Ali-Aye-Ligang: Celebrating Mising heritage & onset of sowing season

Dibrugarh: The Mising community of Dibrugarh came together on Wednesday to celebrate the Ali-Aye-Ligang festival, marking the onset of the spring sowing season. The celebration, organised by the Dibrugarh Town Mising Kebang in collaboration with the Dibrugarh Mising Mahila Samiti, transformed the Murong Okum grounds in Milan Nagar into a colourful spectacle of folk dance and celebration.
The festival, which holds deep significance in the Mising calendar, saw enthusiastic participation from community members, particularly the youth, who showcased their cultural pride through traditional performances.
Young performers, adorned in vibrant traditional attire, presented the ceremonial ‘Gumraag Soman' dance, moving gracefully to the rhythm of age-old folk songs and the melodious ‘Oinitom.' The performances served as a bridge between the community's rich past and its present, keeping ancient customs alive in modern times.
"Ali-Aye-Ligang is a celebration of our identity, our connection to the land, and our agricultural heritage. It reminds us of the importance of nature and the need to live in harmony with it. The festival is a time for us to come together as a community, to celebrate our traditions, and to pray for a bountiful harvest," Dibrugarh Town Mising Kebang president Mahendra Pegu said.
The Ali-Aye-Ligang festival, whose name literally translates to the beginning of sowing seeds, coincides with the start of the Ahu paddy cultivation season. It serves as both a cultural celebration and an agricultural marker for the Mising community, one of the significant tribal groups in Assam and other northeastern states of India.
"For us, Ali-Aye-Ligang represents the sacred bond between our people and the land. Each movement in our dance, each word in our songs carries the wisdom of our ancestors about farming and living in harmony with nature," Junali Payeng, a member of the Dibrugarh Mising Mahila Samiti, said.