Till the last month, only thing I knew about Mizoram was that it is a North Eastern state, with its capital Aizawl city. But, after reading about its festivals my interest in them aroused. I have learnt that Mizoram is a land of festival, colour and fun loving. They are simple hearted people who mainly pursue agriculture as the main profession. Traditionally, they have three main festivals namely- Mim Kut, Pawl Kut and Chapchar Kut. Kut in local parlance means festival. It is mainly celebrated after the clearing of jungle.
Among all the festivals, Chapchar Kut is the prominent spring festival. It is celebrated after the clearing of Jungle for the Jhum cultivaton. During this festival people of all ages, young and old, men and women dressed in their respective colourful costumes and head-gears, assemble and perform various folk dances, sing traditional songs, accompanied by the beating sound of drums, gongs and cymbals. It looks like grand carnival in the entire state.In this festval, men and women comes out of their houses adorning their best jewels and clothes. They sing and dance to the tune of the flute. The origin of Chapchar Kut has a beautiful history behind it. Around 1450-1700 AD, a Kawlni chief ruled over a village called Suapui. It which was located within the territory of Myanmar. In those days the highest objective of every youth was to excel in the deed of strength, skill or bravery, particularly in the field or in hunting or even in sports. Often the chief or sometimes his son led young men to the village. The destinations were some war or to hunting expeditions. The villagers anxiously expected the triumphant comeback of the hunting squad. It is for them special meat and Zu (rice beer) were prepared. It was followed by great jubilation by the whole villagers. As the legend goes, one fine spring morning the chief of Suapui led his village braves to a hunting expedition. It was into a deep forest full of beasts. The hunting expedition took many days. The villagers waited for the victorious return of their warriors. Their biggest pots made of rice beer was ready to welcome the courageous hunters. The village maidens were very much eager, because they were planning of make ornaments.But unfortunately the chief and his braves were not successful in their expeditions and they returned to village empty-handed. This led to the deep depression of the greeting party. Understanding the, the chief instantly proposed an unrehearsed festival - made up with drinking beer and feast to lighten the gloomy mood of his boys. He himself showed up with a fat pig and a big rice beer pot. He asked each of his hunting boys to contribute fowls and beer pots.The village folks were also requested to join. So the entire community enjoyed even more than ever before. They would turn defeat into victory as it were and so all the folks joined in singing, dancing and merry making. Seeing the hale and hearty condition of the people, Suapui village chief thought that it should be repeated every year. It was spring season. This gave birth to the most cherished Mizo festival called Chapchar Kut. The delightful dance called Chai also found this festival.The Festival of Chapchar Kut is a process. On the first day, the pigs were killed for feasting. The next morning the village elders both men and women pass the day drinking beer. The young boys and girls spend the day by singing and dancing. There is also give boiled eggs and cooked food to the passer byes. The third day of the same festival is also termed as Chai Ni or dancing day. Here men and women adorn their best jewels and dress made of ivory, beads and the like. The fourth day is called Zupui Ni. Zupui Ni is a special bear prepare for such special festival. Zupui, contributed by various families, was passed around the whole day. The fifth day was called as Zu Thing Chaw Ni On the first day pigs were killed late in the day for feasting and on the next morning village elders including women spent the day drinking beer while young boys and girls were busy making preparations for singing and dancing. Old women used to carry cooked food and boiled eggs to feed the passers by at the entrance of the village usually under a banyan tree or near memorial stones.
