UNFATHOMED ARUNACHAL

                                     Living In Boasimla -Part 1

                                                                       
                                                                   NYOKUM FESTIVAL

       ON the 23rd of February,2015

meat stalls in Ziro

      As you all remember, Robinson had called and after a quick conversation with him. I come to know that the sumo is leaving in 10 minutes and so when I called up Otem to tell this, he seemed unhappy with my decision of leaving as he felt it was not safe but when I told him "you will trust Robinson after you meet him" he agreed to let me go
                           So within a span of 10 minutes, I pack up my bag and leave to boaSimla finally.

finally, my dream comes true and I sit on top of a sumo which is not allowed to women because of safety issues.



a small village in Arunachal while we were on the way to Boasimla.


rambling curvy roads of Arunachal

                                                               I was captured with the ironic silence of this place while the sumo passed its way towards the destination. Arunachal is less explored and underdeveloped only because we tend to forget it. It is like any other beautiful place but sadly forgotten.


The beauty of life secretly shines on us through the beautiful and amazing sky, its intrigued us by its exquisite details and it can only be appreciated when observed closely. As I cloud myself with these delightful thoughts about how this world is, a cold breeze sweeps me off with the smell of earth and enchants me again. After about an hour or so we reach BOASIMLA finally.
                                         
                                         BoaSimla is a village in Arunachal Pradesh which is mainly habituated by the nyishi tribal people. Nyishi tribe is one of the principle inhabitants of Arunachal Pradesh. "NYI" refers to a man and "SHI" refers to being, collectively it means a civilised human being. Nyokum festival is the most prominent festival of Arunachal Pradesh. It is celebrated by the NYISHI tribe. It's a very colorful and vibrant festival which reflects the zeal and spirit of the nyishi tribe.
"NYO" refers to "EARTH" and "KUM" refers to "COLLECTIVENES.It is celebrated on the 26th of February every year reflecting the ethnicity, unity, and spirituality of the people of the nyishi tribe.
                                       
                                  

                                          By the time we reached BoaSimla, the cold air from the east swept by and formed a beautiful mist all around the place. Quickly I got down from the sumo and rushed to Robinson's sisters house. Polygyny is widely practiced in the Nyishi tribe and hence Robinson had two mothers and two fathers. It signifies one's social status and economic stability and also comes very handy during hard times like clan wars or other social activities. Robinson's dad has 2 wives among which one's age is 15 years. It was shocking to know that child marriage is widely accepted in this part of the country. After I Freshened up, I moved towards the kitchen. Here, the kitchen is usually placed outside the house usually in the backyard. It is similar to a room but the setup is different where there is a wooden stove at the middle and people sit by the 4 sides around it.

Robinson's family were very excited to meet me and he indeed had a huge family. I felt like I was at my own home with my people with the way they showered their love on me. After like a brief introduction, I had made two more new friends Yaka and Unali. Yaka was extremely beautiful who was to wed Robinson's brother in the month of January next year. Unali was doing her schooling still. 
                             People of nyishi tribe prefer eating half boiled vegetables or meat with rice with a pinch of salt and Arunachal chili. They do not like food with too many masalas and hence, they prepared special food for me from then on for the next 6 days I stayed with them. They do not have any idea about the way food over here is prepared so It wasn't that great but the part that they did for an unknown person is what makes us all realize "HUMANITY IS STILL THE SAME EVERYWHERE AND HENCE WE NEED TO LEARN TO CULTIVATE IT WITHIN US"
                             Travel is just not about experiencing new things it's also about accepting things for the way it is and learning from it. It is about making oneself realize the value of each and every precious life on this earth.It's about accepting different cultures, different types of people, different types of living and loving it for what it is and not judging it because that makes them happy like the way our culture makes us happy. It is about seeing beyond the physical appearances and accepting the person for the way he or she is. It's about loving unknown souls and not judging them. The most exciting part about travel is how
                       this universe has put forth and presented each and everything in front of us in a different way altogether and that always invokes a sense of excitement because we always get to see something new and amazing.
                                        
After a lot of talking, I finally bid a goodbye to everyone and went to bed.I woke up early the next day, It was 24th of February and to my surprize all were already at the communal ground cheering for their respective football teams.Two days to go for the big day,i.e, Nyokum festival. The people of nyishi tribe play cricket and football on the 2 days respectively where teams from different villages come by and participate in the game and the team which wins receives a hefty amount as a prize. And in the evenings, cultural competitions like singing, dancing, and fashion shows take place where the young girls and boys from different villages come and participate.

