is also a celebration of brotherhood, forgiveness, and oneness. It is celebrated through sharing of food, gifts,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

narration and a community feast. During this festival, the entire Village takes part in the celebration. Every household have food and drinks prepared for the feast. Friends, families neighbors are invited to each other's house and this continues for 9 days. The main features of the feast are community songs, dances, feast, fun and frolic. Everyone attires themselves in their beautiful traditional dresses and costumes according to their social status. There is an air of gaiety and light heartedness everywhere. Gifts of food and drinks are exchanged during the Festival. Among friends, the number of cooked meat given denotes the depth of friendship and ties. For example, if one man offers 12 pieces of meat to his friend, it shows that he treasures his friendship, it is reciprocated, and he is also offered 12 pieces of meat, it means that the friendship is valued from both sides. In this case, should any disaster or misfortunes strikes either one of them, both of them will stand by each other no matter what. Thus a friendship of loyalty and fidelity was pledged. In case of mere acquaintances or platonic ones, only 6 pieces of meat are exchanged. It is the Priest who gives the signal for the start of the festival. He accompanied by aides (Yinga) along with baskets goes round the village collecting un husked rice from every home when offering is made. The priest takes a handful of it, showers prayers and it is only after this that he puts the contribution in his basket. The belief was that the more generous the contribution, the more yield one would get during harvest but if any one refuses to contribute, he would lead a pauper's life. So none would dare to refuse contribution for fear of that. A portion of the collection is used to buy a pig and the rest is used for making rice-beer. The pig is killed and cut and is distributed to the contributors. The ritual is considered as contributing factor to general prosperity. Before the commencement of the festival, if any stranger happens to be in the village, he gets two options; to leave the village (past beyond the village gate) before sunset or to stay there in the village until the festival is over. He however, enjoys the warm hospitality of the villagers. This festival also provide the occasion to offer prayers for the departed souls. The family who lost any member during the year performs his/her last rites. The people remain in the village till the last rites are performed. Young boys and girls engaged during the year are happily married after ''Tokhü''. It is also the time for renovating the village gate, cleaning wells and repairing houses. ''Tokhü Emong'' is also a festival of thanks giving, sharing and reconciliation but the most beautiful aspect of this festival is that past rancours are forgiven, new ties are formed and bonds of closer intimacy are formed. Wild cries of Joy-echo over the green hills and narrow valleys. One feels as if the stones have been given tongue to say ‘Oh farmers, tender your fields with love and care’.

Customs and rituals

Before the festival

The village

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

proclaims the opening of ''Tokhü Emong''. He travels door-to door in the village with a basket to collect edibles. For this purpose ''Yinga,'' or supporters, also accompanied him. This collection is an offering to the ''Limha Potsow Ha Oyak Potsow'' (Earth-God and Sky-God). The priest takes a small quantity of the contribution and put it into his basket after offering his prayers. It is customary for the fellow villagers to contribute liberally as it is believed that more contribution facilitated more crops during cultivation. According to legend, anyone who refuses a contribution brings a bad curse upon themselves and ends up as a

beggar Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...

. A fraction of this gathering is used to buy a pig and the rest was kept for making

rice beer Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermented and distilled from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the sou ...

. Later, with the help of a

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, bu ...

spear, a perforation is made in the pig's heart, then the

abdomen The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

is sliced open to interpret the

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

. The priest reads the destiny of the village from the

entrails The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans a ...

.. The pig is then divided into small portions and distributed amongst every household. If a stranger arrives in the village before the festival starts, he or she can either leave or stay as a guest throughout the festival, enjoying the hospitality of the village. The wells of the villages are cleaned and the houses are repaired as well.

During the festival

There may be a slight difference in some ritual performance and other celebrating activities in between the villages among the Lothas. The village itself had its own priest and customary laws within its village and therefore, act or perform accordingly. However, the identity of ''Tokhü Emong'', its significance, and subjects or aims are all same. The people wear their conventional dresses to the ceremonies Prayers are offered to the spirits of the people who had died in the previous year. Any family who lost any member is expected to stay in the village until the last rituals are performed. Villagers are expected to put aside bitterness and settle all problems with others. People express their gratitude for what they have and strive to create new ties of friendship. A meal is served to everyone, followed by folk dance, folk songs. and the exchange of gifts After the festival, marriages are

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestra ...

for the young couples, who were engaged during the year.

Dates

''Tokhü Emong'' is an annual festival that begins on 7 November and continues for nine days. Historically, the festival did not have a fixed start date; Lotha Naga elders settled on a fixed date in order to strengthen unity among the community. Recently, the Nagaland Government has set a date on Nagaland Government calendar as holidays for Lothas only, on 6 and 7 November.

References

External links

{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211235549/https://beautyspotsofindia.com/tokhu-emong-ritualssignificance-and-history/ , date=11 December 2020 Festivals in Nagaland November observances Festivals of Indian culture Cultural festivals in India