Nyokum is a festival celebrated by the Nyishi tribe of the Indian state of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

. The Word Nyokum has been derived from the combination of two words - Nyok means land (

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

) and Kum means collectiveness or togetherness. Therefore, the Nyokum festival may very well be interpreted as inviting all the Gods and Goddesses of the universe, with the Nyokum Goddess as the principal deity, to a particular venue at a particular time. The festival is commonly celebrated by the people from all class and walk of life for better productivity, prosperity and happiness of all human beings.

Significance

The festival has a close link with cultivation. The Nyokum goddess, the goddess of prosperity is invoked for her blessings so that there may be more and more production of food-grains in the next harvesting season, that the visit of

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompani ...

may be warded off, and that

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

or flood may not hamper cultivation, nor should any insect or animal destroy plants and crops. The Goddess is invoked so that the human race may be strengthened and regenerated. All should be free from unnatural death due to accident, war and

epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of patients among a given population within an area in a short period of time. Epidemics of infectious ...

. Ui or Oram Nyoko is the place meant for the

life after death The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

. It is also believed that there are numerous deities and spirits on earth. These are the deities and spirits of mountains, rivers, forest, animals crops, household and so on and so forth. Some of the spirits are benevolent and others are malevolent. The Nyishi believe that human being's can live a life of peace and prosperity on this earth only when a perfect harmony is maintained between man, God and nature. They also believe that prosperity and happiness can come to a man when God and nature are pleased. Misery, hardship and natural calamities like famine, flood, drought,

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...

, epidemic, warfare, accidental death and such unwanted incidents occur due to the displeasure and wrath of the

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

and Goddess of nature. It is, therefore, the Nyishi worship to propitiate the benevolent Gods and Goddess to protect and bring prosperity to them and to ward off the malevolent spirits from disturbing the peace and tranquility in their life, Nyokum Yullow is one of such propitiation. Women dancing around the sacrificial altar at Nyokum puja

Women dancing around the sacrificial altar at Nyokum puja

Rituals

The main prayer structure of the Nyishi is made of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

, called the yugang. Alongside the yugang sacrificial animals are tethered. Like cows, mithuns, and goats. Often one finds small chickens hung from bamboo poles of the yugang. The nyubh or the traditional priest specifies the number and kinds of animals for sacrifice, or any other offering to be made. There are no idols in this worship. Neither is there any permanent structure. Besides the animal sacrifice, beer made from millet seeds and

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

paste is used. People turn up wearing their traditional clothes during this time. The men dress in a cotton eri robe draped from the shoulder and reaching the thighs. From their neck hangs a variety of bead jewellery necklaces. Often semi precious stones like

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...

adorn these necklaces. The men's attire is topped by a bamboo woven cap on the head. This cap is decorated with feathers or furs of wild animals. The beak of the hornbill is a favorite ornament for the traditional cap. The women also dress in their finery of par ej, earrings bead necklaces, topped with a headdress made of finely scaped bamboo. There is singing and dancing before the head priest or nyubh comes with his attendants to perform the main

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized ...

. Guests are welcomed with rice paste powder, and opo or millet seed beer which is scooped in dried

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the ear ...

ladles. The song and dance are performed in a group. Usually men and women hold hands in a circular form and sing and dance these lines Nyokum bo tapa debe. And sometimes men dance mock fights with dao (short sword) and shield made of animal hide.

Rikham Pada the Folk Dance of the Nyishi Tribe

Rikham Pada means giant, handsome, undefeatable and matured man Rinyam Yami means young and handsome looking boy Both Rikham Pada and Rinyam Yami were two brothers. They (Rikham Pada & Rinyam Yami) were attire with beautiful traditional dresses which adding up their handsomeness, the most beautiful girls of the universe were after them. So marriage proposals were impending like shooting star, flowing of pure and milky river water, Rikham Pada was man of principle, therefore he rejected them. So their imagination of marrying to Rikham pada was depicting in the form of song and dances.

References

{{Reflist Festivals in Arunachal Pradesh