|Correspondent |
PASIGHAT, Mar 7: The Unying Aran festival of the Adi community was celebrated with great pomp and gaiety across the Adi-inhabited villages and towns today.
One of the oldest festivals of the Adi community, Unying Aran is celebrated every year on March 7 commemorating the beginning of Adi ‘new year’ and the arrival of spring season - the season of joyousness and youthfulness where male elders perform ‘Bari’ songs and ‘Yakjong’ dance by boys and girls in villages through which stories of origin of the festival are narrated, besides praying for wellbeing of people both materially and spiritually.
It is basically a hunting festival which unites all the members of the community and they all pray for the bumper harvest. In this festival, it is customary for all male members of a family to go on a hunting spree (open season) and stay in the jungles for one week. When they return home they come back with various kills such as deers, birds, squirrels, fish etc. The children perform “Yakjong” (house to house) wearing colorful traditional attire and bless the house where they perform. The hunted birds, rodents, squirrels are prepared as gift “Aaman” for children and they carry and play with it during the day.
The festivity brings brotherhood among the villagers as hunted meats and rice beer ‘Aapong’ are shared among each other, especially ‘Aapongs’ are gifted to uncles (maternal) and in return uncles gift back hunted meat items like rodent, birds and other meats to children of sisters and relatives during the festival.
Another interesting part of the festivity is that, men folk returning from hunting spree inquires each other about who and which group hunted the maximum number of animals and later they invite each other in their places to offer feast which is one of the most credible parts of the Adis due to which they have been said of having communal harmony from time immemorial.
Remarkably, every Adi living across Adi inhabited districts of Arunachal Pradesh including those staying far away in the towns and cities celebrates Unying Araan festival with traditional ‘Bari’ songs sung by male elders and ‘Yakjong’ dance performed by youths (boys and girls) in the villages. This festival last for around 10 days and through these traditional performances, the Adis narrate stories of the origin of the festival. Villagers also pray for the well-being of the tribesmen.
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