The Hornbill festival of Nagaland
India is a land
of festivals owing to its varied and a vast realm of cultural diversity. The
aura of festivities is evident in abundance throughout the length and breadth
of the country. The North East of India is culturally very rich as a result of
which all the states present an impressive display of cultural vibrancy throughout
the year.
The hornbill
festival of Nagaland, aptly called ‘the festival of festivals’ brings this
cultural richness to the zenith during the festival organized for ten days
every year in the month of December. In Nagaland, all the tribes have their
separate festivals observed during different times of the year. However, in the
festival of festivals, they all participate in one place with much zeal and
fervor.
In 2019, the
Hornbill festival was held from Dec 01-10 at its usual venue, the Naga heritage
village of Kisama, about 12 Km south of Kohima. This was the 20th
edition of the festival.
All the 16
tribes of Nagaland participated in this extravaganza displaying every aspect of
their life in art form ranging from worshipping their gods, marking the
harvesting season, display of tough physical activities, and enacting the feats
of bravery in warfare and revenge. Participation of the women in all the
activities on display was one big feature of the festival.
Historically,
the Naga tribes have been at loggerheads and hostilities among them were
common. At times serious feelings of animosity resulted in bloody warfare among
them ending up with gruesome headhunting and bloodbath. And that was not in a
too distant past. I think the idea of organizing such events was mooted with a
motive of strengthening the social bonding between the tribes.
What impressed
me the most was the active participation of the young generation. I met many
youngsters in their twenties who were pursuing college and university studies
and yet participated in the culture of their roots. There were professionals
like advocates, IT guys working outside their state, and teachers who were
actively managing their respective tribe stall. After seeing the fervor and the
passion of the participants, the survival and preservation of the Naga culture
appear very promising.
SOME PHOTOS
Brilliant photographs, barepa.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tany.
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