Sumis celebrate Ahuna festival in Dimapur with grandeur
Staff Reporter
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 14
Chief Minister TR Zeliang today said one cannot expect a good harvest and a good celebration without hard labour and good deeds. He said this in the context of the younger generation beginning to forget the value of hard work and manual job.
Stating that Nagas are traditionally farmers, the CM said agriculture is a painstaking exercise which involves a variety of activities throughout the year. He was speaking as the chief guest at the celebration of Ahuna festival, the premier post-harvest festival of Sumi Nagas, at DDSC stadium here.
Expressing concern over the increasing inter-factional violence and killings, Zeliang noted that unless there is room and space for everyone, individual Nagas cannot realise Nagaland’s dream of attaining peace, unity and prosperity.
The CM explained that that if the present trend of living in the luxury of someone else’s hard work and labour continues despite having good land and soil for farming, the Nagas will never march forward while the rest of the world moves ahead.
Zeliang said the celebration of such kind of festival will serve its purpose only with one’s own harvest.
If the work culture practiced by our forefathers and the sense of oneness is revived among the Nagas, then Nagaland will one day become a self sufficient and an exporter State, he said.
He said Nagaland with an added advantage of having a rich culture and tradition coupled with natural sceneries can attract more tourists if more efforts are given to keep its richness alive.
Expressing his admiration to the adventurous and brave Sumi warriors who guarded and defended the Naga political struggle with scarifies, Zeliang, however, cautioned that Sumi brethren harming each other in the name of ideological differences cannot be justified. “We must realise that Nagas are a small race and divisions amongst us only harm us and none else,” he stated.
The CM also said the State’s struggle for resolving the Naga political problem cannot be resolved with the help of central leaders alone but the public should also play an important role towards the wellbeing of the society.
Guest of honour of the occasion, Minister of Industries and Commerce G. Kaito Aye said the State government with the objective of preserving the respective culture and tradition of the Naga tribes has been providing financial assistance to the tribal hohos to facilitate celebration of their prime festivals which have almost become dormant.
However, he said, it is the duty of every Naga to preserve what has been handed down by our forefathers and added that this responsibility that cannot be relegated to any other person.
He urged the people to uphold the values of Ahuna which is also a time to make peace and strengthen the ties of brotherhood among the Sumi community and other tribes.
More than 30,000 Sumi people, both old and young, dressed in their colourful traditional attire attended the Ahuna celebration while the different cultural folk troupes added colour to the festival.
The spectacular presentation by the ‘Faith and Action’ team and the traditional games of Sumi Nagas enthralled the gathering.
