Kohima: The 24th Hornbill Festival, a cultural extravaganza of Nagaland, concluded on Sunday at Naga heritage village Kisama, around 10 km away from Kohima in the presence of hundreds of domestic and foreign tourists along with local people. Organised by the Nagaland government from Dec 1 to 10, 2023 to showcase the state’s deep-rooted traditions and its rich cultural heritage with all its ethnicity, diversity and grandeur, the spectacular festival had diplomatic collaboration with the United States of America, Germany, and Colombia, where Assam was a partner state.
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Known as the festival of festivals, it’s a collaborative celebration of all the Naga tribes. It’s also a tribute to the great hornbill, which is an admired and revered bird by the people of Nagaland and other parts of northeast India. Chief host of the festival, Nagaland governor La Ganesan commented that it was more than just an event to showcase the rich culture of Naga people and also a celebration of their enduring spirit and deep-rooted traditions.
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Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio revealed that all tribes & sub-tribes of Nagaland celebrate dozens of festivals throughout the year and all of those culminate in the Hornbill Festival epitomising the unity, diversity and oneness of the Naga people. He pointed out that the festival reflects the close understanding of the local people offering a ringside view of the elusive land and its inhabitants along with their culture.
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The Dimapur-based North East Zone Cultural Centre (NEZCC) under the union cultural ministry also conducted a day-long program on Saturday at the splendid venue. A colourful choreographic folk dance presentation by 120 indigenous artistes with live music with the theme ‘Colours of Northeast India’ showcased eight different ethnic tribes & communities from eight north-eastern states.
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The artistes from Tripura, the land of handicrafts & music, performed Hojagiri dances of the Bru & Reang tribes, whereas the performers from Mizoram, the land of highlanders, presented Cheraw dances. The artistes from Arunachal Pradesh, the land of the rising sun, performed Rikhampada dances of the Nyishi tribe, followed by the Nzanta dances of the Lotha tribe from Nagaland.
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The performers from Manipur, the land of jewels, presented Lai Haraoba and artistes from Sikkim, the land of snow lions& mountains, performed Tamang Selo of the Tamang community. Wangala dances of the Garo tribe were presented by performers from Meghalaya, the abode of clouds, whereas the artistes from the land of red rivers and blue hills performed Bihu dances. The cultural programs were curated by Sangeet Natak Akademi awardee and also the director of NEZCC Prashanna Gogoi, who was assisted by Rajesh Boro, Anjoy Kachari, Brajen Boro and Rajib Boro.
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(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)
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