Showing posts with label ahuna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ahuna. Show all posts

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto (III)

The final performance at last week's Ahuna festival in Zunheboto was by the boys from North Point Colony, Zunheboto. They performed the game/dance called Imu no pi 'süjo süjo', which translates as 'My older brother said 'sujo sujo'.' The word süjo is a verb meaning 'to pull out'.

Here are some photos and videos of the game.
Boys performing Imu no pi 'süjo süjo', Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


One guy has a 'tiger's tail' attached to his behind.
Boys performing Imu no pi 'süjo süjo', Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Boys performing Imu no pi 'süjo süjo', Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


 
 Despite the fact that it's quite a famous game here, I'd never actually seen it before. I tried asking friends about the rules of the game, but no one could really tell me what they were.

A few days later, I asked H. S. Rotokha what the significance of the game was. He told me that there was once a man who had three sons. When the man was about to die, he called his sons together to tell them not to fight among each other after his death, lest their enemies take advantage of this.

Unfortunately, at this point in our conversation, dinner was ready and he had to stop the explanation.

So now, I'm still pretty clueless as to the rules of the game, or its cultural significance. Perhaps someone who comes across this blog post can explain it to me?

With that said, I hope everyone had a happy Ahuna!

Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


My only disappointment was that I didn't get to eat any ahuna, i.e. the newly harvested rice cooked in a bamboo vessel (read here)!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto (II)

So the turn-out at the Ahuna celebration in Zunheboto was small in comparison to the one in Dimapur, but here were some of the highlights of the cultural performances. I was a little disappointed that the organisers decided to make all 4 cultural troupes perform at the same time, so you'd have to rush from performance to performance, with no clear sense of what you were seeing if you didn't already know what the troupes were doing (and also only if you were lucky enough to be able to enter the performance area - most of the spectators from the town had to sit at a distance).

Thankfully, I was allowed into the performance area, and was already familiar with most of the performances because of the cultural documentation project.

The villagers from Chishilimi perform the rain invocation ceremony called Tala Dala (or Dala Dala). According to them, they are the only Sumi village to perform this ceremony, which involves two rows of men taking turns to hit a raised mound of earth with long sticks. The action of hitting the mound is quite similar to the action of hitting the creeper called ayichi during community fishing (called ayichi küvvü).
Chishilimi villagers performing Tala Dala, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


In addition to the men hitting the raised mound with the sticks, others stand to the side pulling strips of bamboo (I think), while others swing bits of bamboo attached to a piece of string, all of which make a sort of buzzing noise, that I believe is supposed to 'call the thunder'.
Chishilimi villagers performing Tala Dala, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


They also performend hango leh, which is a song sung while sowing.
Chishilimi villagers performing Hango leh, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


The men from the village of Khükiye-Lukhai did aphila kuwo, which is often mistranslated as a 'war dance', since it was never performed by warriors before they went off to battle, or by victorious warriors. It was simply a dance performed during festivals.
Khükiye-Lukhai villagers performing Aphila kuwo, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


The women from Khükiye-Lukhai performed thigha leh, a song sung while breaking up the soil with sticks, usually performed after hoeing (phushe) has been done.
Khükiye-Lukhai villagers performing Thigha leh, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Some men from Zunheboto performed winnowing of the paddy. According to H.S. Rotokha, the proper way was to have one man waving the paddy sifter up and down (along the vertical axis), while another waved his from left to right (along the horizontal axis).
Paddy winnowing, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto

And the women from Lazami village performed a thread spinning song called aye küzü, while 'spinning' thread from balls of harvested cotton.
Lazami villagers performing Aye küzü, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Lazami villagers performing Aye küzü, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Lazami villagers performing Aye küzü, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


They also demonstrated how fabric used to be dyed black and red (the most important Sumi colours). Here we have a pot of black dye.
Lazami villagers showcasing dye making, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Here's the red dye.
Lazami villagers showcasing dye making, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


The GB (at least I think he was the GB - someone can correct me on this) of Lazami village showed me the plant used to make the red dye, called aghüsa in Sumi.
Lazami GB showing me aghüsa, Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


And here we have a close-up of the aghüsa plant.
Aghüsa (used for making red dyes), Ahuna 2012, Zunheboto


Alright, just one more post about Ahuna!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto (I)

I was in Zunheboto town all of last week for the Ahuna / Ahunah (post-harvest) festival, and to get some project work done. I'm still recovering from the trip back to Guwahati, but here's a quick recap of last week's events.

Monday night, we had the premiere of the film The Silent Field, or Yenguyelei Qha in Sumi. It's something that has come out of the cultural documentation project that Abokali and I have been working on the past 2 years with H.S. Rotokha and Pukhazhe Yepthomi. Most of the work on this film was done by Abokali and our wonderful video editor Vito Sumi (who had to work with most of our amateur footage), but I'll get to that in another blog post. Just to be clear, it's still a first edit that we were trying to rush for this year's Ahuna festival, but we hope people still enjoyed it.

