Ugadi 2023: Celebrating Mopin, The Ugadi Festival Of Arunachal Pradesh

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Mopin festival, which is the Ugadi festival from the land of Arunachal Pradesh, usually arrives with its fanfare and excited commotion in the first week of April. It is a uniquely celebrated festival where people dressed in white, consume the local alcohol brew Apung Poka. Mopin is a Widely Participated Harvest Festival.

The Cultural Side Of Mopin

Amongst the Galo tribes, March and April are called Lumi and Luki and harvest festival called Mopin is celebrated at this time. As per the Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated in the Galo dominated regions of East Siang and West Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh. Many villages begin preparing for the festival one month in advance Mopin Ane is the god of fertility and prosperity in the Donyi Polo religion of Arunachal. This is the God they unanimously pray and dance to , on the day of Mopin. Now the entire festivities are controlled by a committee and this event is held in Itanagar, together. This sounds like the only tribal activity these people do whereas the rest of them all including singing and dance reflect their rich culture. Majorly what is important for this festival is that they sacrifice any bovine creature and distribute its blood as blessing.

The Vibrant Rituals

Another favourite dish people love consuming during the festival, apart from the Apung Poka is a dish called aamin (a dish made of rice, meat and bamboo shoot). After feasting on it, they perform a dance called Popir which is a traditional Arunachal Pradesh danceIf you are a stickler for dance, folk songs and brews, there is no better place than this for you. As the festival starts, you can see people smearing each other's faces with rice powder. Women present a slow tempo graceful dance that spills over with elegance and taste. This festival has an important motive behind it which is driving away the spirits. In order to please God, an animal is sacrificed, especially a bovine creature, People spend all their 5 days of the festival on folk dances and songs. A local brew called Apong prepared by the Galo tribe is served as a refreshment.

Significance Of Mopin

The Mopin Festival is believed to bring wealth and prosperity to all households and to the whole community. People observe certain rituals that are designed to chase away evil shadows and spirits and also to bring blessings. They worship the Goddess Mopin Ane. Arunachal itself has a great historical background. Here is where Sage Parashuram cleansed himself off sin, sage Vyasa meditated, Bhishmaka King founded his Kingdom and Lord Krishna found his wife and consort Rukmini.