Kohima, August 9: Nusakholu Dawhuo (Love story of Dari & Rakhrülü) was adjudged the winner of the first Nagaland online folktale storytelling competition, held on the theme ‘Spreading wings to the untold Naga folklores’. The results were announced on Monday evening.
According to a press release from the organisers, the event was a first-of-its-kind in Nagaland. Managed by a visual production house ‘Naga Manu Production’, the competition was held between July 5 and August 9.
Imnichetla Jamir (The Quest of Sarilungle) was the runner-up.
Dawhuo and Jamir will receive Rs 6000 and Rs 4000 respectively, sponsored by Kuvelu Tetseo, along with e-certificates.
Dawhuo’s winning entry revolves around a story of love and friendship between the two lovers from neighbouring villages i.e. Chedema (Kohima district) and Thenyizu (Phek district). It summarises that the physical body will die away and decay, but true love and real friendship will last forever.
Imnichetla Jamir’s story speaks about a husband and a wife who wanted to survive without working and realised that they both wasted their youths searching for the trick. The moral of the story being: ‘only way to a prosperous life is through hard work and contentment’.
The organising committee stated that participants/entries were thoroughly scrutinised by the judges basing on presentation skills; relevance/significance; creativity; factual and authenticity; and moral of the story. The judges were 3 Kohima-based women journalists: Rita Krocha, Alice Yhoshü, and Asonuo.
According to the organising committee, the competition aimed at conserving and spreading the message of preserving the traditional folktales passed down from generation to generation.
“With this tradition slowly fading, we are losing the good old stories of our forefathers. This competition is being organised with the view to preserve and present the folklores as oral documents for the future generations,” it stated.
Four-year-old Menlei Phom (Folktale about an Owl and Shrew) was declared the youngest contestant, sponsored by NarohDecor Kohima; People’s Choice Award and Best Narrator (U-15) was awarded to Imsupongla Longchar (A tale of a Mouse and a Man); and Aboli Wotsa (The Angel’s Wife) received the Judges’ Choice Award.
It informed that the response was overwhelming, with 47 entries from different districts of Nagaland. The oldest participant was 85-year-old Thanso Yimchunger. (Page News Service)
