Arunachal: Nyishi community celebrates pre-agricultural festival

Itanagar : Arunachal Pradesh's ethnic tribal group Nyishi community celebrated the 50th pre-agriculture festival known as Nyokum Yullo at its Yajuli town recently.

The Golden Jubilee Nyokum Yullo 2018 festival was attended by state's Chief Minister Pema Khandu along with various elected leaders of Bhartiya Janta Party.

The event was mainly organised by the villagers of Talo.

The festival featured demonstrations of traditional hunting, fishing practice, Swla Dunam (traditional zip line) and other traditional sports.

This pre-agricultural festival is not only a celebration of appeasing for God's blessing for bountiful harvest but it is also a festival of paying obeisance to Nyokum deity, the rain god for peace, harmony and fertility in the society.

The villagers were dressed in traditional attires including customary traditional headgear and carried swords.

The event witnessed beatings of drums and other indigenous musical instruments.

The members of indigenous communities including that of Monpas, Galos and Khamptis performed cultural dances.

Arunachal MLA Likha Saaya attended the event and supported the promotion of organic farming in the festival.

He told ANI, "We, the committee member and being an MLA of this region, I have always encouraged organic farming, whether it is agriculture or horticulture and I strongly discourage the use of fertilizers, pesticide, and weedicides in crop cultivation".

Nyishi tribe, a Tibeto-mongoloid race are one of the largest ethnic groups in Arunachal Pradesh.