https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Wanshuwa_FestivalWanshuwa Festival - Revision history2026-11-03T23:34:32ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.43.6https://en.bharatpedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wanshuwa_Festival&diff=418827&oldid=prevAjay Kumar: Created a new article2023-08-25T20:24:07Z<p>Created a new article</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Religious festival of the Tiwa}}<br />
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{{Infobox recurring event<br />
| name = Wanshuwa<br />
| logo = <br />
| image = Wanshuwa_Festival.jpg<br />
| caption = <br />
| status = <br />
| location = <br />
| years_active = <br />
| founded = <br />
| area = [[Assam]] and [[Meghalaya]], [[India]]<br />
| dates = <br />
| genre = Folk<br />
| frequency = Five year<br />
| patron = [[Tiwa (Lalung)|Tiwa]]<br />
| website = <br />
}}<br />
Wanshuwa '''(Tiwa: Wanshúwa)''' is an important religious festival of the [[Tiwa (Lalung)|Tiwa]] living in Amkha and Marjong villages in [[Karbi Anglong district]]. <ref>{{Cite news|date=2019-06-09|title=Ushering in year's cropping season in Assam: Season of seeds|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/ushering-in-years-cropping-season-in-assam-season-of-seeds/article27697693.ece|access-date=2021-08-05|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>It is celebrated once in five or six years. Generally, this festival takes place between June and August. The ceremony usually starts on a Tuesday and ends on a Thursday.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Patar|first=Raktim|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tRAeEAAAQBAJ&dq=wanchuwa+festival&pg=PT51|title=The Tiwa Ethnohistory|date=2021-02-14|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=978-1-63745-518-0|language=en}}</ref> The main function takes place on a Wednesday at the residence of Shangdoloi, the head of the village bachelor's dormitory where the "sham" (wooden mortars) are located. These mortars are partly buried underground and arranged in a circular pattern. While dancing to the rhythm of the {{transl|lax|khram}}, {{transl|lax|pangsi}} and {{transl|lax|thurang}} (musical instruments) members of the Shamadi pound the wet rice with a "''lomphor''" (wooden pestle) till rice is ground to a powder. After the dance, the grounded rice flour is mixed lightly with water and is used to sprinkle on people present at the ceremony. The remaining flour is distributed among the villagers to prepare ''wanrusa'', a type of steamed rice cake. The next morning they bring the ''wanrusa'' to the Shangdoloi’s house and offer it to the deities Sodonga Raja and Maldewa Raja. By the late evening of Thursday, the Wanshuwa festival (Wanshúwa Kham) comes to an end. The Tiwa of the Amkha and Marjong group considers the Wankuri or the flour pounded on the day of the Wanshuwa festival to be sacred rice.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Konwar|first=Rituraj|date=2016-05-15|title=Photospeak {{!}} Welcoming harvest, Tiwa style|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/thread/arts-culture-society/article8601773.ece|access-date=2021-08-03|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><br />
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==History of Wanshuwa Festival (Wanshúwa Kham)==<br />
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According to a legend associated with the Wanshuwa ceremony, <ref name=":0" /><br />
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== References ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
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{{Assam Festivals}}<br />
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[[Category:Festivals in Assam]]<br />
[[Category:June events]]<br />
[[Category:July events]]<br />
[[Category:August events]]<br />
[[Category:Tiwa (India)]]</div>Ajay Kumar