Roing: Deputy Chief Minister Chowna Mein on Wednesday lauded the Idu Mishmi community for holding on to their cultural heritage and encouraging young children, youths and seniors to participate in community festivals with utmost enthusiasm.
Addressing the 50th Reh festival celebrations organised by the Idu Mishmi people of Koronu village in Lower Dibang Valley district, Mein pointed out that the communities of Arunachal have a diverse spectrum of cultures yet remain united in harmony.
He emphasized the Centre’s mission to strengthen the ‘Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’ vision and said several initiatives have been taken at the state level to reinforce the cultural identities of the various tribes and communities of the region
The initiatives include empowering the indigenous priests of Arunachal Pradesh by paying them honorariums for their service, establishing Gurukuls for imparting traditional value systems adhering to the various tribes of the area, setting up indigenous prayer halls dedicated to the indigenous faiths of the people in every district, etc.
To further strengthen the approach towards preserving the land’s ancient past and heritage, the deputy chief minister also proposed to create a mythological heritage centre in Bhismaknagar, develop Mayudia into a major tourism centre and introduce separate handloom centres attributed to every district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Citing the beautiful handloom and handicraft culture of the Mishmi tribes, Mein emphasised the importance of GI tagging of handloom and handicraft products of various tribes of the state in order to preserve cultural artefacts.
Commending the beautiful depiction of this significant issue, he reinforced the need for nature conservation and urged all to come together to take all possible measures in that direction.
On the occasion, the DCM also launched a folk song album produced by IMCLS and released the Koronu Golden Jubilee Reh Festival Calendar.
Earlier, he hoisted the festival flag and paid homage to Naba Ita Pulu, the founding father of the community Reh festival.
During the festival, local communities offer prayers to the deities Nanyi Intaya and Mashelo Zinu for the blessings of nature and for sustaining the village life.
Among the other dignitaries present at the festival were MLAs Ninong Ering, Gum Tayang, Dasanglu Pul and Mutchu Mithi, former Chief Minister Mukut Mithi, former MLA Laeta Umbrey, Deputy Commissioner of Police, North East Delhi, SK Sain, PWD Chief Engineer Eastern Zone, Rotton Tebin and others.
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