Yaoshang Festival

Description

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Context: The five-day-long Yaoshang festival, Manipur’s version of Holi, has begun.

Details:

About:

The festival is celebrated every year on the full moon of Lamta (February-March) of the Meitei lunar calendar.
Yaoshang begins just after sunset followed by Yaosang Mei thaba, also known as Burning of the Straw Hut.
Children visit neighbours to ask for monetary donations, called nakatheng.
Yaoshang, unlike Holi, is celebrated with a traditional twist in Manipur.
During these five days Manipur comes alive with sporting events during the day and traditional “thabal chongba” dance in the night.
- The thabal chongba is a traditional dance of the Meitei, where boys and girls gathered in an open ground and dance in a circle.
- But these days thabal chongba is performed throughout the month of Lamta.
- Business activities and public transportation come to a grinding halt during Yaoshang. All educational institutions, both private and government, will also remain shut.
Yaosang is indigenous traditions of the Meitei people. It is considered the most important festival in Manipur.

About Meitei:

The Meitei people also known as the Manipuri people, are the predominant ethnic group of Manipur in Northeast India.
They speak Meitei language (officially called Manipuri), one of the 22 official languages of the Indian Republic and the sole official language of Manipur.
The Meiteis primarily settled in the Imphal Valley region in modern-day Manipur, though a sizable population has settled in the other Indian states of Assam, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram.
There is also a notable presence of Meitei in the neighboring countries of Myanmar and Bangladesh.
The Meitei ethnic group represents about 53% of Manipur's population