SSC
Mopin, an agricultural festival of Arunachal Pradesh, is celebrated by which tribe?
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Answer: Option B — Galo
Detailed Solution
Mopin is the most important festival of the Galo tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. It is an agricultural festival, celebrated every year in April, mainly in the West Siang, Lepa Rada and Lower Siang districts, with the main celebrations on 5 April.
Mopin is celebrated to pray for a good harvest, prosperity and the welfare of the community. It marks the beginning of the new agricultural season. The festival is dedicated to Mopin Ane, the goddess of fertility, wealth and prosperity, who is believed to bring good harvests and to drive away evil spirits and misfortune. The Galos follow the Donyi-Polo faith, the worship of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo).
During the festival, people wear their traditional white clothes. One of the most famous customs of Mopin is the smearing of white rice-flour paste (ette) on the faces of people as a blessing for good fortune. Rice beer (apong) is shared among the people. Women perform the Popir dance, a graceful traditional dance, dressed in white and wearing colourful ornaments. Mithun (a semi-wild bovine animal, valued by many tribes of Arunachal Pradesh) are sacrificed as offerings in some rituals. The festival also includes feasting, singing and community gatherings.
Other major festivals of the tribes of Arunachal Pradesh are:
- Solung of the Adi tribe, an agricultural festival in September.
- Dree of the Apatani tribe, an agricultural festival in July.
- Nyokum of the Nyishi tribe, in February.
- Losar of the Monpa tribe, the Tibetan New Year.
- Tamladu of the Digaru Mishmis, in February.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Apatani tribe celebrates Dree and Myoko.
- ✗Adi tribe celebrates Solung and Aran.
- ✗Nyishi tribe celebrates Nyokum and Boori Boot.
Quick tip
Remember: Mopin = the Galo tribe, April, the goddess Mopin Ane, the white rice-flour paste and the Popir dance.
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Festivals & Fairs of India — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Festivals & Fairs of India, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the religious, harvest, tribal and cultural festivals of India, the fairs (melas) held across the country, and the states, communities and seasons linked to them. It also includes festivals listed by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage, such as Kumbh Mela and Durga Puja in Kolkata. Most questions ask which state celebrates a festival, which tribe it belongs to, or what event it marks. Harvest festivals are especially common: Pongal (Tamil Nadu), Onam (Kerala), Bihu (Assam), Lohri and Baisakhi (Punjab) and Nuakhai (Odisha). Fairs such as the Pushkar camel fair (Rajasthan) and the Sonepur cattle fair (Bihar) are also frequently tested. Revise festivals state by state. Practise the festivals and fairs questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.