Headlines       Vol. 1 Issue 42-43

Mar 22- Apr 6,   1999

Mizoram celebrates Chapchar Kut With traditional fun and gaiety, Mizoram celebrated 'Chapchar Kut' on March 12 last. The biggest function to celebrate 'Chapchar Kut' was organised at the Assam Rifles ground in Aizawl where more than 8000 people gathered to welcome about a thousand participants who had come from far-flung areas of the State to demonstrate their skills in traditional music, dance and sports. Small functions were also organised to celebrate the day in other parts of the State. 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. Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga dressed in a traditional attire and sporting an eagle's feather on his headgear, exhorted the youth not to be misled by the monetary pleasures of alcohol and drugs. The festivities in the Assam Rifles ground, began with the bang of muskets being clarified by the traditional deer hunters from the State's western frontiers, were enjoyed by locals as well as non-Mizos, many of whom had come to witness the festival for the first time. The Cheraw or the bamboo dance was the biggest attraction of the show. The game of tug-of-war involving a bamboo instead of the usual rope too drew cheers from the huge crowd. The festival ended late in the evening with Chai dance in which both the spectators and the participants formed various circles and danced to the tunes of a folk song composed specially for the occasion.

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