Yaosang is a festival celebrated in

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 ...

for five days in spring, starting on the full moon day of the month of Lamda (February–March). Yaosang is indigenous traditions of the

Meitei people The Meitei people, also known as the Manipuri people,P.20: "historically, academically and conventionally Manipuri prominently refers to the Meetei people."P.24: "For the Meeteis, Manipuris comprise Meeteis, Lois, Kukis, Nagas and Pangal." is ...

. It is considered the most important festival in Manipur. Like

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

, the

of Manipur play with colours during this fest.

Description

Yaosang begins just after sunset in every village with the ''Yaosang Mei thaba'', or ''Burning of the Straw Hut'' on the night of the fullmoon of Manipuri month of Lamta. Then the children ask at every house for monetary donations, called ''nakatheng''. On the second day, groups of local bands perform ''

sankirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

'' in the Govindagee Temple in the Imphal-East district of Manipur. On the second and third days, girls go to their relatives for their ''nakatheng'' and block roads with ropes for collecting money. On the fourth and fifth days, people pour or splash water on one another. A number of sport events like

tug of war Tug of war (also known as tug o' war, tug war, rope war, rope pulling, or tugging war) is a sport that pits two teams against each other in a test of strength: teams pull on opposite ends of a rope, with the goal being to bring the rope a certa ...

and soccer are also organised on this occasion. Apart from this, the local delicacies are also shared with the neighbours during the festival. Some recent trends during the festival of ''Yaoshang'' are music concerts, DJ and other forms of entertainment at open spaces. Local bands performs during such concerts.

Dance

Another feature of this festival is '' Thabal Chongba'' (Dancing in the Moonlight). Males from various places will come to the site of the festival and dance in circles with the females, holding their hands. In 2016, this occurred 23–24 March.

Celebrations

The locals also engage in feasting to celebrate this festival of merrymaking. Of late, there has been a trend of channelling the festive energy toward sporting events to spot out talents at the grassroot level, which is in line with the rich sporting spirit of the Meiteis.

Gallery

File:Sankirtan in Govindagee Temple.jpg, A typical Meitei Holi group performing in Govindagee Temple on the second day of Yaosang. File:Oldies in Action.jpg, As a part of the Yaosang sports festival, old folks show off their skill in a traditional form of wrestling known as ''

mukna Mukna is a form of folk wrestling from the north-east Indian state of Manipur. It is popular in Imphal, Thoubal and Bishnupur. The game is generally played on the last day of the Lai Haraoba festival and is an intrinsic part of the ceremonial fun ...

''. These two gentlemen were more than 80 years old. File:Visiting the Kangla Fort.jpg, Horse Riders leading the way to the

Kangla Fort The Kangla Palace ( mni, /kəŋ.la/), popularly as well as officially known as the Kangla Fort, is an old Fortification, fortified palace at Imphal in the Manipur state of India. It was formerly situated on both sides (western and eastern) of ...

while a Meitei holds the torch to inaugurate the sports festival on the first day of Yaosang.

References

* Festivals in Manipur Religious festivals in India Hindu festivals in India March observances Holi Folk festivals in India Sports festivals in India Cultural festivals in India {{india-festival-stub