Customs and Rituals of Moatsu Festival Nagaland

Moatsu festival is celebrated in the hope of good harvest. The Ao Nagas are primarily agrarian, and Moatsu is a way of expressing gratitude to the divine for a bountiful harvest. It highlights their dependency on agriculture. The customs and rituals that take place during the festival are:

1. Three Day Festival

• On the first day of the festival, the younger boys would go to the jungle and collect 6 bundles of paired bamboo strips each, which in turn are handed over to the Morung elders.
• On the second day, all the male members engage in clearing the village. On the same night, the cows and pigs are slaughtered for the festival.
• On the third day the meat is distributed among the boys of the Morung and some portion is kept in order to be given as presents. The boys eat the meat outside the Morung, the elders come into the Morung and are entertained with oriental alcoholic beverage.

2. Sangpangtu

It is a kind of symbolic celebration. During this, a large fire is lit, and women and men gather around it. The most wise women serve the finest wine and meat, and everyone enjoys themselves. The righteous men who live by the guidance of the Almighty, make forecast to see if good or challenging times are ahead for the people.

3. Intimate Affair

Before the festival starts, the Sungkum (village gates) are closed. No outsider is allowed inside the village, making it an extra intimate affair.

4. Communal Feasting and Sharing of Food

Its the natural customary practice of the forefathers to make the best rice bear and rearing and slaughtering the best possible pigs and cows. It shows symbolic significance or historical roots within the community.

5. Marriages

The marriages that are supposed to take place in the spring season are discussed and a lot of stories are shared by young boys as well as brave and fearless warriors of their ancestors.

Communal aspect

• Women play a significant role in the festivities by weaving traditional garments and adorning themselves in finery. Women join the men in dancing, eating and drinking and composing warrior songs.
• Singing songs in praise of the lover and the village as a whole adds a cultural and emotional layer to the celebration. It shows expressions of love and pride for both individuals and the community.
• The older men encourage the young people to be bold and heroic to defend and protect them from enemies as head-hunting was practiced during their fore-fathers time.
• It provides an opportunity for family members and villagers to come together, share experiences, and celebrate their cultural identity.

Sports and Games

They perform inter-ward indigenous games competitions that included tug-of-war (both men and women), pole climbing and bamboos tilt walking. It is a period of recreation and entertainment after the tiresome work.

The festival reflects a blend of cultural preservation, celebration, and the passing down of values from one generation to the next.

Moatsu festival is celebrated by the Ao Naga tribe in Nagaland(India). It is an agriculture festival that is celebrated annually in the first week of May. It marks the completion of the sowing season. This year(2023) the festival was held on the theme ‘Celebrating our Roots’. During Moatsu, the Ao Nagas perform various traditional rituals, dances, and feasts.

It is celebrated in the hope of a good harvest and one of the symbolic celebrations is Sangpangtu. It is a festival of community bonding and a period of recreation and entertainment after the stressful work of clearing fields, burning jungles, and sowing seeds.

In this article, we will read about the Moatsu Festival of Nagaland, which is called the harvest festival of Nagaland, the activities of Moatsu, the customs, and rituals of the festival, etc.