The Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya is organising ‘Lai Haroba festival’ at its premises. Ritual artists came from Manipur and they performed the fourth day’s Pooja in the Umang Lai Sacred Grove open-air exhibition. According to N Sakamacha Singh (Museum Associate, IGRMS), Lai yakaiba- everyday in the morning Pena khongba sits in front of the two presiding deities and sings Yakairol, a song of invocation inviting the deities to the day’s programme.
After that they performed Laimang-Phamba or Laipao Chenba- the Maibi sits in front of the deities and transports herself into a state of trance and delivers laopao (prophecy or oracle). This session is called Laimang Phamba, and then she danced Jagoi Katpa forthe two deities.
The third and the most important step of Lai Haraoba is the Laibou Dance that demonstrates the birth of a child, construction of a house, plantation of cotton, weaving of clothes, land offering of the finished articles to the deity.
The Laibou dance consists of 364 khut- thek (hand movements) known as laibou khut-thek.
On the penultimate day, Kanglei Thokpa in which the Maibi covering her face with a veil and amaibi goes into a trance, uttern the laipu (message from the deities) and chooses a bride from among the audience.
She is ordained as a Maibi and devotes her life to the service of the deities.
In the end of the programme After the Wakol Laoba, the pena player sings the cradle song (Naorum - eshei) to put the deities of sleep. Naosum eshei is sung to end the day celebration.