'Tug-of-war' between tribal Arunachalee women wins hearts; video goes viral

ITANAGAR: A tug-of-war competition played out between tribal women in Arunachal Pradesh's Yazali has become the talk of Twitterverse after chief minister Pema Khandu shared a clip via his official handle.

 

The video, shot in Lower Subansiri district's Yazali during a Nyokum festival of the Nyishi community, shows women playing tug-of-war full of zeal and gusto. This tug-of-war competition has won the netizens as the the fun factor is pretty obvious and the competitors' faces are brimming with smiles.

 

"Lively, energetic and joyous the Nyokum festival is. It is celebrated by #Nyishi tribe to appease Gods & Goddesses of the Universe for prosperity, harmony and well-being. A women’s Tug of War competition during the Nyokum celebration at Yazali," Khandu captioned the video.

 

The video, which was shared on February 27 last, has racked up a good number of views, likes and retweets. At the time of filing of this report, it has over 11,000 views.

 

 

 

 

Netizens were naturally mesmerized at the unique culture and traditional Nyishi practice and bombarded the post with comments praising them.

 

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"See the happiness and proud in every man's face, the elder generation could still defeat boost is my energy young generation,. All are happy," wrote one user, while another said,

Popular Singer Mohit Chauhan also arrived in the frontier state to perform on the occasion of Nyokum.

 

"Mohit Chauhan ji enthralls the audience with his mesmerizing voice in the Nyokum party. Thanks Mohit ji for singing my all time favourite ‘Dooba Dooba’, a timeless hit song from the 90s," Khandu wrote on Twitter, sharing a short clip from Chauhan's performance.

 

The traditional festival of Arunachal Pradesh, Nyokumm is mainly celebrated by the Nyishi tribe. The term 'Nyokum' is derived from two words - "Nyok" means "land or earth" and "Kum" means collectiveness or togetherness.

 

It is celebrated to invocate spirit forces in nature to ensure the harmony, prosperity, and well -being of the people who observed.