HELEIBAMBE

Celebrated In : Assam Celebrated by : Zemi Nagas Festival Dance : Zemi Naga Dance In the month of : April

Time For The Festivity This festival is celebrated by each Zemi village according to the convenience of the villagers prior to the starting of 'Jhum' cultivation some time in mid April when monsoon is likely to set on the first day 'Tingkupeu', the village priest, sacrifices a buffalo for the appeasement of 'Suhprai', the crops God. The meat of the sacrificed animal is then distributed among all.

The Rituals After a feast in the boy's 'Morungs', the members of the 'Hengseuki' and 'Leuseuki' starts dancing and singing, which continue throughout the night in presence of the villagers. On the second day young boys and girls sing and dance in village streets stopping for sometime in front of each household. Prior to the village street singing and dancing, the boys and the girls of the Morung collect wild plaintain leaves from the nearby forest and distribute to all households in the villages. The main purpose of holding this festival is to appease the crop god 'Suhprai' so that they could have a bumper crop