Hornbill Festival: Nagaland VP Jagdeep Dhankhar to start off celebrations

KOHIMA: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar will inaugurate the 23rd edition of the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland on Thursday evening.

The annual event is held from December 1 to 10 at the Naga Heritage Village in Kasama, about 12 km from Kohima.

December 1 also coincides with Nagaland’s 60th State Day.

All necessary arrangements have been made for the ceremony with Naga morungs (traditional huts) of various tribes.

On reaching the state in the afternoon, Dhankhar will hold a meeting with Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister Neipheu Rio and Cabinet Ministers at the Raj Bhavan.

He will start off the festival at 4 pm.

The Vice President will visit the Kohima War Cemetery before leaving for Delhi on Friday morning.

French Ambassador to India Emmanuel Lenain, British Deputy High Commissioner for South Asia and West India Alan Gemmel and Australian High Commissioner to India Barry O’Farrel will also attend the inauguration ceremony.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organization (ENPO), an apex body of seven major tribes in six districts of eastern Nagaland, boycotted the Hornbill Festival to press for the demand for a separate state of ‘Frontier Nagaland’. What have you decided to do?

Students’ and women’s organizations under ENPO on Tuesday said the festival should not feature cultural displays of the seven tribes of eastern Nagaland.

The Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF) and Eastern Nagaland Women’s Organization (ENWO) said in a statement, “No individual, group or organization and government agencies under any circumstances belonging to the seven tribes of Eastern Nagaland will be allowed to participate in the Hornbill Festival.” Cultural objects should not be exhibited.” Release.

A number of programs have been organized for the 10-day festival, including Naga tribal cultural performances, cultural programs from all North-Eastern states, Hornbill Music Festival, Kohima Night Carnival, Off-Road Adventure, Dz Kou Valley Trekking, Naga Indigenous Food Competition. , literature festival, indigenous sports competitions among others.

2019 saw the highest 2,82,811 footfalls, the last full-scale celebration since the festival’s inception in 2000.

The festival was not held in 2020 due to the Covid pandemic, and last year it was shortened to just four days due to the Oting firing incident during a botched operation by security forces. 13 civilians were killed.
The Hornbill Festival is an annual tourism promotional event of the Nagaland government that showcases the deep-rooted traditions and rich cultural heritage of the state.

It is a joint celebration of all the Naga tribes at a dedicated place and is known as the ‘Festival of Festivals’, while also paying tribute to the Hornbill, a bird that the Nagas love for its alertness and majestic nature. Respect because of.