Yaoshang | |
---|---|
Observed by | Meitei people |
Type | Religious, cultural, sports, spring festival |
Celebrations | After firing the temporary house, people started to celebrate it with colors, sports, dance and feasts. |
Date | as per Meitei calendar |
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Holi, Hola Mohalla and Shigmo |
Yaosang is a festival celebrated in Manipur for five days in spring, starting on the full moon day of the month of Lamda (February–March). Yaosang is indigenous traditions of the Meitei people.[1] It is considered the most important festival in Manipur.[2] But unlike Holi, the celebrations go far beyond just colours.
However, rather than starting a completely new religious system, their efforts have focused on establishing a parallel culture to counter the Vaishnavite forces, for example observance of Yaosang (Meitei version of Holi) during the same period as the Hindu Dol jatra festival. This movement may try to create a political fissure within the society, but it is very difficult to sort out which elements are purely Hindu and which indigenous, because people have long internalized both elements in their way of life.
{{cite book}}
: |journal=
ignored (help)
The third, and most important, of the Krishnaite festivals is Dol Jatra, or, to give it its Meitei name, Yaosang. This is the greatest of the Meitei festivals and is celebrated on the full moon of Lamta (February––March), lasting for six days.