Chandel (Manipur), Feb.21 : Nagas settled at Lambung in Manipur's Chandel District recently celebrated their annual seed-sowing festival Lui-Ngai-Ni while endeavouring to conserve their cultural identity.

The celebrations included dances and folk songs by representatives of several ethnic Naga tribes and by Nagas settled in places like Manipur.

Lambung hosted a colourful carnival this past week.

A hallmark of the Lui-Ngai-Ni has been that it is held to promote peace, harmony and the Naga cultural identity.

"This is the time to sow seeds for future prosperity, bumper harvest of all crops. Also, we would like to sow the seeds for peaceful resolutions for the Naga people as they had been in conflict with the Indian Government for a long time. It is a message of unity between the Indian Government and them," said Samson Ramei, an official of the Naga Forum.

There were various colourful dance performances by artistes from Anal, Chiru, Kabui, Thangal among others which depict the Naga cultural heritage and its continued usefulness in the modern era.

The organisers were confident that such carnivals would be protect the common binding facets of cultural values among the Naga communities. By Vibou Ganguly

ANI