Kohima, 4 April (MTNews): The Aoleang Festival, the premier pre-harvest festival of the Konyak Nagas was celebrated with pomp and traditional fervor at Naga Heritage village Kisama on Tuesday.
Speaking as the chief guest at the Konyak Aoleang Tatem 2023, organized by Konyak Union Kohima and hosted by Mopong Hongkong Union Kohima, Nagaland Minister for Tourism & Higher Education, Temjen Imna Along said Aoleang festival is not just the festival of the Konyakd but it is the festival for all the Nagas.
“Gone are the times and the generation when we wanted to bring divisive politics and works to divide us as a people,” Along said, amid the ongoing demand for a separate state by the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO). “This is the day and the time – the younger generation of the Nagas wants to live in a united Nagaland,” he asserted.
He observed that Nagas must work together without hate, saying that the people have a chance to aspire for a prosperous Nagaland, which will include all tribes.
“Let us kindly look forward to an inclusive Nagaland and for the journey together, not exclusively, but inclusively to build, help, suggest and commit for each other,” he exhorted.
The state Tourism Minister viewed that one of the habits of the Nagas is that “we demand instead of suggesting, and while we talk about our rights, yet we are not inclusive.”
Adding that Nagas need to aspire for togetherness and that the inclusiveness of the Aoleang festival should be a message to all the Naga tribes.
The Minister expressed optimism that Nagas have the chance and privilege to aspire for its works and to aspire for a developed and prosperous Nagaland, which will include all the tribes of Nagaland.
During the program, MLA A Nyamnyei Konyak also explained the significance of the festival.