Tribal Mopin Festival in Arunachal Pradesh

Where the festival of Color, Holi remarks the multicolour India, the tribal groups smears the aura with rice powder. A popular tribal festival of Arunachal Pradesh , Mopin is celebrated for the desire of wealth and prosperity. The jazzing festival came into limelight every year during the month of March or April and the gaiety continues for five days.

The Mopin festival plays an important role in the cultural scenario of Galo Adi Tribes. Tribal people dazzle in their traditional costumes and organize the amazing 'popir dance', greatly performed by the female folk. With positioning themselves in a circular queue, they create the roaring sound of their rhythmic steps. One group assemble themselves and chant the sweet words of Ja-Jin-Ja and Baryi folk song, while the following participants complements their song with dancing. Tribal folks don themselves in white clothes and elaborate head gears. Their dangling multi-colored beaded ornaments glitz according to their foot-steps and the sparking sun-rays.

The tribal culture is submerged with strange myths which is vary much linked with the existence of evil spirits. One prime purpose behind organizing this function is to get away from evil shadow and to receive the blessing of God for universal happiness.

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Tradition splashed tribal festival with animal blood

Myth left thousand dead and yet looking more. The sentence concerns the surprising tribal tradition, where festivals gets colorful with animal blood. The ancient indigenous belief of slaughtering innocent animal is heartwrenching concept of tribal festival.

The Sulia hillock of Orissa holds a popular tribal festival, Sulia Jatra. Dedicated to God Sulia, this festival is carried out on the second Tuesday of the Hindu Pousa month. Kondh tribes nestled in the foothills, has marked the occasion with mass slaughtering of animals particularly goat, buffaloes, cows and birds like crow, pegion etc. This hinterland came into notice when a report confirmed that around thousands of animals and birds were slaughtered sometime in the festival in 2005.

Tribal believe that the offering of fresh animal blood to their presiding deity, Sulia, will help them to lead a life of success and prosperity. The sacrificing time mainly stands around noon when the Sun is just overhead. Pilgrims drag the animals in the quaint pilgrimage center hand over them to the priest of the temple. The animals are sprayed with holy water and turmeric powder. With performing a short ritual and drum- beats animals are then slaughtered with sharp axes. After squeezing the fresh blood to be offered, the left over body part are carried by the villagers. It is believed that each one of the villager should have at least one piece of its cooked meat.

The festivals is also greatly celebrated in the tribal village of Bhubaneswar and Himachal Pradesh in India

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Tribal Festivals in India

India is home to around 573 tribal groups and communities, each of which follow their own culture and tradition. Festivals are an important part of the life of these tribal groups. There are a number of tribal festivals which are celebrated by various tribes in India. During these festivals, the tribal groups wear their own traditional costumes and jewellry and follow their long-established dance forms. Whether it is the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Manipur,or Orissa, tribal festivals are celebrated in almost every corner of Indian states. These tribal festivals are celebrated with a view to appeasing the presiding deities of the tribes.

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, tribal groups celebrate festivals like Madai Festival, Bhagoriya Festival, Nagaji Festival, Karma Festival etc. During these tribal festivals, various dance forms are performed to the music of drums, tablas and flutes among other instruments. The Gonds and the Bhil tribes mainly celebrate these festivals.

Tribal groups in Orissa celebrate festivals including Bali Jatra (Koraput tribe), Karma Festival (Ho, Kisan, Kol, Bhumij, Oraon, Bhuiyan and Bhinjal tribes), Bija Pandu Festival (Koya tribe), Kedu Festival (Kondhs of Phulbani), Chaita Parva Festival (Koraput, Bhuiyan tribes) and Maghe Parab Festival (Ho, Oraon, Kisan and Kol tribes) among others.

Nagaland is also much popular for its tribal groups and the festivals they celebrate. Major tribal festivals celebrated in the state of Nagaland are Mimkut Festival (Kuki tribe), Sekrenyi Festival (Angami tribe), Tshukhenyi Festival (Chakasang tribe), Aoling Festival (Konayak tribe), Monyu Festival (Phom tribe), Moatsu Festival (Ao tribe), Ngada Festival (Rengma tribe) etc.

Rajasthan also features a number of famous tribal festivals. The Bhil tribes in Rajasthan celebrates the Baneshwar Fair. The Bohaggiyo Bishu tribal festival in Assam is observed by the Deori tribes. The states of Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra also are home to many tribal groups, known for various Indian tribal festivals.

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