Chapchar Kut
In local Mizo parlance, kut means festival. The three Kuts are Chapchar Kut, Mim Kut and Pawl Kut. All the three festivals are connected with agricultural activities.
The festivals are celebrated with feasts and dances. Chapchar Kut celebrates the arrival of spring.
The festival begins with Kut Puipate or the inauguration ceremony followed by the Then Katna or the time when the dance groups arrange themselves in the stadium.
Once the Then Hnihna begins, the elderly members of the society come dressed in their traditional costumes, representing the individual tribes of the region and take part in a fantastic procession called the Kut rore.
This is followed by the various tribal dances, the most important being the Cheraw or the bamboo dance. The function ends with the Then Thumna or the event where the local singers once again present the traditional popular numbers and are joined by the cheering crowd.
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in the month of March. It is the start of spring and nature starts playing with colour. This heralds the festive mood in the lives of Mizos and they prepare themselves to celebrate Chapchar Kut, the festival of happiness. It is considered to be the most important traditional festival of Mizoram and is celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
The Mizos traditionally have three main festivals namely- Mim Kut, Pawl Kut and Chapchar Kut.
The 'Chapchar Kut' festival is one of the oldest festivals of Mizoram. Farmers cut bamboo forests to make place for jhum or seasonal farming. The season, in which they wait for the chopped bamboo heaps to dry under sun before being burnt is called Chapchar. Kut means festival, as the farmers have nothing else to do during the season.
People wear colourful traditional clothes and hats made from beads and parrots' feathers. In this festival they don't wear any shoes. A traditional bamboo dance is performed where only women participate while the men sit on the ground and beat the bamboos against each other.
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in all the Mizo villages and is a very important cultural tradition in the society. Each village developed its own brand of celebration to suit its own time, idiom and ethos over the years. The celebrations carried on for four to five days.
This colourful cultural festival of Mizoram- Chapchar Kut has nowadays become the most popular and gazetted holiday is observed on the day.
Around 1450-1700 A.D., a Kawlni Chief ruled Suaipui village of Mizoram. That time every young man dreamt to excel in a feat of strength, skill or bravery in battle or in hunting.
It was expected that their achievements would glorify the village and sway of the chief. The chief or his son used to lead young men of the village at war or hunting expeditions.
On a fine morning in spring, the Chief of Suaipui gathered young men from his village and led them for a hunting expedition into the deep forests, taking their firelock muskets, spears and daos.
The hunting expedition took several days. The villagers eagerly waited for their return. Their return would be a great momemt to rejoicing and a feast is offered in honour of them.
According to the legend unfortunately, the chief and his fighters were cursed by ‘Chawngleri’, Queen of the beasts. The hunters returned village empty-handed in bad condition.
The chief hosted a feast instantly made with meat aplenty and rice-beer to overcome the disappointment. This boost up their spirits. The entire community enjoyed very much. They have turned ‘defeat into victory’, and this gave birth to Chapchar Kut. From the year onwards the festival is repeated by Suaipui, and other villages too every year.
Chapchar Kut is an important traditional and cultural festival celebrated in all the villages of Mizoram. Each village have developed their own style of celebration over the years. The general standard of celebrations was of four to five days. The normal order of celebrations are–
Day One - Pig slaughtering known as ‘Lusei Vawktalh’ is carried out late in the day and feast is held in Lusei Style. Upas-Elders drink beer while young people are busy in prepared things for the festivals.
Day Two - Ralte Vawktalh - killing pigs early in the day. Their kith and kin are collected to a pig-feast. Elders of both the sexes spent the day drinking beer while young boys and girls sings and dances. All elder women carry cooked food and boi¬led eggs and feed passersby with food at entrance to the village-usually under the banyan trees/near memorial stones.
Day Three– At night young men and young women are dressed and ornamented with Amber necklaces, ivory ear-rings and beautiful headgears. Boys and girls dance in circles; they threw their hands over each others swaying to the left and to the right rhyth¬mically to the beat and tune of the drummer. The dancing young men and girls quench their thirst with rice-beer.
Day Four – Zupui, a rice-beer brewed with husks on it, is a mild beer, specially made for festive and special days. On this day Zupui contributed by various families were passed around the whole day. Traditional sing-song and dancing happens in the evening.
Day Five – ‘Zu Thing Chawi Ni’ - on the fifth day - it was custo¬mary to try and finish all the Zu (beer) contributed or collected for the Chapchar Kut.
