Moatsü is in the air. Our premier ancestral festival, Moatsümung, is defined by many as a spring season festival or a post sowing festival. The celebrations were about appeasing the gods for blessing the newly sown fields as well as for recreation after a long spell of labourous work in the fields. It is said that every village used to celebrate the festival on different dates until the Ao Kaketshir Mungdang proposed May 1 to 3 for uniformity.
Moatsü, in all its essence, was an agrarian festival and its celebration revolved around agriculture. As times change, we can notice that the festivities involved in celebrating Moatsü are also changing. Culture is dynamic, it evolves. Naturally, what or how we celebrate Moatsü will change with time. It has and it will continue to evolve. It is in this parlance that we must know where to draw the line, for we cannot and should not simply change for the sake of change or evolve without ascertaining what we are evolving into.
No matter how much Moatsü might change or evolve, we should be reminded of the core principle of Moatsümung. Moatsü is more than a festival; it is a philosophy of life. The representations of Moatsü can change but the philosophy or tenet of Moatsü cannot change. Otherwise, we would be celebrating a synthetic festival and will drift away from the real Moatsü. In the process, Moatsü will be reduced to just another social event devoid of any philosophy or guiding principles.
Today, our elders must take it upon themselves to ensure that the youngsters are not misled on Moatsü. The young folks look up to the elders for knowledge, wisdom and education. Therefore, the elders should first relearn the essence of Moatsü before teaching the young. We do not expect today’s youngsters in the towns to celebrate Moatsü like our ancestors used to in the villages for the simple fact that circumstances have changed. So, how then must we celebrate Moatsü? The closest answer is to learn the philosophy of Moatsü. We must understand that Moatsü transcends our festivities, including our traditional attire and costumes, merrymaking, and social activities. Those are mere representations of Moatsü and they will continue to change with time.
To meaningfully celebrate Moatsü, we must revisit the philosophy of Moatsümung, the pursuit of peace, unity, progress and prosperity. Moatsü should be a time to absorb the values and virtues, not the representations. More than the festivities, the colourful costumes, songs, dances and food, Moatsü is about entrenching in ourselves the universal values and virtues of life. Without that, Moatsü would lose its relevance.