Mising Community of Assam celebrates Ali Ai Ligang festival

The Assamese Mising community recently observed the Ali Ai Ligang festival marking the start of seed planting time. Throughout this agricultural festival the Sun god (Donyi Polo) and Moon god (Donyi Polo) receive rituals and theatrical performances take place while people gather as communities. The celebration started in rural regions then migrated to urban territories but protected its fundamental cultural aspects.

Jhumur Dance and Its Cultural Importance

• Jhumur represents the traditional folk dance of the Assamese tea garden community that traces its roots from British-era laborers brought to Assam in the nineteenth century.

• Jhumur Dance takes place at tea garden festivals specifically during Tushu and Karam Puja since the harvest period.

• Women direct the dancing routines along with singing activities while male musicians operate the dhol, madal, dhak, cymbals and shehnai and traditional flute instruments.

• The performers dance with red and white sarees as they perform synchronized footwork to musical couplets that contain words from Nagpuri, Khortha, and Kurmali united with elements of Assamese language.

Themes of Jhumur Songs

• The music maintains a rhythmic quality but expresses experiences of tea plantation workers through songs that depict their compelled relocation and the British Empire's employment persecution and tough labor requirements.

• Jhumur serves both as a cultural connection and social linkage used to protect the heritage properties of the people who work in tea plantations.

Historic Jhumur Performance in Guwahati

• Event: Jhumoir Binandini 2025

• Date: February 24, 2025

• Venue: Sarusajai Stadium, Guwahati

• A historical record of Jhumur dancing was established during this production as 8,600 dancers took part.

• Occasion: 200th anniversary of Assam’s tea industry and part of the Advantage Assam 2.0 summit.

• The dignitaries participating in the event consisted of PM Narendra Modi who was joined by 60 international diplomats and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

The Tea Garden Community in Assam

• British rule issued indentured laborer positions to tribal clans from Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh along with West Bengal after transporting them to Assam.

• Through their essential work in producing Assam’s tea industry these workers experience social and economic rejection.

• Members of OBC status in Assam seek Scheduled Tribe recognition from the government despite their present OBC designation similarly to ST groups in their original homelands.

Significance of Ali Ai Ligang

• Sowing season initiates along with marking the first agricultural step of the annual farming period.

• Crossing between Ali Ai and Ligang produces their meaning when combined. Seeds & roots form "Ali Ai" and "Ligang" means sowing.

• The strong natural connection of Mising people with their environment along with their agricultural dependence finds expression through this meaningful symbol.

• Through Ali Ai Ligang celebrations the Mising community builds mutual connections between community members while teaching cultural customs to new generations.

How is it Celebrated?

• The celebration starts with flag hoisting for Laitom Tomchar then includes prayers to Donyi Polo at the Sun & Moon gods.

• Celebratory ceremonies consist of Apong (rice beer), dried fish together with meat.

• Gumrag dance shines as the main festival performance where Mising people play traditional music using items such as dhul, taal, gong and gagana.

• During the festival period plowing as well as tree cutting activities remain prohibited to the community since they bring misfortune.

Evolution of the Festival

• Villages used to organize the celebration but today it extends to modern urban locations including Jorhat.

• The festival endured modernization without changing its traditional core practices and customs.

About the Mising Tribe

• Statistically the Mising rank as the second largest indigenous ethnic group with 680,424 members residing in Assam according to the 2011 census.

• The Mising people shifted from traditional shifting cultivation into practicing wet paddy farming.

• Members of the Donyi Polo faith direct their worshiping rituals to the Sun (Donyi) and Moon (Polo) because it affects their agricultural practices.

Conclusion

Jhumur stands beyond dance because it represents the enduring spirit of Assam’s tea garden population's cultural expressions. The Guwahati performance displays their traditional heritage to international audiences as it highlights the national position of their cultural legacy along with their fight for recognition.