The festival of Sekrenyi is celebrated in the month of February by the Angami tribe of Nagaland. According to the Angami tribe, it falls on the 25th of the ‘Kezei’ month or February. It is celebrated for over 10 days and is also called ‘Phousanyi’ by the Angamis. Every day of the festival has specific tasks like:
The well is cleaned one day before the ceremony begins and the youth of the village guard the well so that no one takes water from it. On the first day, all the men of the village, irrespective of their age bathe in the village well. This ritual is called the ‘Dzuseva’.
After they come home from the bathing ceremony, a cock is strangled to death with bare hands. This death is considered to ward off evil spirits. Further, if the right leg of the cock falls first, it is supposed to bring good luck.
The dead bird is then hung outside the house and the elders of the village come to inspect it.
The fourth day onwards the session of singing and feasting begins and carries on for the next three days.
The young people of the village get together to sing songs and communal feasting on rice beer and meat is organised. On the seventh day of the festival, all the young men go on hunting trips to the nearby forests and on the eighth day before the culmination of the festival, the village gathers for the bridge pulling or gate pulling ceremony. During the festival, all works in the fields are stopped and on the tenth day, it is resumed again.
