Aoleang festival Nagaland
Nagaland, the state of mountains located on the eastern boundary of Northern India bordering the kingdom of Myanmar. Nagaland is considered as the land of festivals in India as there are so many festivals celebrated here which is also the reason of tourist attraction.
Aoleang festival is one of those festivals. The meaning of “Aoleang” refers to their traditional attire.
History of the Aoleang Festival
Aoleang festival is celebrated to welcome the spring and to pray for the good upcoming harvest. Aoleang festival is celebrated among the konyak tribe or said as konyak naga and they are found in the mon region of Nagaland.
There are officially 16 recognized tribes in Nagaland and kanyak’s are one of the major tribes. Every tribe has its different festivals and aoleang is the major festival of the konyak tribe.
Significance of the Aoleang Festival
The festival is celebrated in the first week of April which is also the starting of the konyak’s new year. Aoleang differs from another festival as it is an authentic tribal festival which is celebrated over a week from 1st to 6th of April.
This festival shows the rich heritage of the konyak’s naga people with their tribal dance, songs, and games. Every day of the festival is significant having their custom rituals. The festival also decreases the communication gap with the outside of the tribe.
The first day of the festival is known as “Hon Lai Yah Nyih” which is nothing but the preparation day of the festival. “Yin Mok Pho Nyih” is the second day of the festival where a young boy who has not yet started hunting they are introduced to hunting.
The day when hunted animals are killed is the third day of the festival “Yin Mok Shek Nyih”. The most significant day of the festival is “Lingnyu Nyih” which is the fourth day. “Lingha Nyih” is the fifth day when young ones show gratitude and respect to the young elders. The last day of the festival is called “Lingshan Nyih” which is spent cleaning the houses and villages.
