(The Festivals of Chakhesang Tribe)

The Chakhesang community celebrates seven festivals in a year as shown below;

	1.	SÜHKRÜHNYE	-15 January
	2.	NGUNYE	-1 February
	3.	TSAKRONYE	-1st Sunday of March
	4.	TÜKHANYE/TSÜKHENYIE	-6 May
	5.	KHUTHONYE	-15 July
	6.	THURINYE/KHILUVATÜ	-1 December

SÜHKRÜHNYE

SÜHKRÜHNYE is the most important festival and is celebrated on 15^th January. During this festival the boys and girls are sanctified through religious ceremonies and rituals.

As a matter of fact, SÜHKRÜHNYE covers eleven days starting from ‘NYEDE’ and within five days including ‘NYEDE’ necessary preparations are made for the rest of six days of festivity period.

The first days of the festivity period is known as ‘CEDÜ’. On this very day animals are killed and every household sprinkles the blood of the killed animals on the main post of the house. The first fetched out SÜHKRÜHNYE wine is offered to the deities of banana leaf tumblers and the cooked meat and rice-bear are offered to the High-Priest and Priests of the village in expectation of blessings.

The second day is ‘SÜHKRÜH’ mean for men folk. ‘SÜHKRÜH’ signifies sanctification of young, innocent and unspoiled boys for this ritualistic ceremony. On this day every man is supposed to take a fresh water bath and are forbidden to use water fetched by women. To perform this ritualistic ceremony (SÜHKRÜH) everything is new including utensils and fireplace. The men folk go to the well early in the morning before any animals and bird touches or partakes of the water and take a fresh water bath immediately after the first crow of the cock which indicates the breaking of the new day, in order to sanctify themselves. Thereafter, the unpolluted water, considered to be holy, is brought home, fire is made out of the fire making method and unblemished cock is killed and cooked with the holy water and eat it to sanctify the boy/boys for the rest of their lives. Even when a new house is constructed ‘SÜHKRÜH’ is performed in order to get his house sanctified. This whole process is called ‘SÜHKRÜH’ and ‘NYE’ is known as festival.

On this day the entire men folk go for community bird-trapping. The collected birds are hung on a decorated tip of a tall bamboo as a symbol of SÜHKRÜHNYE. Different kinds of birds so caught are believed to foretell the fortunes for the forthcoming days of the year of the concerned individual.

The third day is called ‘THÜNO NUSO’ which is mean for women only. The mother  perform this ceremonial ritual to sanctify her young innocent daughter/daughters. ‘THÜNO NUSO’ is much simpler than that of ‘SÜHKRÜH’  They prepare unblemished young hen and eat to sanctify themselves for their entire lives.

The forth days is known as ‘MÜTHI CELHÜ’ where social feasts such as MÜLELHÜ or feast of social age groups, ZHOTHO MUZA (Feast of merit), etc. begins. This day is set aside from religious restrictions.

The fifth days is known as ‘CEDÜ ZHONGU’ which means accomplishment of the festivals. The sixth and the last day is known as ‘THÜNYE MÜKRA’. Now that the festival’s religious pursuits are relaxed, to make the last of ‘SÜHKRÜHNYE’ they continue feasting, dancing and singing throughout the day and night till dawn.

With the coming of the Christianity, ‘SÜHKRÜHNYE’s religious and traditional ceremonies and rituals are no longer in practice in most of the villages. However, ‘SÜHKRÜHNYE’ is still celebrated with great significance and enthusiasms mostly by the Chokris in Phek district. During this traditional festival the indigenous games, folk songs, folk dance and sports fully occupy the festive period of sixth days starting from 15^th January in keeping with Christian spirit.

SÜHKRÜHNYE being a festival of sanctification, it is also marked as Christian’s Day. Water baptism can take place on this occasion. SÜHKRÜHNYE is a time of joyful celebration and so people do anticipate and yearn for the next to come.

TSÜKHENYIE

The TSÜKHENYIE festival is also an important festival for the Chakhesang. Earlier it was usually celebrated at the end of the  3^rd lunar month of March, but now it is being observed on 6^th May.

A new year of activities begins with the arrival of Spring. All sports and games and other youth activities which began after the harvest will cease with the closing of this festival.

 The festival lasts for four days. On the first morning, the village Priest will offer sacrifice with the first cock that crowed that morning. Also, early that morning, all male folks (any male person who can use a spear) come to a designated well (where only male folks are allowed) and purify themselves by bathing. This purification is important. Any acts not conforming to the set rites and ceremonies will be frowned at and will bring bad luck to the person or the family. In this bathing ceremony, they use only new gourd dipper (for hauling water) specially set aside for this day, and also put on new dresses. After the bath is performed they invoke the Almighty for strength, long life, good harvest, and other blessings.

During this festival only the best (unblemished) of the male domestic animals will be slaughtered for consumption. No female livestock will be slaughtered. New wine will be prepared and used. The meat and other food prepared will be shared with the best friends (khwukhe or hachhi). Games and sports, music competition is organized among the different age groups after which feast is also organized among those different age groups.

During this festival, the married women go to the their parents house and prepare the best food for their husbands. In some villages, the male youths will declare the most beautiful girl of the village for the year.

At the end of the festival, all the traditional games and music articles will be stored away (kehale-mekhi) and not used till the necessary rites are performed for their use in the next after-harvest festival. Even the plates, which are used for presenting food to the spirits of the dead, will be thrown till the next opening of such performances after the harvest (kehale-methsü). All leisure activities will be forbidden after this festival.

As the festival ends with the invocation of new blessings, all leisure activities will be left behind and from then on will concentrate only in the activities of the fields and other related activities. With it the sowing of paddy and planting of new seeds start.

Tsükhenyie is a festival, which celebrates the culmination of all leisure activities, and a festival for welcoming a new fruitful life and year.