BORDUMSA (Arunachal), Feb 15 — After three days of festivities, it is time for the thousands of Singphos who congregated here since Wednesday to disperse. It’s a sad occasion, and significantly, the celebrations ended with the ‘separation dance’ called Kumran Manao in the Singpho dialect. Earlier in the day, elders of the community had a meeting where problems and prospects of the Singpho community were discussed. Shapawng Yawng, after whom this most important Singpho congregation is named, is said to be the ancestor of the community. As Singpho legend has it, he was the sixth human to be created by God, and that he, as the youngest of the six brothers, founded the Singphos. Manao in Singpho means dance and poi is festival. There are several headed-down-the-mouth stories of how the festival began, in time immemorial. The most significant goes like this:
Ma Ding Yau, a Singpho, was a very lazy man. He neighbours one day decided to punish him in an attempt to make him a laborious person. Accordingly, he was tied to a banyan tree, and allowed only his mother to provide him with food during his period of ordeal. Though he was kept confined to a bamboo basket which was hung from a branch of the banyan, he did not complain, so lazy a man he was! But during the period of his confinement, he learnt to talk to the birds that nested in the banyan. He also learnt how the birds danced in a gay abandon, day in and day out.
One day, Ma Ding Yau overheard a crow telling another of the area’s king’s decision to marry off his beautiful daughter to a suitable groom. There was no dearth of suitors, but the king would offer his daughter only to the best male. So he sought the services of a sorcerer who gave him a vessel whose mouth could be opened by someone who knew the magic words. Ma Ding Yau learnt from the crow that the magic words were, Win win hpok. He then made his mother to agree to free him for a day so that he could go to the king and seek his daughter’s hand. Though reluctant and suspicious, his mother agree. Ma Ding Yau subsequently married the princess, and was later made the royal priest by the king. As priest, Ma Ding Yau introduced the various forms of manau to the Singpho community, each form having a resemblance to a particular bird and animal.
Today, the community recognises ten dance forms, each for a specific occasion. Ranging from a variety to celebrate prosperity, victory in war, farewell moments to house warming occasions. Manau is generally held at the village manau ground, in a circular area around a set of manau pillars called shadung. The shadung centres around two tall planks, one depicting the male gender and the other the female gender. There is a set of shorter planks and a horizontal one with animal and bird motifs, to complete the shadung. The motifs signify the Singphos’ oneness with nature and the latter’s contribution to manau forms. The presiding motif is that of the hornbill, for the bird’s graceful flight and dance. The planks of the shadung are brightly coloured in geometrical shapes, signifying Chyanun Mathum Matha, the Creator of the Universe.
To accompany the dancers, the most important musical instrument is the Ching Thong, a long drum, played to the tune of gongs, flutes and a local version of the konggo. Facing the shadung is a specially constructed stilted house, made of bamboos and palm leaves. This house is called the manau thingnu. The community believes that the Chyanun Mathum Matha blesses the people from atop this house. The festivities are held once a year, from February 13 to 15. The venues vary. This year was the 18th festival, and the 19th is scheduled to be held at Margherita, after Assam Minister Pradyut Bordoloi offered to host it in his home town in 2003. Margherita has hosted the festival earlier too.
The Singphos, a proud minority community, do not harbour any ill will against anybody. As the Arunachal Minister for Civil Supplies, CC Singpho says, “We are grateful to our village headmen and elders for preserving our culture and identity.” But he urged the youth of the community not to be complacent. He asked them to compile facts from Singpho populated areas in China, Myanmar and India and draft an authentic history of the community.