Journalism of Courage
Nagaland is currently hosting the annual Hornbill Festival with a plethora of cultural performances, displays of sacrificial rituals, war dances, fire-making rituals, farewell songs with a fun packed part where people compete with each other to eat pineapple and Naga chilli. The festival has about a lakh people in attendance who come to watch the performances. There is a crafts section for those wanting to delve a little deeper into the Naga arts. Check out some pictures from the fest to get a glimpse of what really it is all about. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
The Hornbill Festival started on December 1 and will continue till December 10 in Kisama heritage village. It hosts a variety of cultural interactions throughout Northeast where people exhibit their dance forms, cuisine and other cultural aspects. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
Dotting the hillside of the Kisama Heritage Village, the location of the Hornbill Festival each year, are these hubs of warmth, food and easy camaraderie where visitors can seek out a Naga meal with sticky rice, smoked pork and pickled bamboo shoots, each morung offering its own varieties of meat and spices and zutho, their fermented rice beer. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
The event is organised by the Department of Horticulture with XL Management and supported by Department of Tourism. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
Mountain bike racing is also held during the festival under the theme 'Culturally Yours'. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
The race aims to promote a sustainable lifestyle and encourage eco-friendly means of transportation. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
Real action can be found in the morungs, replicas of the traditional dormitories for young tribesmen. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
A pineapple eating contest along with a chilli eating contest is held, which ends with peals of laughter. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
As temperatures dip with sundown by 4.30 pm, visitors huddle around the coal and wood fires in the morungs, tall bamboo tumblers of beer in hand, as musicians start tuning up for the evening performance at the amphitheatre. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
One can also take part in pork eating competitions besides other traditional competitions. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
The daily cultural performances by the Konyaks, Angamis, Lothas, Aos, Zeilangs, Chakhesangs and others, includes displays of sacrificial rituals, farewell songs, war dances, fire-making rituals and more. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
The crafts section has shawls with animal patterns, jewellery made of beads and bones, the black pottery, thousands of bamboo products, and traditional hunting gear including knives and spears on sale. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
Tourists are warmly welcomed to the festival, where they can spend time in traditional huts of each tribe. Every tribe has a different tradition to display. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
For those who want to delve a little deeper into Naga art, the state’s Department of Art and Culture has set up an Artists Corner to facilitate dialogues between the artists and visitors, where apart from art work for sale, there are demonstrations as well as archival photos. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
There is also a World War II Museum that houses relics from the 1944 battle of Kohima, which first put Nagaland on the global map. Other events around the festival include a photo festival, a run and a peace rally. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
Naga tribeswomen perform a dance during the annual Hornbill Festival. (Source: Express Photo by Kallol De)
