Ranglongs celebrate 4th Khohui 2021
A three Day Ranglong Khohui (Cultural Festival) was celebrated from 21-23 January 2021 at Seisimdung (Indurail) under Panisagar in North Tripura. The festival was organized by the Ranglong Community of Tripura, Assam and Mizoram under the banner of Ranglong Youth Association in collaboration with Information and Cultural Affairs (ICA) Department. Dignitaries, delegates and participants from various parts of northeast India, especially Mizoram, Manipur and Assam have joined the event to be a part of the grand Khohui festival.
Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Santana Chakma graced the auspicious occasion as Chief Guest. Senior IO of ICA, North Tripura, Chandan Sarkar, Sabhadhipati of Uttar Tripura Zilla Parisad, Bhabatosh Das and other dignitaries were also present.
The 4th Ranglong Khohui 2021 was one of the enlisted festivals in the Calendar of the ICA, Government of Tripura. In addition, the Ranglong Khohui 2021 was also sponsored by North Eastern Council (NEC) Shillong, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, Directorate of Tribal Research and Cultural Institute (TR&CI), Government of Tripura and Directorate of Tourism, Government of Tripura.
As the Ranglong people live in the environment of fast changing society, the young generation is forgetting their rich cultural heritage like songs, dances, games, cuisine etc. So, the basic objective of the Ranglong Khohui is to revitalize, reinvigorate and revive the forgotten Ranglong cultures and traditions.
Through the Ranglong Khohui festival, an attempt has been made to sensitize the youth by involving them in different cultural and traditional showcase, in the presence of senior citizens of the community. As the cultures and traditions of the Ranglong community are mostly unrecorded, the Ranglong Khohui festival acts as the suitable platform to pass on the cultural and traditional knowledge of the older Ranglong to the younger generations. Accordingly, there is showcase and exhibition of Ranglong songs, dances, games, cuisine etc, from all the Ranglong villages. Prize giving ceremony has been arranged to award participants in different events. Most importantly, the festival aims at strengthening peace and harmony by inviting different communities to join the festivals and have cultural exchanges across communities.
In this connection, it is worth mentioning that the Ranglong language has been declared by UNESCO as a critically endangered language among the 42 languages and also enlisted among 197 endangered languages in India. So, as the Ranglong language is declared as critically endangered, the existence of the Ranglong as a distinct and separate community is also critically endangered.