Mopin festival of the galo tribe of Arunachal Pradesh: a consideration of change and continuity

Mopin is the important festival of the Galo which is celebrated on 5th April year. In fact, it is the most colorful and entertaining festival of Arunachal Pradesh and is similar to the Holi festival of Hindus. During the celebration which continue up to 5 days, Galos make oblation in the form of Poka and Tipak and sacrifice mithun or pig and pray Ane Mopin (Mother Goddess) and Anyi (Sister) Pinku-Pinte for bountiful production of grains, peace and all round prosperity of mankind. In the initial periods, Mopin festival was confined to the villages and its jhum fields (shifting cultivation) where all village folks jointly celebrate it fulfilling all mandatory ritualistic formalities or itineraries determined through Pepe Chikanam or Reksin/roksin kokkanam conducted by village priest.

Gradually, after decades of celebration, today it has evolved a different variety of features and its natural abode of celebration i.e., village and jhum fields have been extended to towns and cities of the state. Now, Mopin is adorned with innumerable changes put into practice by the practitioners of the urban dwellers of Aalo, Basar, Naharlagun and Itanagar. Nevertheless, it will not augur well to say that a completely reformed and radically modified kind of Mopin emerged among the Galos because it has not lost all its erstwhile fundamentals and distinctiveness of the village level Mopin celebration that was directly inherited from Abo Tani.