Dimapur, Nov. 5 (EMN): The premier festival of the Lotha Naga people, Tokhu Emong, began at Wokha’s local ground on Nov. 5. The event coincided with the Mini Hornbill festival for the district.
Updates from the Wokha DRPO said legislator Dr. Chumben Murry attended the inaugural function of the three-day event. In his address, Murry was said to have termed ‘enjoyment’ to be part of human wellbeing. According to the DIPR, Dr. Murry said: ‘If we celebrate Tokhu Emong in earnest flesh and spirit re-living our culture and traditions and imbibing the richness of our culture and traditions, in songs and dances of our ancestors in friendship, forgiveness and thanksgiving, then we will see the essence of the festival and find yourself rejuvenating.’
‘Our district is blessed with so many resources and has been considered the Land of Plenty,’ he said. Murry urged the people to properly use the resources that are available in the district ‘because we have the potential to produce maximum produces which will automatically raise the economic standard of our district in particular and the state in general.’
Dr. Murry added that while maintaining culture and traditions, ‘We should encourage fusion songs and dances,’ too. The Naga people are at the most crucial juncture in the modern times, especially with the desire for peace. He urged the Lotha Hoho to spearhead a Lotha movement because the desire for settlement must become a mass movement, the updates stated.
The deputy commissioner of Wokha Dr. Manazir Jeelani Samoon, delivered the welcome address during the festival. He said that the government of Nagaland decided to celebrate the district’s tribal festival in the form of Tokhu Emong-Mini Hornbill, and that the intention of the government was to promote the culture of the people and the tourism industry in the state.
Later indigenous games competitions were conducted as part of the celebrations.
