Tamladu festival is celebrated in the Lohit District in the Arunachal Pradesh state of India. It is one of the oldest festivals of this north eastern state. Tamladu festival is mainly celebrated by one of the oldest tribes of Arunachal Pradesh named Digaru Mishmis. The festival creates a beautiful environment as people from all across the district participate in the rituals. It also brings into light the lifestyle and the culture of one of the oldest tribes of Arunachal Pradesh through their clothes, music, food and dance.
Aim of Tamladu Festival
The festival is a public display of the religious, social and supernatural beliefs of this tribe. According to the beliefs of the tribe, nature only prevents them from nature"s fury. So they worship the nature gods during Tamladu festival. Hence, the main aim of the festival is to protect their village and people from any natural disaster. Lord Jebmalu is also worshipped during Tamladu festival for the welfare of the domestic animals, people and the newly planted crops.
Also, the festival is a common platform for promoting and encouraging amongst the people to bring unity and gaiety. It preserves their age old culture and traditions and disseminates the message of social harmony among the tribal.
Celebration of Tamladu Festival
It is celebrated on 15th February with traditional fervour and gaiety where people from all walks of life participate with great enthusiasm. The terms `Tamla` mean enclosure and `Du` means a ritual. Hence, Tamla-du refers to a ritual performed in an enclosure around a house or a particular village. During this festival in Arunachal Pradesh, the Digaru Mishmi tribe offer prayers to the God of Water and God of Earth in order to save the village from natural calamities. Other highlights of the festival are song and dance. Tanggong dance is usually performed at the time of festival. In this dance, all the participants converge to form a bee queue thudding all around the corridor.
The festival of Tamladu comes as sources of relief to the people as it eases off hangovers of daily labour and anxieties of life. Tamladu festival is worth participating as it provides one an opportunity to know about the tribal people and observe their beliefs and custom.
