The Sungkotenem festival-cum-general meeting, a quadrennial celebration of the Mopungchuket Ait Laishir Telungjem (MALT) started on Tuesday. The festival is being attended by Mopungchuket students from all units including Mokokchung, Dimapur, Kohima, Shillong, Impur and Mopungchuket village.
On the second day, December 28 of the festival in its 84th edition, the cultural carnival was held with parliamentary secretary of Geology and Mining, Dr. Imtiwapang Aier gracrf the festival as the chief guest at Yimyong Moapu, Mopungchuket, village, Mokokchung. The cultural carnival began with “Yimdongmak” (village procession) where the students from different units participated.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Imtiwapang Aier in his speech said that Asetkong range was the cradle of Christianity and education and that Asetkong had produced many prominent figures and pioneers. He stressed on the importance of preserving our culture and tradition and encouraged the younger generation to learn and impart the cultures they had learned during such festivals.
The chief guest further said that one should maintain one’s own identity especially by preserving our language along with other culture and tradition. He added that the cultural carnival was an important event as it helped in maintaining one’s identity which would be an asset for the future.
The special invitees at the festival included Longmisa, Chuchuyimpang and Mongsenyimti Student’s Union. The three-day festival would feature competitions among different students’ units in traditional dance and games, choral and drama competition.
One of the most anticipated event, the Sungkotenem Open Beat Contest ‘Clash of Bands 2016’ would also be a part of the festival scheduled to be held at Sungkotenem Park, Mopungchuket on December 29.