The community celebrated the colourful Wangala Festival in Dimapur with great enthusiasm and traditional gusto
EMN
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 21
Celebration of festival is a way of life for the three hundreds plus ethnic group of people in the northeastern part of India.
Keeping the tradition alive Garo community today celebrated the Wangala Festival in Dimapur with great enthusiasm. Around five hundred of Garos gathered at Samaguri village to celebrate Wangala, which is their most significant post-harvest festival.
It is a thanksgiving fest to Misi Saljong, also known as Pattigipa Ra’rongipa (The Great Giver) for having blessed the human beings with rich harvest of the season.Many young boys and girls, in their traditional attires performed a folkdance with drum beats during the festival.
“We Garo people celebrate the Wangala festival in order to invoke the blessing of God (Misi Saljong) and Goddess so that we could enjoy the festival after reaping the harvest. And it is also a merry-making and get-to-together,” said Suwant Marak while giving a brief note on Wangala.
“It’s a great pleasure to be here. Through this festival, I have learnt many new things for the first time about different kinds of traditional games. It’s a great privilege for me,” said a youth.
“It’s very important to celebrate this festival because nowadays many youngsters tend to forget our own culture and tradition. So by celebrating such festival we can revive or recollect the old practices of our forefathers,” said Raju Marak.
Speaking on the occasion as chief guest, Director, North East Zone Cultural Centre, Lipokmar Tzudir said there are no major tribes or minor tribes as every tribe in itself is a store-house of it own heritage and culture and added, “It is the accumulation of each community that makes the nation great”.
Tzudir maintained that though India is progressing, northeastern region is yet to see economic growth inspite of acquiring strong and rich heritages.
Urging the present generation to be a part and partial of India’s growth, he said, “We can no longer be in the old philosophy of alienation. We can no longer remain isolated”.
Highlighting on the discrimination faced by the people of the region, Tzudir said that if all the tribes follow the principle and teaching of forefathers, Northeast can become strong, and added, “We can say we belong to Northeast tribes in Delhi”.
Tzudir announced, NEZCC will give financial aid for the celebration of Wangala Festival in Dimapur from next year. The festival was organised by Nagaland Garos Tribal Council. There are five Garo villages in Dimapur and they are indigenous of Nagaland who enjoys equal rights to that of the Nagas.
