Railway
What is the most popular festival of the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh?
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Answer: Option C — Solung
Detailed Solution
Solung is the most popular festival of the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, who live mainly in the East Siang, Upper Siang, Siang and Lower Dibang Valley districts. It is an agricultural festival, celebrated every year from 1 to 5 September, after the sowing of seeds and the transplanting of paddy.
Solung is celebrated to pray for a good harvest, the protection of crops from pests, and the prosperity and well-being of the people and their livestock. It is also a festival of thanksgiving to the gods for the help they have given in the farming season. The festival usually lasts for five days, although in the past it could last longer.
The first day of Solung is called "Binnyat", when the people prepare for the festival and rice beer (apong) is brewed. On the second day, called "Taklen", domestic animals, especially mithun (a semi-wild bovine animal), pigs and fowls, are sacrificed to the gods, especially Kine Nane, the goddess of crops and prosperity, and Doying Bote, the god of domestic animals. The meat is shared among the families of the village. On the following days, rituals are performed to protect the crops and to drive away evil spirits, and the women perform the Ponung dance. In the Ponung dance, young women dance in a circle around a man called the "Miri", who sings the traditional songs of the Adis about the creation of the world and the origin of crops, while shaking the "yoksi", a sword-like instrument with metal jingles. At the end of the festival, the people make small bamboo bows and arrows and place them at the doors of their houses to protect them from evil spirits.
The Adis follow the Donyi-Polo faith, the worship of the Sun (Donyi) and the Moon (Polo). Their other festivals include Aran, a hunting festival celebrated in March.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Mopin is the festival of the Galo tribe.
- ✗Dree is the festival of the Apatani tribe.
- ✗Nyokum is the festival of the Nyishi tribe.
Quick tip
Remember: Solung = the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh, 1-5 September, the Ponung dance, the Miri and the yoksi.
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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.