Hornbill Festival: Land of Festivals

A Glimpse of the Hornbill Festival celebrated in the ‘Land of festivals’.

• Hornbill is the biggest festival celebrated in Nagaland and also in the Northeast region of India.

The Hornbill Festival is an annual festival which started in the year 2000 with a vision to showcase the tradition and culture of the Nagas as a form of preserving and celebrating it.

It is celebrated in the first week of December commencing from the 1^St of December and is celebrated till December 10^th.

Each day has it’s own set of competitions, contests, cultural shows etc. Such as, Photography contest, Miss Nagaland Beauty Pageant, WW2 Vintage Motor Rally and other competitions such as The Naga King Chili eating competition, Pork Belly Fat eating competition etc. which are greatly enjoyed by the crowd.

There are also stalls which sells arts and crafts, which includes paintings, wood crafts, doll making, traditional ornaments etc. Giving a platform for the Naga artists to promote themselves.

• Handicrafts sold at Hornbill Fest

Hornbill International Rock Contest is also held during the festival which has the biggest prize money in the country. The contest is joined by competitors all over the country competing against each other for the prize money. This attracts audiences from all over the country, young and old. Bringing music lovers from all over the state and country together.

• Pictures of the International Hornbill Rock Contest.

The Hornbill festival brings along with it, the celebration of the varied traditions of the Naga culture. It helps as a means of bringing unity among the varied tribes of the Nagas. This celebration of the festival showcases the richness of the Naga culture by letting other people from different cultures experience the culture of the Nagas by going back to their roots.

Image Courtesy : Menule Chirhah