BAJA, 3 Apr: “Traditional festivals’ rituals should be integrated with social ethics, sincerity, discipline and principle of hard work,” said Cultural Affairs Secretary Tai Kaye during the 55th Drii-Diig festival celebration at Baja village in Kamle district on Monday.
Addressing the gathering, he said that “the people should imbibe human values, maintain peace and communal harmony and respect one another as humans,” and urged the youths to “do hard labour in life and stay away from drug abuse.”
AH&V Joint Director Dr Techi Taku, who also attended the celebration, said that it was his first experience of Drii-Diig festival of the Nyishis of Baja village, and commended the way it was celebrated “with proper ritualistic ways, festival altar and sacrifice with nyibu hymns very well.”
On the celebration committee’s demand that Drii-Diig festival be recognised as one of the festivals of the Nyishi community, Dr Taku said that “the matter will be referred to the higher forum of Nyishi community.”
He meanwhile appealed to the unemployed youths to “take up interest in money earning activities like pashupalan schemes activities, instead of involving in negative activities.”
Kamle DC Adong Pertin said that “the mythology of Drii-Diig and Binnyat part of Solung festival of the Adi community is same as to how the foodgrains had come to the Taniland.
“The only difference is that, in Drii-Diig, dog and deer fight, whereas in Binnyat, it is dog and wild boar fighting that led to sneaking into the land of goddess of foodgrains Drii Ane in Nyishi and Kina Nane (Ane) in the Adi Binnyat mythology.”
Pertin appealed to the students of the district to study hard and take up horticulture activities “instead of aiming only for white-collar jobs and contract works, which are limited day by day.”
Besides others, HoDs and Chikom ZPM Deyom Gapak participated in the festivity. (DIPRO)
