Festival of the Hornbill Festival
Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival 2022 is an annual festival held in the state of Nagaland in North East India. The well-known festival is also known as the “Festival of All Festivals” and the Hornbill Mahotsav. This lovely festival is a powerful representation of Nagaland’s culture, music, dance, and way of life.
Visitors from all over the world gather to see vibrant performances depicting Naga culture at the Hornbill Festival, in which state visitors are not the only participants. Hornbill Festival 2022 is a charming festival that focuses on preserving Naga culture and educating visitors about Naga culture through various festivities and competitions.
Know about the Hornbill Festival’s history
Nagaland, a state in North-East India, is home to several tribes, each with its own festival. Nagaland’s celebrations revolve around agriculture because agriculture is the primary source of income for the majority of the population. Because Naga culture and festivals are sacred, participation in the festivals is required.
Because Nagaland is a state with several tribes, the State Government of Nagaland organizes the Hornbill Festival to promote inter-tribal interaction and Nagaland’s cultural heritage. In the year 2000, the first Hornbill Nagaland festival was held. Since then, the Nagaland state government has held an annual Hornbill Festival.
The Hornbill Festival is named after the Indian Hornbill bird, which is abundant in Nagaland. The Indian Hornbill is a colorful bird that appears prominently in most Naga folklore. The large forest bird is frequently seen prancing in and around Nagaland’s various forests.
The hornbill bird respects the various tribes of Nagaland, just as the tribes respect the hornbill bird. As a result, the Hornbill Festival represents all of Nagaland’s tribes collectively, and the tribes celebrate it with pride and enthusiasm each year.
They all grace the festival with their presence and perform various cultural performances. The Hornbill Mahotsav is growing in popularity year after year, and a large number of visitors is evidence of this.
When we’re even held
Hornbill Festival is an annual festival of Nagaland. The vibrant festival takes place mostly in the first week of December every year.
The Hornbill Festival will start on 1st December and will go on till 10th December 2022.
Kohima, the capital of Nagaland, will serve as the main venue for the Hornbill Festival in 2022. Though, the celebrations may happen at other locations too.
What is the Hornbill Festival all about?
Nagaland’s art and culture departments, as well as the state tourism department, are organizing the Hornbill Festival 2022. It aims to bring together a variety of Nagaland’s cultural displays in one location.
It is held every year during the first week of December at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisma, which is 12 kilometers from Kohima, Nagaland’s capital.
The Hornbill Festival, which aims to revive and protect Nagaland’s rich tribal culture, includes all of the state’s tribes. Cultural activities include Nagaland food and crafts, as well as customs, music, and dance performances.
The Hornbill Festival festivities begin around 9:00 a.m. with various performances and competitions. The morning events continue until the afternoon when there is a lunch break.
Following the lunch break, the events resume at 2:00 PM with a variety of shows and talent hunt events. The famous ‘Hornbill National Concert’ is performed in the evening for visitors. Several local and out-of-state bands will perform at the concert.
Lunch and evening are the best times to sample the Hornbill Festival cuisine and local delicacies. Food at the Hornbill Festival is another way to learn more about Nagaland’s indigenous culture.
The uniqueness of the Hornbill Festival
There will be numerous religious and ceremonial parades at the event.
- Each tribe will put on a spectacular show based on its ceremonies or culture.
- Several performances of traditional folk dance and music highlight Nagaland’s cultural heritage
- Naga-themed fashion shows, sports competitions, craft competitions, dance competitions, and beauty pageants.
- There will be a food fair, music concerts, song and dance performances, and other entertainment events at the festival.
- Traditional wood crafts, artworks, sculptures, handy crafts, and wood carvings will be displayed and sold at exhibitions and stalls.
- Food stalls serving traditional Nagaland cuisine as well as other cuisines.
- Traditional archery, indigenous games, Naga wrestling, and other athletic sports competitions
- The Hornbill International Rock Concert is one of the festival’s main attractions.
Angels used for photography should be covered
Begin at the Amphitheater.
The Hornbill Festival takes place over a large area known as the Kisama heritage village, and there is always something going on inside the village. However, one of the best experiences in the village occurs in the central amphitheater, where cultural events are held twice daily throughout the 10-day period.
The first event takes place from 10 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. And the next event is scheduled for 2 p.m.While the activities here are somewhat staged for the audience’s benefit, they are always the best place to begin clicking around.
Bring a good zoom lens.
Even if you find a spot on the aforementioned “red carpet,” keep in mind that the majority of the action in the amphitheater is still taking place a good distance away.
If you have a good zoom lens, you can capture the colors and intricate details much better.
Don’t forget about seeing the Morungs
The Kisama heritage village also has 16 to 20 Morungs for each tribe outside the amphitheater. The Morung, or youth dormitory, is an essential component of Naga education and culture.
The morungs are the places where the people of each tribe meet, eat, drink, and socialize in Kisama village.
Morungs are ideal for tourists who want to sample the local cuisine (and rice beer) of a specific tribe. They are, however, even better for catching up with tribesmen and women in their own cultural setting, allowing them to relax.
