Tokhü Emong is a festival celebrated by the Lotha nagas. The Lothas are one of the major tribes in Nagaland. It is also called post harvest festival.
Meaning
Tokhü means feast, taking food and drinks. Emong means the Halt on the appointed time. The people rejuvenate themselves after a tremendous hard work on the fields and celebrate this post harvesting festival by making merry and rejoicing. Tokhü Emong is celebrated in the first week of November every year and it lasts for 9 days. This festival is associated with the harvesting of crops. It is also accompanied by folk dances and singing of old folk songs. It is a festival enjoyed by both the young and the old, praising the gods for their abundant blessings. Tokhü Emong is also a celebration about brotherhood, forgiveness and oneness. It is celebrated through sharing of food, gifts, folklore narration and a sumptuous community feast.
Custom and rituals
A proclamation of the starting of the festival to the villagers was done by the village priest. He went from door-to door of the village with a basket for the collection of edibles that may consist of rice. For this purpose Yinga, or supporters also accompanied him. This collection was done prior to the festival as an offering to the Limha Potsow Ha Oyak Potsow. The priest took a small quantity of the contribution and put it into his basket after offering his prayers. It was customary for the villagers to contribute liberally as it is believed that more contribution facilitated more crops during cultivation. A person was said to bring a bad curse upon himself and was expected to spend his life as a beggar if he was reluctant to do such contributions. A fraction of this gathering was used to buy a pig and the rest was kept for making rice-beer. Later, with the help of a bamboo spear, a perforation was made in the pig's heart, then abdomen was sliced open to interpret the prophecy. The destiny of the village was formally declared by the priest, after a moment of deep assessment. The pig was then divided into small portions and distributed amongst every household in the village. If by any chance, a stranger visited the village before the beginning of the festival he was given two alternatives, as per the traditional customs. Either he leave the village prior to sunset or he stay until the time of the culmination of the festival. But he was also treated with hospitality by the villagers, if he decided to stay for the festival. Prayers were offered to the spirits of the people who had died in the respective year. It was customary for the family who lost any member during the year to stay in the village until the last rituals were performed. Tokhü Emong signified and still signifies, the end of any bitterness and settlement of all problems. It is also a festival of gratitude. Intimacy is observed by forming new ties. The people get properly dressed by wearing their conventional dresses. The wells of the villages are cleaned and the houses are repaired as well. After the festival, marriages were arranged for the young couples, who were engaged during the year. Preparation of a scrumptious meal was done and shared by the people which were followed by folk dance and folk songs. Exchange of gifts was also done.
Dates
It was celebrated from 1–9 November. The date of the festival was not fixed earlier but later a common date for celebration was set by Wokha elders in order to strengthen unity among the community members. Every year the celebration of nine day long festival starts from 7 November. Recently Nagaland Government has set a date on Nagaland Government calendar as holidays for Lothas Tribe only, on 6 and 7 November. There may be a slight difference in some ritual performance and other celebrating activities in between the villages among the Lothas. The village itself had its own priest and customary laws within its village and therefore, act or perform accordingly. However, the identity of Tokhu Emong, its significance, and subjects or aims are all same.