                             

                                          

After an amazing night of incredible and flabbergasting performances by these young lads, I finally leave to my room. The following day, the final match takes place and the winner is announced and followed by the match was the cultural competition for the next 'Miss Nyokum 2015'. It was a breathtaking

scenario to see the alluring and gorgeous beauties of the east ahead of me. It was a miraculous experience. And finally, the Big day arrives.

              It was 26th of February,2015

I woke up to find myself  with beautiful ladies around me dressed in traditional nyishi Tribal wear. Unali looked bewitching and posed for the picture along with her sister. 

Traditionally, Nyishi plait their hair and tie it neatly at the forehead with Tibetian thread. A brass skewer passes horizontally through the tied hair. Cane rings were worn around the waist, arms and legs. Men wore a cane helmet surmounted with the beak of great Indian Hornbill.

The men dress up in a cotton ERI robe draped from the shoulder which reaches till the thighs. From their neck hangs a variety of bead jewellery necklaces. Often semi precious stones like turquoise adorn these necklaces. The men's attire is topped by a bamboo woven cap which is decorated with feathers or furs of wild animals. The beak of the hornbill is a favourite ornament for the traditional cap. The women also dress in their finery of PAR EJ, a ribbon is tied at the waist. A girdle consisting of metal disks and cane garters is worn at the waist. Their hair is parted in the middle, plaited and tied onto a CHIGNON above the nape. Thier ornaments include multicolored bead necklaces,brass chains,metal belts,huge brass or silver earrings and heavy bracelets of various metals which depicts their status too in their tribe.

               

ladies weaving their basket.

women getting ready for the procession

nyishi tribal women dressed up in the traditional wear with the rice paste powder applied on the face.

  cute little nyishi girl

Nyishi women dancing

Nyishi women singing and dancing in the procession.

Finally, the women leave for the procession where in they worship the prayer structure made of bamboo called YUGANG.

There are singing and dancing done by the men and women of the nyishi tribe before the head priest comes to perform the ritual. Usually, the men and women do this procession by walking in the entire village before heading to the communal grounds where the prayer structure is placed.

 prayer structure made of bamboo called YUGANG.

Alongside YUGANG, the sacrificial animals are tethered. MITHUN was the animal which was sacrificed and beer is made from millets seeds called OPO which is served to the guests along with rice paste. With the procession, came the rain showering everybody with it. Hence, they were all drenched, yet they were all happy because

it was a symbol of good omen to them. Nyishi tribe have a close link with cultivation and hence they pray to NYOKUM goddess  who is invoked for blessings as she is the symbol of PROSPERITY.

 Entrance of the communal grounds

men dressed up in traditional nyishi attire.

Finally, the men and women reached the communal grounds and formed a circle by

holding each others hand. Once the circle was formed , they started performing their traditional dance by singing these lines ' NYOKUM BO TAPA DEBE'. And men danced mock fights with DAO(short sword) and shield made of animal hide.

 Finally, the procession ended with the nyuk um puja being performed where the Mithun was sacrificed. Once the sacrifice was made, the same Mithun was being cooked so as to be served to everyone.

While it was being prepared, everyone danced and played along with the no,i.e, mud in the communal grounds.

The food was served and everyone rushed to their homes so as to take some rest before the final event in the Night starts.

The prize distribution happened, Miss Nyokum was announced and finally, the Nyokum festival ended in the night with an after party for the OPO lovers where the young lads of the village participated.

That's how the festival ended and the next 2 days I explored Boasimla and

went to visit a nearby village called Tamen which can only be reached by means of walking and a small hike.To know more about it. Please wait for my next blog.