When is Lui Ngai Ni?
Lui-Ngai-Ni is a public holiday in the Indian state of Manipur observed on February 15th each year.
This rural festival is intended to bring together the many tribes of Naga people in the state.
Traditions of Lui Ngai Ni
This is a seed-sowing festival celebrated by the Naga tribes. The Naga people are found across the northeastern part of India and northwestern Myanmar. They have a significant population in Manipur.
This is an occasion for the many tribes that make up the Naga in Manipur to come together and showcase their rich cultural heritage and strengthen the bond of Naga solidarity.
Indeed the name of the festival reflects this diverse heritage as it is made up of three words in three different Naga languages but essentially means 'Seed Sowing Festival'.
During this festival, the god of crops is asked to bless the sown seeds to ensure their cultivation will bear fruit with a bumper harvest.
Various cultural activities are showcased during the festival such as wearing traditional clothes, drum beating, and folk dances and songs. Lui-Ngai-Ni is celebrated in all the Naga inhabited areas in Manipur, however, the main festivity is hosted alternately between the main Naga district headquarters in the state.
Though the traditions of the festival are based on age-old spring customs practised by almost all of the Naga tribes, the festival of Lui Ngai Ni was established in the mid-1980s to give the Naga people a 'national festival' It has been a state holiday in Manipur since 1998.
