About Yaoshang Festival
- The festival is celebrated every year on the full moon of Lamta month (February-March) of the Meitei lunar calendar.
- The festival is celebrated by the Meitei people who are predominantly Hindu.
- It is celebrated at the same time as Holi and is known as ‘Manipur’s version of Holi’.
- The five-day-long celebration begins with the burning of ‘yaoshang’ (a small thatch hut/straw hut) which is constructed with bamboo and straws on the first day
- The highlight of the festival is the ThabalChongba, a traditional Manipuri folk dance where boys and girls hold hands and sing and dance in a circle.
- The festival marks the rejuvenation of the spirit of life and commemorates the birthday of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
- Children visit neighbours to ask for a monetary donation which is called
Who are the Meitei people?
- Meiteis are the dominant population of Manipur in northeastern India.
- A majority follow Hinduism while more than 8% are Muslims, locally known as
- The Marup system (literally, "friendship association"), a type of cooperative saving and credit institution, is an intriguing aspect of Meitei village's socio-economic organisation.
- They speak a Tibeto-Burman language, they differ culturally from the surrounding hill tribes by following Hindu customs.
