Nagaland Hosts Hornbill Festival

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oi-Staff

By Staff

Thursday, December 18, 2008, 12:04

Unique of its kind, the Hornbill festival organized in Nagaland attracted tourists from all over the country. The festival aims to promote the tourism of the country and the socio-cultural panorama of the Nagas.

The festival was week long and the theme was "Progress through culture" . This is a perfect occasion to bring together the various Naga tribes and pays a tribute to the Hornbill which is the most revered bird of the Nagas.

The main focus of the festival is to showcase the protect and sustain richness of the 16 Naga tribe's heritage and traditions and is reflected in their folklore, dances and songs.

Bonnie, one Naga youth at the festival, said: "Hornbill is quite interesting and so far in the Nagaland this is the only festival where all the Naga tribes come and celebrate together. It showcases our traditions and different rituals that we use to follow earlier. We come and learn the lifestyle of different communities and apart from this, we get platform for the youth to showcase our talents."

The festival also attracted a large number of International tourists owing to the peaceful environment prevailing in the country. The Hornbill festival promotes the unique cultural diversity of the Nagas. Beata Gillis, one tourist, said: " It's fabulous. I have never seen anything like this and to see so many different cultures represented in one area today was the most amazing"

Anne, another tourist, said: "It's the first time we are in Nagaland and it is really amazing to be part of this cultural event. It is very nice to be here and meet all these people and see how rich the tribal culture is."

Through this concept of Hornbill festival, Nagaland aims to show its culture differently to the world and wishes to make it rich beyond boundaries. AGENCIES