Mini-Hornbill to start at Mokokchung

Mokokchung, July 18 (EMN): The mini-Hornbill festival, announced for the eleven districts of Nagaland, coinciding with tribal festivals respective to each of the districts, will start from Mokokchung district. This was informed by Mokokchung’s Deputy Commissioner Sachin Jaiswal during a press conference at his office chamber on July 18. For Mokokchung, the festival is “Tsungremmong Hornbill Festival Mokokchung 2018,” and shall be hosted with the theme “celebrating one’s root.” It will be at the Imkongmeren Sports Complex during August 1-3. Jaiswal informed that the core committee of the event has roped in the Mokokchung District Arts and Culture Council; the Ao Senden, the Watsu Mungdang, and the Ao Students’ Conference (AKM). They have been entrusted with various tasks that would feature in the festival. A host of activities, focusing on culture, spanning morning to evening has been prepared. The festival is not concentrated but spread to two tourist destination villages namely Longkhum and Mopungchuket, the deputy commissioner informed. According to Jaiswal, the three-day festival shall have a special guest for each of the day of festivities. The second day of the festivities, i.e., August 2, will be the main event. Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio is expected to attend the occasion, it was informed. “We are expecting one or two Union ministers to attain the festival,” Jaiswal said. “Cultural troupes from six ranges besides Sangtam and Sumi tribes have been invited to join the main festival on August 2. Our counterparts the SPs (police superintendents) and DCs (deputy commissioners) of Jorhat and Sivasagar districts (in Assam) will also be invited. Besides, two cultural troupes from Mariani area are also expected to participate in the festival,” he informed. The deputy commissioner added that the AKM has been tasked with coordinating with the All Assam Students’ Union to arrange a delegation themed on cultural exchange and ‘border peace.’ Jaiswal informed that the events shall be conducted simultaneously starting from day one. Activities such as tug-of-war, inter-ward competitions, and indigenous games, and cooking competitions will also be features of the festivities. Besides, an angling competition will be held at Mopungchuket village, and a motorsports event called the ‘Throttle Thrust-III’ will be at Longkhum village organized by Spearhead Motorsports Initiative, he informed. The evening programmes will include a singing competition in the Ao vernacular, and a showcase of traditional attires and ornaments, and a dance competition too. Jaiswal asserted that the main objective of the festival was to ‘popularize and showcase the festivals of the Naga tribes.’ “The main agenda is to display our own culture and diversity among various Naga tribes and to the outside world,” he said.