Hornbill Festival 2022: 7 tribes from eastern Nagaland not to participate

Our Reporter

Dimapur, Nov. 19 (EMN): It appears like the much-awaited Hornbill Festival 2022 will be held without the seven tribes from eastern Nagaland, as they have stuck to their decision not to participate in this year’s edition.

The Hornbill Festival 2022, which has become a major tourist attraction over the years, is scheduled to begin on December 1, before concluding on the 10th.

The president of Eastern Naga Students’ Federation (ENSF), Chingmak Chang, told Eastern Mirror on Saturday that Chang, Khiamniungan, Konyak, Phom, Sangtam, Tikhir and Yimkhiung tribes from eastern Nagaland have decided not to participate in this year’s Hornbill Festival “considering the hardships faced by the participants”. 

Chang stated that this decision was resolved during the Eastern Nagaland Peoples’ Organisation (ENPO) Central Executive Council (CEC) meeting on October 14 at Tuensang as well as the November 16 meeting in Mon town.

On this development, an official from Tourism department lamented that it will affect the 10-day event.

‘The cultural presentation of eastern Nagaland tribes is usually the main attraction of the event, so without the participation of the eastern tribes, the Hornbill Festival this year will not be whole and lack its charm,’ said the official.

It was informed that the Tourism department had not received any official information from the tribes from eastern region of the state on non-participation at the Hornbill Festival 2022, although the information was available via the media.