Silent Field film screening, Zunheboto
From L to R: Me, H. S. Rotokha, Abokali Sumi, Pukhazhe Yepthomi.

Before I get into the cultural activities in my next post, I thought I'd just talk about the entrance to the festival ground.

The photos below [WARNING: some nudity] are of what I think was a modern take on an old tradition: the genna post. The word genna appears to come from the Angami kenna, which according to Hutton, in his book The Angami Nagas, translates as 'prohibition' (1921: 190), though the meaning of the term is quite broad and would deserve a blog post of its own. [Note that the Sumi equivalent is chine, presumably related to the Angami word, but with the initial velar stop palatalisating before the front vowel /i/.]

The post was erected at the entrance to the local ground, with the words sasüvi, meaning 'welcome' in Sumi.
Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


On the right side, we see the chief guests for all the various events this Ahuna festival. Since every single event needs its own chief guest, a very important part of modern Naga culture.
Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


And on the other side, we have pictures of the moon, sun, pieces of meat (steak actually), tiger, a pair of and a mithun head. Yes, disembodied breasts. I had to do a double take on that, especially given the highly conservative nature of Baptist Zunheboto.
Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


I have no idea who commissioned the post, but it does bear the elements of a traditional Sumi genna post. Of such posts, Hutton (in 1921) wrote:

Genna posts, whether the front centre post of the house or the forked posts set up outside it, are carved both in high relief and with incisions, the latter taking the form of horizontal lines, crosses, circles, or arcs, and used to fill in space not devoted to the serious carving, which generally consists of mithan heads more or less conventionalised, and highly conventional representations of the article of ceremonial dress known as "enemies' teeth " (aghühu). ... The only living thing other than mithan which seems to be represented in Sema art is the bird, which is carved out of a piece of wood and fixed to a crossbar between the "snail-horns" of the house. ... The sun and moon are also represented, usually as plain circles or concave discs, also breasts, singly, not in pairs, significant of success in love, and wooden dao slings. - The Sema Nagas (1921: 48)

I'm not sure if anyone was offended by them (I suspect some people might have been ), but as you can see, there was some cultural precedent for them, even badly photoshopped ones. Of course, it doesn't completely match Hutton's description, but I'm sure there were others types of genna posts that he didn't get to document.


For most of the festival I was actually busy at the Sumi Cultural Association stall (since the members were busy with the main festival events.) We were selling DVDs of the film, as well as calendars for 2013.

Sumi Cultural Association stall, Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


The calendars (tsalaphi) are unique in that they are completely in Sumi, with short explanations about the Sumi names for the various months. They are also accompanied by photos depicting the traditional agricultural activities / events typically associated with each particular month.
Sumi Cultural Association stall, Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


Here's our little (unofficial) calendar mascot. The girls helping us run the stall picked him up on the first day.
Sumi Cultural Association stall, Ahuna Festival 2012, Zunheboto


If you're interested in purchasing a calendar and live in Zunheboto, you can contact the Sumi Cultural Association in Zunheboto town. Alternatively, we will be trying to make them available in Dimapur, and also at the Hornbill Festival in Kohima. More information to come.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Ahuna Festival (III)

On the second day of the Ahuna Festival cum Road Show (or 'Road Show cum Ahuna'), it was back to the festival ground in the morning. This was actually the officially set date for the festival every year and there seemed to be more guests of honour than the previous day. I vividly recall hearing sirens coming from behind, signalling the arrival of the guest of honour, the Nagaland Minister for School Education Nyeiwang Konyak, who, as his name suggests, is Konyak, not Sumi.

Just when the day looked set for more school performances of war dances and speeches about how the young people need to contribute more to the state, the local sport council, which my friend Zh. is an active member of, put up a performance showing how some of the older sporting / warring traditions would be passed down to younger members of the community.

Older warriors teaching the younger ones how to perform a war dance, which is meant to frighten the enemy. (In truth it was very cute to watch the little boys perform.)



Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Another war dance
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Warriors slicing up pieces of bamboo, which looks easy, but requires a lot of skill with a dao (a kind of knife). I also enjoyed watching the way they leapt after a successful chop. Reminded me a little of Ryu or Ken from the Streetfighter video games.



The traditional head gear of a rich and respected warrior - the headband itself is made from bear fur (taken from the neck of the bear I'm told). Wealthy and respected warriors also had the three hornbill feathers - and unlike most of the ones I saw that were made of cardboard, these ones here are real!

Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Later in the morning, a couple of traditional games were played. though not as many as in previous years, as I learnt from a DVD about the Ahuna Festival, also kindly gifted to me by Zh. The first game I saw is known as asü ilheche 'high jump'. In this competition, a bit of banana leaf is tied to the top of a spear. The objective is to jump up high enough to kick the banana leaf with both feet at the same time, which I thought was quite impressive.





Competitors awaiting their turn
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

The second game involved women competing by ululating, which is meant to be a form of encouragement for the male warriors, though it did draw a bit of laughter from the crowd (and the competitors themselves). I'm not quite sure how the judging was carried out though...



Me with Zh., his wife and his cousin
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Me with some of the festival organisers.
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Friday, November 19, 2010

Hornets for lunch?

As we sitting at one the stalls at the Ahuna festival drinking milk tea and snacking on beef liver and intestines (they do them so well here), I.'s cousin A. asked me if I'd ever tried 'hornets' or 'hornets larvae', I quickly said no. Within seconds, he'd gone up to a lady selling food wrapped in large leaves (the leaves are called aküghü in Sumi) and bought two. When he came back he told me, 'They were out of hornets, this is just fish.'

I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Did I just dodge a bullet, or was he pulling my leg? Not that I would mind trying hornets, I just thought an entire package of them would be a little too much. In any case, he said I didn't have to eat whatever was in the package there and then. So I said I'd wait (till I was somewhere more private).

When I got back to the Heritage tourist lodge (there was a break between the morning and evening programmes), I placed the package on the bed since I had no table inside, and - rather like a leopard - I didn't quite feel like eating in public.

I opened the package to find a small mound of rice, as is the fashion here, with a few pieces of pork fat, and another smaller leaf package.


And lo and behold, there were fish in the small package! They were small, and surprisingly easy to eat, the bones being small and soft. However, I still think some of my friends would be a little grossed out by the way the little fishies were staring at me as I ate them.


So those hornets for lunch will have to wait another day.

Ahuna Festival (II)

In the evening on the first day, it was back to the festival ground for a rather spectacular sunset and the second part of the programme - more songs and dances performed by schools, along with a singing competition and battle of the bands.

Zunheboto, Nagaland

Again, I was slightly mortified (though not as much as during the Miss Sumi pageant) to see those same little girls from the Montessori school dancing to Shakira's 'Waka Waka'.



Most importantly, my friend Zh. (whose home I'm staying at this time) and his wife H.'s students were putting up a fashion show featuring Sumi outfits across time. This meant that I had a reason to hang out backstage and getting right to the front of the stage to help Zh. take photos - though I don't think my fashion photography skills are quite up to scratch.

Some of the students trying to keep warm backstage
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

A Flintstones take on ancient Sumi wear
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

The headhunter look - I'm currently sleeping in the bedroom where this head prop is being kept. It hasn't really creeped me out so far.
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

One of the most traditional Sumi costumes for men and women - note the pipe in the woman's mouth
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Ignore the boxer shorts here.
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

A much more modern take on fashion here. (My first time here, I was surprised at how fashionably dressed young people were here) These outfits though aren't exactly casual wear.

Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

This girl, who's apparently only 14 or 15, also worn the solo singing competition that night. She had a great voice.
Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Ahuna Festival (I)

On the first day of the 'official' Ahuna festival celebration I arrived at the festival / football ground in the late morning and quickly ran into my new friend I. who I'd met on the sumo ride from Kohima. He said that even though he was Sumi, this was his first time in Zunheboto and his first time attending the Ahuna celebrations here too. He works as a designer / advisor for the State Government, selecting and working with traditional designs. His work is based in Kohima, although he gets sent to other offices in the state.

I. with his cousin Ab. Behind them, the sign for 'Special Handloom Expo 2010' behind was some of I.'s work, using traditional Sumi designs (red lines on black are very popular on Sumi shawls).

Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

We wandered around the grounds and watched a few performances, mostly done by students from local schools. There were a few traditional war dances, a mass dance (like the ones I used to have to do in school in Singapore) and a showcase of Sümi kiti do (or Naga kiti do), a kind of martial art based on traditional Sumi kick-fighting and developed as an 'indigenous martial art form' - the word do refers to 'way' or 'path', as in other martial arts like taekwando and akido.

Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto

Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

Performers waiting their turn
Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

The mass dance
Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

Breaking boards


Self-defence, Sümi kithi do style


And just as I. was suggesting I take a photo with some boys who were dressed up in traditional warrior outfits, I happened to run into Hk., whose house I stayed at the last time I was in Zunheboto. The boys in warrior outfits were his students, and he kindly obliged a picture with me.

Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

I almost feel like a foreign correspondant in this photo...
Ahuna Festival 2010 - Zunheboto

Hk.'s boys performing a war dance.


Ahuna Festival 2010, Zunheboto