Na-laga feast today

JORHAT, Nov 21: More than 50,000 people of the Moamariya tribe have congregated at the historical Borbhetti ground in Northwest Jorhat to partake in the 242nd edition of the Na-laga feast tomorrow. The Na-laga or na-khua is a ceremonial community feast which symbolizes the eating of rice, newly harvested. For the Moamariyas, however, the feast signifies more than this and is symbolic of a show of strength and unity. The story goes that the Moamariya chieftain, Astha Bhuj, had called all the clansmen to unite against the powerful Ahom king and it was at Borbhetti where the first congregation of the Moamariyas had met and taken an oath to fight against the then Ahom King Lakshmi Singha and his official, Kirti Chandra Barbaruah. The call to mutiny was answered by thousands of Moamariyas at the historic site of Borbhetti. It was at this place that there was a water body of a depth of 60 feet. Astha Bhuj asked all the people to throw in a basketful of earth into this lake and there arose a hillock about 24 feet in height in its place. This site became known as Borbhetti and the raised ground now has became the annual meeting place for the tribe at this time of the year. A member of the organizing committee said that, while thousands have arrived today, more are expected tomorrow. “It takes a lot of effort to organize a feast of this size and while a lot of donations come in we have to still buy a lot of food items on our own and the rice runs into quintals”, the member stated. “However, this is a tradition which no Moamariya would like to miss at any cost”, he further said. the sentinel