Day Six - ‘Eipuar Awm Ni’ - A day of Siesta. After ha¬ving feasted on meat and drinks for five days this is the day of rest. People don’t go out work or for hunting on this day.
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in the month of March. In 2010, it will fall on 12th March.
The festivals are celebrated with feasts and dances. Chapchar Kut celebrates the arrival of spring.
Once the Then Hnihna begins, the elderly members of the society come dressed in their traditional costumes, representing the individual tribes of the region and take part in a fantastic procession called the Kut rore.
This is followed by the various tribal dances, the most important being the Cheraw or the bamboo dance. The function ends with the Then Thumna or the event where the local singers once again present the traditional popular numbers and are joined by the cheering crowd.
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in the month of March. It is the start of spring and nature starts playing with colour. This heralds the festive mood in the lives of Mizos and they prepare themselves to celebrate Chapchar Kut, the festival of happiness. It is considered to be the most important traditional festival of Mizoram and is celebrated with great pomp and splendour.
The Mizos traditionally have three main festivals namely- Mim Kut, Pawl Kut and Chapchar Kut.
The 'Chapchar Kut' festival is one of the oldest festivals of Mizoram. Farmers cut bamboo forests to make place for jhum or seasonal farming. The season, in which they wait for the chopped bamboo heaps to dry under sun before being burnt is called Chapchar. Kut means festival, as the farmers have nothing else to do during the season.
People wear colourful traditional clothes and hats made from beads and parrots' feathers. In this festival they don't wear any shoes. A traditional bamboo dance is performed where only women participate while the men sit on the ground and beat the bamboos against each other.
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in all the Mizo villages and is a very important cultural tradition in the society. Each village developed its own brand of celebration to suit its own time, idiom and ethos over the years. The celebrations carried on for four to five days.
This colourful cultural festival of Mizoram- Chapchar Kut has nowadays become the most popular and gazetted holiday is observed on the day.
Legend of Chapchar Kut
Around 1450-1700 A.D., a Kawlni Chief ruled Suaipui village of Mizoram. That time every young man dreamt to excel in a feat of strength, skill or bravery in battle or in hunting.
On a fine morning in spring, the Chief of Suaipui gathered young men from his village and led them for a hunting expedition into the deep forests, taking their firelock muskets, spears and daos.
The hunting expedition took several days. The villagers eagerly waited for their return. Their return would be a great momemt to rejoicing and a feast is offered in honour of them.
According to the legend unfortunately, the chief and his fighters were cursed by ‘Chawngleri’, Queen of the beasts. The hunters returned village empty-handed in bad condition.
The chief hosted a feast instantly made with meat aplenty and rice-beer to overcome the disappointment. This boost up their spirits. The entire community enjoyed very much. They have turned ‘defeat into victory’, and this gave birth to Chapchar Kut. From the year onwards the festival is repeated by Suaipui, and other villages too every year.
6 days of Celebration
Chapchar Kut is an important traditional and cultural festival celebrated in all the villages of Mizoram. Each village have developed their own style of celebration over the years. The general standard of celebrations was of four to five days. The normal order of celebrations are–
Day Two - Ralte Vawktalh - killing pigs early in the day. Their kith and kin are collected to a pig-feast. Elders of both the sexes spent the day drinking beer while young boys and girls sings and dances. All elder women carry cooked food and boi¬led eggs and feed passersby with food at entrance to the village-usually under the banyan trees/near memorial stones.
Day Three– At night young men and young women are dressed and ornamented with Amber necklaces, ivory ear-rings and beautiful headgears. Boys and girls dance in circles; they threw their hands over each others swaying to the left and to the right rhyth¬mically to the beat and tune of the drummer. The dancing young men and girls quench their thirst with rice-beer.
Day Four – Zupui, a rice-beer brewed with husks on it, is a mild beer, specially made for festive and special days. On this day Zupui contributed by various families were passed around the whole day. Traditional sing-song and dancing happens in the evening.
Day Five – ‘Zu Thing Chawi Ni’ - on the fifth day - it was custo¬mary to try and finish all the Zu (beer) contributed or collected for the Chapchar Kut.
Day Six - ‘Eipuar Awm Ni’ - A day of Siesta. After ha¬ving feasted on meat and drinks for five days this is the day of rest. People don’t go out work or for hunting on this day.
Chapchar Kut 2010
Chapchar Kut is celebrated in the month of March. In 2010, it will fall on 12th March.
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