Hornbill Festival of Nagaland
If you love travelling and are seeking for a visit in the North-eastern regions of India, then you should surely visit the state of Nagaland. Nagaland is rich in ecological beauty filled with greenery and many rare species of flora and fauna. Especially, visit to this place during the famous Hornbill festival of Nagaland can make your trip a really mesmerizing one. Hornbill festival is one of the most significant and famous festivals in Nagaland that gives a beautiful insight on the various cultural and traditional attributes of the people and the heritage of Nagaland. So, this should be at the top priority of your travel bucket list.
Hornbill Festival of Nagaland
The Nagaland’s Hornbill festival is a big celebration and is held every year in December from 1st to 10thof the month. The other name of Hornbill Festival is known as the “Festival of Festivals”. The festival is celebrated every year as to encourage the inter-tribal interaction between the numerous tribes of the state of Nagaland and also to promote the cultural heritage of the state. The Hornbill festival of Nagaland is hosted and organized by the Government of Nagaland. The beautiful name of the festival is given from the Indian bird, Hornbill, which is mostly found in the region of Nagaland and the bird has its crucial existence in the folklore of Nagaland, hence the name. The festival is held at the Naga Heritage Village located in Kisama, 12 km away from the state capital of Kohima.
Festivals in Nagaland
The state of Nagaland is a much diversified state in the whole of India as there are different communities and local tribes present in the region. The majorly known “Naga groups” or “tribes” are“Angami”, “Lotha” , “Sumi”, “Ao”. Although multiple trible community reside in the state of Nagaland and they also have their own festivals.
Each tribe celebrates their own Festivals in Nagaland such as “Sekrenyi” by “Angami”; “TokhuEmong” by “Lotha”; “Tuluni” by “Sumi”;“Moatsu” by “Ao”.
Various other communities also reside in the state of Nagaland and every community celebrates their own festivals too.
Nagaland- a worth visiting place
Hornbill festival is the main reason for what Nagaland is famous for. Along with that Nagaland is famous for its diverse cultural and ecological biodiversity that spreads across a region of Mountains and plateaus. Its mouthwatering local delicacies like the Axoni chutney, pork chutney, pork with bamboo shoots, beef recipes and more are very famous too. Numerous medicinal herbs are also found in the region of Nagaland for which it is a hub for Ayurveda research and the herbs are very effective for the treatment of various ailments.
Want to try some Nagaland food?
The food out here is outstanding and the Naga food remains one of the best food I myself ever tasted, the food in Nagaland is majorly boiled and the minimum number of spices used to make delicious curry of non-vegetarian foods stands out from all other cuisines of India.Local delicacies are inevitable and the delicious mouthwatering smell of the dishes just engulfs you within the food.
A special delicacy named “Axoni” is made by fermenting soyabeans and boiled further with special spices and ingredients which further serves out to be a mouthwatering dish sometimes combined with fried pork meat. You cannot miss out on the non-veg recipes out here.
Major “Herbs” are abundantly found in the region of Nagaland which has been sighted as effective for the treatment of some major ailments such as cancer and tuberculosis.
Nagaland consists of one of the oldest ruin sites in India, “The Dimasa Kachari ruins” in Dimapur, which dates back to the 10th century is a very old historical ruin to visit and relive history.
Nagaland is the home to the world’s hottest Chili, “The BhutJolokia” or the “Naga Chili” or “king Chili”, that has been rated to an interesting 1 million Scoville Heat Units (SHU) that measures the pungency or hotness of a Chili. This is one of the hottest reasons for what Nagaland is famous for!
The Hornbill festival of Nagaland too brings out many traditional foods in the festival premises and local as well as tourists get delighted to try the unique cuisine of Nagaland. The festivals of Nagaland bring in a lot of tourist and they are hosted by the tourism department of the state. The festival helps to create a strong bond of brotherhood between the multiple tribes in the state of Nagaland and also sells off a huge number of hand made goods and products made with bamboo and wood crafting, which the state is famous for.