Liangmai Village Life

Serenity, tranquility, quietude and innocence lace the village life of Liangmai. With the nameless-endless vast green fields, flowing rivers, chirping birds, with the swaying emerald trees, whispering the tale of love and languishment to the clear blue sky, Liangmai villages bewitch, mesmerise and captivates. Natural beauty, hospitable inhabitants, pleasant climate and its rich culture are some of the primary features of Liangmai village life. The villages comprise several clans who have their own tradition, customs and cultural activities.
Food has always been a major part of village life. The cuisine of Liangmai villages is quite different from that of other parts in India and there is a similarity in food culture of other tribes of Naga. The staple food of the Liangmai is rice. It is generally taken with meat or vegetables. The Liangmai is very fond of chillies. Meat could be beef, pork, and chicken. Liangmai also eat mithun, dogs, cats, fish, spiders, birds, and crabs. Even the elephant is eaten and is considered a delicacy. No part of the animal is wasted. Even the skin, bone and intestines are eaten. The skin is spared only if needed for making a shield, decoration and drum. Sometimes the meat is smoke dried and preserved for a long time especially the legs and big bones. Meat and vegetables are usually cooked together. The fat would be stored up and keep little in the curry to increase its taste. Most of the restrictions relate to women, especially animals, which belong to cat family. A woman whose baby is less than 10 months should eat brown deer, wild pig, and ochre deer. They believed that these animals cause skin diseases, stomach pain, and chest pain respectively. Children and women were not allowed to eat owl, and eagle too.
Rice beer is the main drink. It is generally of two kinds, kachijou and jouchang and may be taken at any time. It is nutritive in content and if hygienically prepared is a desirable drink. It is taken by all, including the very young. Based on culture, Liangmai traditional drinks can be categorized as general drinks, festival drinks, harvest drinks, and feast drinks.
The costumes worn by people in the villages of Liangmai are one of the most attractive and distinctive ones. Most of the attractive costumes are part of the rich culture. The traditional dress of women in Liangmai villages is basically a length of cloth that is worn around the waist and worn with a top or shirt. Liangmai women are excellent weavers and the colorful shawls, bags, and shirts woven by them are extremely popular. Each cloth signifies different meaning.
The educational aspect of village life in northeast India is quite impressive. The villagers get educated in both their traditional education and they learn the modern education as well. There are several government primary schools that have been established in the villages to provide primary education. Apart from these, there are also many private organisations that work for providing basic education to the villagers.
Fairs and festivals are one of the major parts of village life. The villagers celebrate a variety of fairs and festivals throughout the year and the festivals are full of colour and lights. The people also perform various forms of folk music and dance during the festivals. The most popular tribal fairs and festivals celebrated in the villages of Liangmai include Chaga Gadi 30th October every year. The simplicity of the villagers is probably the most interesting feature of Liangmai village. The people live in unison and enjoy all kinds of festivals together.
No caste system. Habitually the Liangmai villagers manifest a deep loyalty to their villages. A rustic family who has their roots deeply seated in a particular village does not easily move to another. The uniqueness of the Liangmai village life lies in this deep loyalty which is again marked with a rich culture.
Liangmai Villagers share use of common village facilities--the village pond, grazing grounds, cemeteries, churches, schools, sitting spaces under large shade trees, wells, and wastelands. Perhaps equally important, fellow villagers share knowledge of their common origin in a locale and of each other's secrets, often going back generations. Christianity in village life provides a sense of unity among residents of a village. As such, many observers emphasize village unity. Typically, each village recognizes God as the village protector and creator of the world, and villagers unite in every Sunday to worship Him. They may cooperate in constructing Churches and Church offices. Christian festivals such as Christmas, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Father Day, Mother Day, Youth Day and New Year bring villagers together. The celebrations involve village wide singing, dancing, and joking.
Liangmai has basically an agricultural economy. Over 85% of the population is dependent on agriculture and it becomes the most importance aspect of village life. The villagers are expert in cultivating a variety of agricultural and horticultural crops. They cultivate the crops round the year. Laingmai villages are found both in Nagaland and Manipur. The villages in different states are famous for producing different types of crops. The main crops are rice, millet, maize and pulses. Cash crops like sugarcane and potato are also becoming popular. Coffee, cardamom and tea are grown as plantation crops in Liangmai areas. Oil seed is also an important crop. Coffee and tea are grown as plantation crops in Liangmai areas. Principal crops are yams, millet, maize, potatoes and sugarcane. Vegetable crops are melon, cucumbers, spinach leaf, mustard, onion, chillies, carrots, tomatoes, brinjal etc. To suit their economy, Liangmai practices two methods of cultivation--jhuming and terrace cultivation. In jhuming, the individual parcels out his field into a number of plots and cultivates a particular plot for one or two years. In the following year, he shifts to the next plot and that also is cultivated for the same period. In this way, after the rotation is completed, the first plot is taken up again. The jungle is felled and burnt and the crops are sown on the ground fertilized by ashes. The complete rotation of plots may take between six to ten years depending upon the acreage of the field. The longer this duration is, the more fertile the soil becomes and better the crops are. A large area of land is required for cultivation. Besides, the crops are dependent on rainfall. A more modern method is that of preparing terraced fields. The Liangmais are experts in this art. The complete hillside is cut, beautiful terraces whose width would depend up on the gradient of the feature, are made. The fields are irrigated by a net work of water channels. Normally the terraces are so graduated that water flows down conveniently from one terrace to the other below it, and so on. Bamboo pipes are used to regulate the flow of water. The excavating of the terraces requires a colossal effort, and one marvels at the amount of human energy expended in cutting them into shape, but these terraced fields, once prepared, are much easier to maintain than the jhum plots. They have also the advantage of being closer to the village site.
To conclude, Liangmai village life is innocent, very friendly with the naturally world. The food and traditional attires are still maintained to preserve our attractive and rich culture. Social institutions like schools and Churches play a major role in maintaining our culture such as unity, cooperation, love and care for one another. As such, Liangmai villages, celebrate its traditional and Christian festivals together full of joy. Therefore, village life of Liangmai is blessed with its purity, innocence and uncomplicated saga makes the villages as the quaint, archaic, mystic yet charming places to rediscover nature.