Rih Ngai festival of the Zeliangrong
A Comparison with Mayasvi festival of Tsou tribe of Taiwan
- Part 3 -
Budha Kamei *
On their way, they will
shout incessantly as a way to
report to gods and then come
back to the Kuba for more
rituals. In the Kuba, the tribe
elders mix up the wine, cakes
and meat brought by the
warriors together and then the
mixture is distributed to every
household symbolizing tribal
unity.
Just before that they
will offer wine to the god of
war for strength and unity.
The most important ceremonies of the unity ritual are the
Patkaya and Yasmoyuska- both are rite of passage for
the boys in the Tsou culture.
Patkaya introduces newborn
boys of the tribe to the residing gods in the Kuba.
Usually, presented by a
maternal uncle, a baby boy
will be introduced to the gods
by surrounding warriors who
will chant the Tsou victory
scripture, the Tue followed by
blessings from elders with
rice wine.
Then, teenage boys
are brought into the Kuba,
where they will be whipped
with a vine and presented
with their first leather hat
from elders. The leader will
then lead the now grown up
men to the village chief to
receive rice wine and encouragement to commemorate
their rite of passage. This act
symbolizes the passage from
a teenager to an adult.
After the rituals in the
Kuba, the warriors will walk
into the square again, engaging in the sending off
ceremony. Everyone will
gather in front of the sacred
trees again in a semi-circle,
singing four songs.
In the
middle, female members of
the tribe will also enter the
formation with torches, signifying the unification with the
tribal fire and the Kuba's
sacred fire. At the end of the
song, they will send off the
gods through the sacred trees
back into the sky. Later on,
they will perform a ceremonial cleansing of the village
to purge from evils.
At the evening, the elders
will lead the tribe members
into a dance with all kind of
songs, praising the god of
war and the heroic deeds of
their ancestors. Each clan will
also praise and present gift
each other, signifying their
close ties.
The festival usually lasts a period of two
days, until the midnight of
the last day. All the men attending will chant again their
song of gratitude before
putting out the fire in the
square, which closes the celebration of Mayasvi festival.
To conclude, in the distant
past, inter-village war was a
common occurrence among
the tribal peoples. The male
members/warriors of the village at the cost of their lives
defended the village from
enemy's attacks.
The practice of head hunting was gone. However, it is
preserved in the form of narrative. The war rituals
continue without the violence
in the Rih Ngai and Mayasvi
festivals for prosperity,
strength and victory.
It protects and promotes
the rich culture and traditions
of the peoples.
Young members also have the opportunity
to learn the historic culture,
social ethics and ancestor's
wisdom through the process
of the festival. Besides, festival serves as a reunion of
family members, relatives,
and friends.
By participating
in the festival, people settle
disputes and misunderstandings. Socially, festival
promotes peace and unity
within the family system and
the society as a whole.
Concluded...
* Budha Kamei wrote this article for The Sangai Express
This article was posted on March 23 , 2016.
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