Dipen Gogoi
dipengogoi6368@gmail.com
The wheel of the lives dwelling in an agrarian society rotates with nature. The lives of the agriculturist Mising community are no exception. Nature wears new looks in spring and starts its annual journey that comes to an end in winter. With the advent of spring, nature again sets out on another new journey. The Mising cultivators who depend mainly on the cultivation of Ahu and Bau paddy, harvest during the Assamese months of Ahgon and Puh. Then, no sooner do the flowers of kapok and coral trees blossom than they sow the Ahu paddy in advance and thus they make the life-wheel rotate again. The tribal community starts their annual farming praying for the blessings of the invisible gods who determine our fate and celebrating the most vibrant festival of the community called Ali Aye Leegang. Ali means root and seed, ai means fruit and Ligang means to sow.
The Mising community considers Wednesday a very sacred day. They call it a Lakshmi day. Therefore, they start sowing seeds on a holy Wednesday of the Assamese month of Phagun and celebrate this festival. Earlier, it was customary to start this festival on Wednesday that preceded the first night of the new moon of spring. But, there were several instances of starting this festival on other Wednesdays too in some parts of the state. In the present time, the whole of the Mising community customarily starts its celebration on the first Wednesday of Phagun.
The Ali Aye Leegang festival is celebrated for five days in Assam. On the first day of this festival, the head of every household performs a traditional ritual on his field. The seeds of Ahu paddy are sown in a small stretch of ploughed land and then the land is demarcated with a kind of bush called 'mega'. Then, 'Poro Apong' is offered to the ancestors and gods on ko-paat or Tora-paat seeking their blessings for a good harvest and a peaceful, happy life. The Mising community believes that if the souls of their ancestors and the gods who are invisible amidst nature are offended for some reason or the other, people have to face untold sufferings and hardship. Therefore, they pray to their ancestors and the gods on any religious occasions asking them for a prosperous life. The educated Mising people who abide in towns and cities celebrate it in town halls, auditoriums, etc. The festival is marked by a tribal dance called Gumraag Soman. Usually, the youngsters of the community perform this dance form intending to pay tribute to mother earth for her bounty. Besides, the youth groove to the mellifluous 'oi: nitom' and folk songs. The dances and songs by the youth set the festive celebrations on high. A man's life, his life's sufferings, love and affection with joy and sorrow and eventually death are the themes one can find in the songs sung on this auspicious occasion. Musical instruments used include - cymbal, gungang, sifung, gong and drums.
In the evening, they have a lavish feast. The food items required for this feast are collected as per the financial capability of every individual. Once when there were forests in abundance and hunting was not prohibited, the Mising people gathered meat for the feast through collective hunting of deer, boars, etc.
The food menu of the festival comprises 'Poro Apong' or 'rice beer', 'Nogin Apong', dried fish and pork which are a must. Apart from this, 'Purang Apin'(packed boil rice) is specially prepared for the festival. It is cooked with special leaves.
In this festival, the small children have great fun and merry-making. They visit every household located in the neighbourhood and collect 'Purang Apin' and other food items and wish gods may bless every family with happiness and prosperity. Till the third day of the festival, every family invites the elderly women and pays homage to the ancestors and gods through the performance of traditional rituals.
The celebration that concludes the festival is called Lilen. It is celebrated with an extravagant community banquet. Several delicacies are cooked with pork. People savour these with homemade rice wine.
Ali Aye Leegang is part and parcel of Mising culture and tradition. It is also an inseparable part of the cultural life of Assam. May this significant festival stand as the epitome of unity and harmony for the Assamese. It is fervently hoped that the posterity will care to ever keep the originality of the festival intact through its celebration in a befitting manner in the days ahead.