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Wangala – The 100 Drums Festival Of Meghalaya

Posted in Featured, Meghalaya, Northeast

 

  • NET Web Desk

The Wangala festival, popularly known as the ‘100 drums festival’ is one of the renowned festivals of Meghalaya, celebrated by the Garo Community with great zeal and enthusiasm.

A harvest festival celebrated to satisfy the main deity ‘Saljong – the Sun God’, Wangala depicts the onset of winter, and end of hard toil and efforts, required to bring good output of cultivation.

Wangala basically acts as train of thoughts adjoining the Garo community, thereby helping them to preserve and promote their cultural identity, traditions and portraying the strength of unity & impact of solidarity.

This year, the Wangala celebration commenced from today, i.e., November 12.

Celebrated for two days and sometimes continuing for even a week, the ceremony performed on first day is known as “Ragula”, inside the house of the chief.

The ceremony performed on second day is known as “Kakkat”. Residents dressed in colourful attires with feathered headgears dance to the rhythm of music, played through  long oval-shaped drums.

A distinctive feature of this dance deals with making being a queue of two parallel lines – one of men and other of women clad in their festive attires. While the men beat the drums, the line moves forward in rhythmic accord.

Its pertinent to note that the ‘orchestra’ of men includes drums, gong and flutes, along with a primitive flute made of buffalo horn.

The Meghalaya Chief Minister – Conrad K Sangma extended his best wishes to Garo Community on the auspicious occasion of ‘Wangala’.

“I extend warm wishes to the people of the State & especially to my Garo people on the occasion of Wangala- the Hundred Drums Festival. May the hundred drums beat off disharmony among our communities & bring each of us good health, peace & prosperity Happy Wangala!” – tweeted the CM.

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