Occasion, Season and Duration

Festival>Yarra>Occasion, Season and Duration

Most Tangkhul villages ‘have work group’ or ‘peer group’, a roughly organized institution, on the basis of age intervals of three to four years, for person within the age of adolescence to early part of marriage life called yarnao “Yarra” literally meaning working group drink or age group drink or peer group drink. “Yarra” is a spring festival. Thought “Yarra” it celebrated by all in general, it is a festival for youth in particular. It is celebrated during the month of Khaying (April) by each respective ‘yarnao’, as a form of a break from one phase of hard work in preparation for another phase of hard work and also to welcome spring. Young girls and boys go out and dance together to welcome spring. Each group assembles at a designated place for three to four days or sometimes even a week to celebrate without interference from parents and free from all worries of life. Yarra is ostensibly a time for singing love songs in groups at different parts of Tangkhul villages. Yarra festival is celebrated as a prelude to ploughing season similar to the stages of human being where the happy and carefree life of youth is followed by burdensome marital life.

Yarnao (peer group) celebrating Yarra festival.

During “Yarra” festival youth carried green stalks and leaves goes around singing love songs deep in the night. In the past the celebration went on for more than a week but in the modern era due to the fast pace of life, the celebration is limited to not more than four days in every village.