Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi

Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi is an annual festival of Singpho tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. Shapawng Yawng festival is also the most important dance festival of Singpho (Jinghpaw) community. Also known as Manau Poi, it is the national festival of the Kachins (Singphos) residing in Myanmar.

Shapawng Yawng is the forefather of the Singphos. The word Poi means Festival Manau means Dance, thus Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi stands for Dance Festival in honour of Shapawng Yawng.

The festival is usually celebrated between 12th to 15th February, though 14 February is often a common day of celebration. The festival is primarily organised to show the varied and rich culture, customs and exotic flora and fauna of vast Aruanchal Pradesh. At the same time it is also an effort to preserve, protect and promote the age old cultural heritage of this small tribal population. The festival is also an effort to deviate the substance addiction of the youth to valuable efforts.

Shapawng Yawng Manau Poi festival also fosters social relations and social communication which leads to unity among the people. Directly or indirectly the festival makes the Singpho community part of the mainstream population of India as northeast lacks in this area. In such lacking Singphos are themselves a small distinct group among the twenty and more tribal groups that inhabit Arunachal Pradesh.

The Singphos men generally wear woven chequer pattern lungi (Khaithung) of black and green colour, lined with red, yellow and white yarn and shirt (Samtong), bag (Khak), and a turban (Khuphok). The Singpho women traditionally wear colourful Choi/Pipa tops and Singket wrapper (Skirt), Manmaokring (hat), Phugak around the neck, Ningwat waist wrapper and Bathang in lower legs.