Everyone will tell you that Christmas time in Nagaland is best spent in a village. The towns and cities tend to empty out. It's just as well I wasn't in Zunheboto town because there was a situation involving two UG factions, so people weren't even setting off fireworks on Christmas Eve, which is the usual thing to do.
You might remember that last year I was in the village of Natha New, which is actually just next to Zunheboto town. This year I spent Christmas in Vishepu, since my friends I. and N. had come back from Australia to throw a Christmas feast for the village.
As with all Christmas feasts, preparations start weeks, if not months, ahead. But it's in the week before the feast that most of the village is mobilised for the feast. One important thing is pounding rice into rice flour.
Here, two kinds of rice flour (normal and glutinous) are mixed and water (and some salt and sugar) is added to make a a kind of dough. This is then wrapped in banana leaves and boiled or steamed (though some are baked in a fire). The result is Sümi sho or 'Sumi bread'. Personally, I like it when they fry it, although I've had some very good steamed Sümi sho.
What's a feast without the meat? And a real feast in Nagaland involves the slaughter of at least one mithun. The fellow here got a bullet through his skull on Christmas Eve morning. I got to witness the killing only because the person knocked on my door at 5.30am looking for ammunition (he was looking for the guy who was supposed to be sharing my room because he apparently knew where the ammo was kept.)
And being Nagaland, there's lots of pork.
This wasn't all the pork, because a few pigs were slaughtered a few days earlier and the meat distributed all over - I.'s sister even came to where I'm staying in Zunheboto to deliver a portion.
Finally, with the food all ready for the feast, there's the entertainment as well. Here the guys were setting up bamboo poles with meat and money hanging from the top. Teams then compete to climb up the pole to get the prizes. It's a game I saw last year in Natha New. Also, the poles are greased with pork fat, since watching the guys slide down the pole as they try to climb up is probably the main highlight of the game.
You might remember that last year I was in the village of Natha New, which is actually just next to Zunheboto town. This year I spent Christmas in Vishepu, since my friends I. and N. had come back from Australia to throw a Christmas feast for the village.
As with all Christmas feasts, preparations start weeks, if not months, ahead. But it's in the week before the feast that most of the village is mobilised for the feast. One important thing is pounding rice into rice flour.
Here, two kinds of rice flour (normal and glutinous) are mixed and water (and some salt and sugar) is added to make a a kind of dough. This is then wrapped in banana leaves and boiled or steamed (though some are baked in a fire). The result is Sümi sho or 'Sumi bread'. Personally, I like it when they fry it, although I've had some very good steamed Sümi sho.
What's a feast without the meat? And a real feast in Nagaland involves the slaughter of at least one mithun. The fellow here got a bullet through his skull on Christmas Eve morning. I got to witness the killing only because the person knocked on my door at 5.30am looking for ammunition (he was looking for the guy who was supposed to be sharing my room because he apparently knew where the ammo was kept.)
And being Nagaland, there's lots of pork.
This wasn't all the pork, because a few pigs were slaughtered a few days earlier and the meat distributed all over - I.'s sister even came to where I'm staying in Zunheboto to deliver a portion.
Finally, with the food all ready for the feast, there's the entertainment as well. Here the guys were setting up bamboo poles with meat and money hanging from the top. Teams then compete to climb up the pole to get the prizes. It's a game I saw last year in Natha New. Also, the poles are greased with pork fat, since watching the guys slide down the pole as they try to climb up is probably the main highlight of the game.
Hey Amose thanks for posting this..... its our beautiful village this is where i belong.............."There's no place like home ":)
ReplyDeleteVishepu be blessed.
atheli Jimo.