Couple hosts ‘Feast of Merit’ after more than decade in Zhavame

Vishü Rita Krocha
Kohima | December 30

There was a pure sense of joy especially among the elderly population of Zhavame village when a couple—Vivotso Domeh and Thetsü Domeh announced on a Sunday on October 17, 2021 that they would be performing the ‘Feast of Merit.”

It had been more than a decade since a couple last performed what is traditionally considered the highest social honour. For the elderly, it meant revisiting their glorious past and taking part in a traditional activity that they are so familiar with.

Commonly known as “Zhosou” in the Zhavame native dialect, the grand “Feast of Merit” is a feast offered by a couple to the whole village in order to acknowledge their blessings of wealth and prosperity although it is also not a show of pride.

With the coming of Christianity, a lot of rituals have been left behind. However couples, who decide to perform it in the present day, offer a feast to the whole village during Christmas and become entitled to wear the prestigious shawls namely, “Hapidasa” and “Saparadu.”

Besides this entitlement, the couple who recently joined the group of those who have performed the ‘Feast of Merit’ can now adorn their homes with “Hapiteh,” a wood carving of the buffalo head.

Sharing the joy of Christmas, Vivotso and his wife, Thetsü told The Morung Express in an exclusive interview that, “we wanted everyone in the village, young or old, rich or poor, to equally partake in the celebration and experience equal happiness in commemoration of the birth of Jesus.”

Seen here, Vivotso Domeh in Hapidasa shawl & his wife Thetsü  Domeh in Saparadu shawl

The couple offered Christmas feast to at least 3800 people while on the following day on the 26th of December, the clansmen of the wife, who is from Tungjoy village under Senapati district of Manipur state numbering about 300 men were offered meal as per tradition.

After blessing the couple with traditional songs and dances, the clansmen herded a buffalo back to her village. “After crossing our village gate, it will be handed over to my wife’s parents, more symbolically the buffalo head,”  Vivotso articulated.  

For the feast, a total of 12 locally bred pigs and 3 buffaloes were slaughtered to feed the community. “We were planning to host the feast last Christmas but we had to postpone it because of the COVID-19 situation”, 55-year-old Vivotso highlighted. The couple wore the prestigious shawls after it was blessed by the Reverend during the church service on Christmas day.

“I felt bigger, braver and certainly happier after becoming entitled to wear the shawls. Since it has been so long since anybody performed the ‘Feast of Merit’, the elderly blessed us so much and also offered us rice, firewood, etc., as a gesture of their blessings upon us. It was so gratifying”, he recalled.

His 54-year-old wife, Thetsü’s face also brightened at the mention of the shawls even as she echoed her husband’s sentiments of feeling more confident and courageous after wearing it.

“It was also an emotional journey for me to see my sisters who married men from outside the village coming back to help in the preparation”, Vivotso further expressed. People from his own khel, clan, well-wishers and people from the village had come forward to extend help during the yearlong preparation.

“I am thankful to God and to the village. I saw a lot of tradition that I did not see before and truly experienced the blessings of God. Performing the ‘Feast of Merit’ also made me realise that our tradition brings your closer and bind people together as a community”, he profoundly put across.