TSÜKRENYE - CHAKHESANG TRIBE

Tsukrenyie festivalof Nagaland isa colorful festival of the Chakhesang Nagas. It is a festival that marks the onset of the hectic sowing season ahead and celebrated with great pomp in the Phek district of Nagaland.

Tsukrenyie is a festival, which celebrates the culmination of all leisure activities, and a festival for welcoming a new fruitful life and year. The festive celebration lasts for 4 days and is a time for merrymaking, sports, games, and leisure activities. People come together to participate in various indigenous games and activities during this festival. Grand feasts are organized and traditional delicacies are served as part of the Tsukrenyie celebrations.

The most significant part of the Tsukrenyie is the purification that takes place on the first day of the festival. It starts with the village priest’s sacrificial offering of the rooster that crowed the first that particular morning and then all the men folk gather up at a well and take bath as a ritual of purification. New clothes are then worn and prayers are offered to the Gods to bring strength, longevity, and bountiful harvest. Tsukrenyie is a time for feasting and the best of the male livestock are slaughtered to be cooked and served during this festival.