Siang Unying Festival of Arunachal

Why in news?

• Siang Unying Festival, an important festival of the Adi community at Boleng, Arunachal Pradesh was celebrated.

About Unying:

• The festival of Unying is celebrated to herald the season of cultivation, beginning of the Adi community’s New Year, arrival of spring seasons as well as a great way to strengthen the bond among the community.
• The Adi tribes celebrate a number of festivals, but Unying Aaran is the prime festival for them.
• Unying Aran is basically a hunting festival.
• In this festival, it is tradition for all male members of a family to go on hunting and stays in the jungles for a week.
• Thus the festival unites all the members of the community and they all pray for the bumper harvest.
• It is traditionally celebrated with ‘Bari’ songs sung by male elders and ‘Yakjong’ dance performed by youths (boys and girls) in villages.

Add ons:

• Adi tribes are one of the most populous groups of indigenous peoples in Arunachal Pradesh. The majority of Adi traditionally follow the tribal Donyi-Polo religion.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following pairs:

Festivals                   : State

1. Unying Festival       : Arunachal Pradesh

2. Wangala Festival   : Meghalaya

3. Ngada Festival       : Nagaland

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 3 only

(d) 1,2 and 3

Answer