The songbird of the northeast, Mizoram is an adorning state glamour with scenic spots and vibrant cultural entity. Based mainly on the tribal communities inhabiting this alluring state, referred to as the Mizos, the cultural boundary of Mizoram is reflective in its own way.
FESTIVAL OF MIZORAM
The festivals exhibit the vast cultural diversity of the state. The festivals are celebrated with great vigour and enthusiasm. And it plays a major role in shaping the brotherhood bonds of the tribes, also helping them to perform their old traditions and rituals while renewing some old bonds and tie.
Mim Kut
Being one of the most important festivals of Mizoram, it is celebrated in August and September. This colourful, bright fiesta includes dancing and singing and continues for four to five days. It is also called the maize festival.
Chapchar Kut
Considered the oldest festival of Mizoram, during this festival, farmers cut bamboo forests to make places for seasonal farming. They wait for the bamboo heaps to get dry and then burn them. Portraying the liveliness of the culture, people dress up wearing traditional clothes and hats made from parrot feathers and beads. A traditional bamboo dance is performed where the women dance gracefully while the men sit on the ground and beat each other with bamboo sticks while singing the traditional songs.
Pawl Kut
This vehement festival is like both the other kuts. This is also to celebrate the great harvest of straw. This is celebrated in December and is also considered the Thanksgiving festival and is celebrated three months after the Mim Kut. Meat and egg are a customary part of the feast of the festival. Rice beer is primarily consumed during this festival with lots of gaiety and fun.
Thalfavang Kut
It is celebrated and solemnised in November, this fiesta is also concerning harvest. It marks the onset of harvest. Many cultural events like games are also a part of this festival. Tribes and communities gather around and pitch in their collections in the form of feasts and happily spend their time.
DANCE FORM OF MIZORAM
The state of natural splendour also has one of the most captivating dance forms. The residents of Mizoram love to indulge in dances, making their lives as cheerful and vibrant as possible.
- Cheraw
This is the major dance form of Mizoram which is also referred to as the bamboo dance. This is one of the oldest dances of the Mizos. The main instruments are gongs and drums.
- Khuallam
This is the dance of the guests. Guests are invited from the other villages. Gongs known as Darby remain the most relevant instruments of the dance. The dance is performed by swaying the fabric.
- Chailam
This is performed by men and women standing in a circle, where men hold the shoulder of the women while the women hold the waist of the men. The musicians are placed in the middle of the circles; they play the drums and the Mithun's horn.
- Sarlamkai
This traditional and one of the oldest dance forms of the Mizo people, Sarlamkai is performed as a part of a celebration after winning a war. Men and women stand in their places while the hero dances holding his shield and his sword, swinging it to the tune of gong beats.
