ITANAGAR, Dec 4: The Ramo, Pailibo and Bokar communities residing in and around the State capital complex is all set to celebrate their common festival Podi-Barbi here tomorrow. Sub-tribes of Adi, these tribe communities are mainly concentrated in Mechukha, Monigong, Pidi and Tato circles of Mechukha Sub-Division bordering China in West Siang District. These are “distinctly” similar in their way of living, culture, custom and tradition as are their languages and festivals. Podi-Barbi festival is celebrated every year on December 5.
According to the legend ‘Podi-Barbi’ means a small cricket like migratory insect which makes out tweeter sound and migrates from far-flung places and arrives at the time of harvesting season in the region. Since the primitive people did not use any calendar by which they could know the exact time of harvesting, took the arrival of this small insect as their calendar because arrival of this insect let the people know about harvesting season as it calls out tweeter sound for people could easily know the exact time.
Festival is celebrate in the harvesting season, when insect arrives at the region; and it is celebrated in order to welcome the harvesting season and to extend thankfulness to the Mother Nature for bumper harvesting in current year and pray for sufficient growth of crops in coming years and also pray for ample hunting of wild animals.
During this day men a women folk clad in traditional attire, and enjoy the day with fun and merry making. Like other festivals of Tani origin, the sacrifice of domestic animals during the festival is another feature of the celebration and the ritual is performed by local priest called Nyubu.
As the people of the area used to depend basically on agricultural products for their living, they grew maize, millet and paddy cultivation along with vegetable items, which they still practice though in a very limited in quantity. And maize was used as staple food crop as cultivation of paddy in hilly and rocky terrain was quite difficult and even if cultivated it was in scanty amount, but with the introduction of Public Distribution System (PDS) by the government, food habits among the people have drastically changed. The people now are dependent totally on PDS item for they prefer rice to maize as food. However, they have not abandoned the practice of growing maize, millet and other vegetable items for themselves and domestic animals.
Culturally and traditionally too the people are very rich, but due to lack of proper exposure to outside world most of the people even in the State do not know about, the Ramo, Pailibo and Bokar communities of Adi. THE SENTINEL
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