Tuluni (Ao Naga dance)

Understand

Where Tuluni (Ao Naga dance) comes from

Tuluni is the mid-monsoon festival dance of the Ao Naga tribe of Nagaland, performed at the Tuluni festival (the central agricultural celebration of the Ao) in July. The dance is associated with the rice-growing cycle of the Ao community and with the celebration of the rice-blooms (the new rice in the field). The Tuluni is one of the three principal Ao Naga festivals (Moatsu, Tuluni and Ngada) and is one of the most distinctive regional traditions of the Ao community. The form is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the Hornbill Festival.

How it's practiced

Tuluni is performed by men and women of the Ao Naga community in a circle at the central courtyard of the village or at the open ground of the Tuluni festival. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Tuluni cycle and to the rhythm of the regional instruments. The dance is gentle, with the small stepping rhythm of the Ao tradition. Costume is the traditional Ao Naga dress — the lungi, the colourful headdress and the regional shawl. Performances are at the Tuluni festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.