6 days of Celebration

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Introduction

Legend

Celebration

Chapchar Kut 2012

Chapchar Kut is an important traditional and cultural festival celebrated in all the villages of Mizoram. Each village have developed their own style of celebration over the years. The general standard of celebrations was of four to five days. The normal order of celebrations are–

Day One - Pig slaughtering known as ‘Lusei Vawktalh’ is carried out late in the day and feast is held in Lusei Style. Upas-Elders drink beer while young people are busy in prepared things for the festivals.

Day Two - Ralte Vawktalh - killing pigs early in the day. Their kith and kin are collected to a pig-feast. Elders of both the sexes spent the day drinking beer while young boys and girls sings and dances. All elder women carry cooked food and boi¬led eggs and feed passersby with food at entrance to the village-usually under the banyan trees/near memorial stones.

Day Three– At night young men and young women are dressed and ornamented with Amber necklaces, ivory ear-rings and beautiful headgears. Boys and girls dance in circles; they threw their hands over each others swaying to the left and to the right rhyth¬mically to the beat and tune of the drummer. The dancing young men and girls quench their thirst with rice-beer.

Day Four – Zupui, a rice-beer brewed with husks on it, is a mild beer, specially made for festive and special days. On this day Zupui contributed by various families were passed around the whole day. Traditional sing-song and dancing happens in the evening.

Day Five – ‘Zu Thing Chawi Ni’ - on the fifth day - it was custo¬mary to try and finish all the Zu (beer) contributed or collected for the Chapchar Kut.

Day Six - ‘Eipuar Awm Ni’ - A day of Siesta. After ha¬ving feasted on meat and drinks for five days this is the day of rest. People don’t go out work or for hunting on this day.