Itanagar: The Nyishi Festival Council (NFC), the apex body of three committees for the traditional festivals of the Nyishi community and their federating organizations, has taken a strong exception to the proposed renaming of “Nyokum Yullo” to “Nyokum Sonam” by the Nyishi Indigenous Identity Society (NIIS).
The three committees are Central Longte Committee (CLC), Central Boori-Boot Yullo Committee (CBBYC) and Central Nyokum Committee (CNC).
The NFC cited social media posts on a January 30 press briefing by the NIIS in connection with the change of nomenclature of Nyokum Yullo and proposed deviation from the existing mode of celebration.
NFC chairman Tarin Dakpe in a statement on Friday said the apex council had in its executive meeting on February 10 decided to issue an advisory to the CNC and all the local Nyokum Yullo celebration committees within and outside Arunachal Pradesh to ensure that the sanctity of the traditional festival is maintained.
“The amendments, if any, should have the social mandate of the community and the approval of the parental Nyishi Elite Society, duly proposed by the NFC as may be proposed or moved by the CNC,” Dakpe said.
“Anyone just cannot make changes in nomenclature or method of celebration of a traditional festival without the sanction of the CBBYC, CLC, CNC, NFC and NES. No individual or organisation can claim the right to ownership of the common legacy of Nyishi traditional festivals,” Dakpe’s said, adding that it was applicable to all sections of the community irrespective of religion.
The NFC has scrapped the proposal of changing the name of the Nyishi grand festival to Nyokum Sonam, as Nyokum Yullo has been the unifying force of the community after the introduction of the centralised celebration system at Joram in 1967, the statement said.
