The Missing community across Assam is celebrating festival Ali-Aye-Ligang with traditional fervor.
Ali-Aye-Ligang is a spring festivity associated with agriculture which is celebrated in the beginning of the Ahu paddy cultivation. The festival is observed on the first Wednesday of 'Fagun' in the Assamese calendar.
The festival marks the onset of sowing seeds and is the most vibrant of the Mising community. The name Ali Aye Ligang is quite meaningful. “Ali” means root and seed, “Aye” means fruit and “Ligang” means to sow. This is why the onset of sowing seeds was marked on this day.
In this festival, young people of the community in particular participate in 'Gumraag Soman' and dance to the tune of folk songs and melodies. They groove to the melodious 'oi: nitom' and folk songs.
People indulge in sowing paddy as a ceremony. However, activities such as plowing, burning jungles, cutting trees, and fishing are prohibited.
The food menu of the festival includes treats like ‘Poro Aapong’ or rice beer, dried fish, and Pork is a must. The Mising people specially prepare ‘Purang Apin’ (packed boiled rice) only for the festival.
Lilen is the festival's last day, which is celebrated with a lavish community banquet.
A local holiday has been announced in Lakhimpur district on the occasion of Ali-Aye-Ligang.
Meanwhile, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has wished the people of Mising community on the occasion. Taking to Twitter, the chief minister wrote that he hoped the festival would bring peace and prosperity to everyone’s lives.
