The Hornbill Festival, annually in Nagaland, is a vibrant celebration of the state’s rich cultural heritage and tribal traditions. This festival brings together all the major tribes of Nagaland, showcasing their unique customs, music, dance, and art. Visitors can enjoy traditional performances, participate in indigenous games, and explore Naga cuisine and crafts. It is known as the “Festival of festivals” and represents the cultural diversity of Nagaland’s tribes to encourage inter-cultural relations among them. The festival is held for 10 days from 1st December to 10th December every year and has lots of intimidating activities under its wraps. The festival, held in Kisama Heritage Village near Kohima, has become a major attraction for tourists, offering a colorful glimpse into the dynamic tribal culture of Northeast India.
I had the opportunity to attend the first day of the Hornbill Festival during my trip to Kohima. I had already explored some of the best attractions in Kohima, which I shared in my previous post. With lots of excitement, I woke up early in the morning and got ready to attend the festival. After having breakfast at the hotel, we headed out to find a shared taxi that could take us to Kisama village, the venue of the festival. The journey was long but the anticipation of what we would experience at the festival kept us going.
Consider exploring the Hornbill Festival tour package to plan an exceptional tour experience for yourself.
How to reach Hornbill Festival?
The Hornbill Festival is held at the Kisama Heritage village in Kohima, Nagaland. To reach Kohima from Guwahati, we embarked on our journey by taking the early morning Jana Satabdi Express to Dimapur. From there, we hired a shared taxi to reach the capital of Nagaland. There are various trains that you can choose from to reach Dimapur from Guwahati, depending on your convenience. Shared taxis are also available throughout the day from the Dimapur railway station to Kohima. The shared taxi cost stat from Rs 400 per person and took around 3 hrs.
How to reach Kisama Heritage village ?
Shared taxis are available near Kohima police headquarter to reach Kisama village. It took 30 minutes to reach the festival venue. The taxi charged Rupees 50 for each passenger.
Which days of the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is the best day to attend?
First Day of Hornbill Festival, the best day to attend the festival
On reaching Kisama, we first saw the big ornamented gate of Hornbill Festival. Passing the gate, we encountered young Naga boys and girls, dressed in their colourful traditional attires. They also adorned themselves with their weapons and shields used during wars and hunting. These young boys and girls were representing the various tribes of Nagaland. They were welcoming the guests. The smiles and youthful vigor of this young lot mesmerized the guests and brought zeal of festivity to all.
Hornbill festival: The Opening Ceremony
The festivities began with all the dances, folk songs and dance drama performed in groups. The various tribes of Nagaland made their presence felt with the performance of their own form of dance and songs. The other neighboring states of North East India also represented themselves through various cultural performances. We enjoyed to our heart’s content as we swayed and smiled, listening to the soulful, energetic rhythms.
You may be interested in Guide to Longwa Village and the Legacy of the Headhunters of Nagaland
What food should I try ?
Rice bear is a must try here. If you are non-vegetarian definitely try the smoked pork and prawn pickle
We saw various delicacies being prepared in the different Morungs. We saw people roasting pork, chicken, fish, buffalo etc cooked in the coal fire. There was rice beer, traditional stews made out of snail, dog, fish, etc. We were just spoil for choices.
We readied our taste buds and headed towards the Morung of different tribes. ‘Kachari’ tribe’s simple snacks attract us and we had Rice beer with a special Prawn chutney. The combination tasted awesome. We saw others enjoying Pakodas, Fried Fish etc there.
There were stalls especially readied for vegetarians too. Snacks, sweets, hot and cold beverages were also available in different stalls. During lunchtime, the air of Kisama heritage village was thick with the aroma of different delicacies prepared by the tribes.
Tribal morungs and different tribes of Nagaland
Morungs is a special hut where youth practiced different skills like using bow and arrow, wrestling and making of different crafts etc. In Hornbill Festival Morungs took a very significant role where the people of different tribes stay in their hut during the festival and perform their cultural and traditional practices for the audience in front of the morung.
Morgungs are the significant part of Naga culture
All the Morungs were decorated with the traditional items belonging to the individual tribes. Representatives of those different tribes were dressed in their traditional attires were standing in front of their individual Morungs, welcoming guests with smiles. Some of them were seen performing their traditional songs and dances in front of their Morungs. There were hustle and bustle everywhere and the place was lively with people’s laughter.
During Hornbill Festival every member of Nagaland aspires to portray the best of Naga food and culture. We felt privileged to be a part of this mesmerizing festival.
What to buy at the Hornbill Festival?
Everyone from kids to octogenarian finds something interesting to buy in the festival venue.
There are different stalls for shopping lovers too on the festival ground. One can shop for different handicraft and handloom items, jewelry, decorative items and souvenirs. It also has a collection of traditional utensils, pottery and different orchids. Buying a suitable gift for your loved ones in a must do here. One can see the display of unique and unusual costumes, traditional events, art and craft. The cultural procession and distinctive events like bike rally, stone pulling competition show the versatility of this festival makes it more exciting.
After spending a memorable day at the Hornbill Festival, we decided to stay in a camp for the night.
Camping at Hornbill Festival
Camp stay is the best stay ever and we like the ambience and simply delicious food provided by the team. They provide us comfortable sleeping bags and blankets too to bit the cold chilly night. Seating beside the fire and enjoy the night of Hornbill Festival was a memorable experience for us.
Hornbill rock concert and other events
Every year schedule is different so be plan accordingly.
If you are a die-hard fan of rock song then please keep in mind that rock concert took place in other major cities of Nagaland from 2016 onward. It took place in Dimapur, Mokokchung and other cities during the 10 days of Hornbill Festival. During the course of the Hornbill Festival apart from dances, songs and indigenous games, world war 2 car rally, Naga chef competition, Naga chilli eating competition, Hornbill motor rally, Miss Nagaland beauty contest and Hornbill literature festival, Stone pulling competition etc took place.
What else to see during hornbill festival?
I have written enough about the cultural performance that took place in the Hornbill Festival. Apart from these a flower show of stunning and vivid colourful flowers, handloom and handicraft exhibition, craft escape, Hornbill photo fest and horticulture show also took place in the Kisama heritage village. Kohima museum also situated in a corner of Kisama village you will be delighted to take a glance in the museum when you get tired from watching the cultural programs.
My journey to the Hornbill Festival is indeed a lifetime experience. I am happy to be able to join the festival and have got some first-hand experience. Those who like vivid colorful culture, indigenous food, scenic nature and wildlife, we highly recommend checking Hornbill Festival Tour package.
Tomorrow I am heading to Khonoma green village to explore the lifestyle and culture of Nagaland very closely. Read on my next post Khonoma Green Village: A magical village in Nagaland.
If you are looking for more information on Kohima and Hornbill Festival please check out the page dedicated to Kohima on our website, Check Nagaland tour packages and find the most suitable tour for you. Email us on support@nexplore.org to start planning your trip!
