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Nagaland Hornbill Festival
December 2016
If you love venture and exploring new places, the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland (Northeast India,
bordering Myanmar) offers you the perfect chance to relinquish your thirst. The week long festival
is named after the hornbill, the bird that features in local tribal folklore. The beauty and rich culture
of this area has largely remained unexplored. Cut off for years from the rest of the world due to
political problems, the area has only recently opened to visitors. The Festival gives you the
opportunity to explore the tribal culture in Nagaland, something very distinct from the rest of India.
There are 16 main tribes and many sub-tribes here, with each tribe having their own way of
expressing their lifestyle through tradition and culture, with performing arts being an integral part.
The Festival is seen as an opportunity to unite all the tribes, in enjoying the colourful performances,
crafts, sports, food fairs, games and religious ceremonies. Day and night, for a week, the Festival
brims with music, vibrant dances, games, and colourful ceremonial attire (decorated spears, bead
and ivory armlets, and elaborate headgear (with flowers, boar's teeth and hornbill feathers). Each
tribal community wears their own style of colourful attire that distinguishes them from the others.
Their folk dances and songs portray the heroic deeds of their ancestors, praising ancient warriors
and depicting tragic love stories.
Itinerary:
Day 1 (01.12.2016): Arrival in Dimapur Airport (via Kolkatta)
Arrive at the airport and drive to Mima Village guest house (approximately 2.5 hours drive). Later
take a short guided tour of the village and meet one of the village elders of the Angami Tribe; learn
about the history of the Village, listen to folk tales and take part in cultural and traditional sports
activities.
Day 2 (02.12.2016): Hornbill Festival
Spend the day at Kisama Village where the Festival takes place. Visit the 'morungs' of each of the
tribes, where one can study their architecture, dress, food and drink. A morung is a dormitory
where unmarried boys of the village are required to stay together, and where the elders of the
village teach them the lessons of life.
The Hornbill Festival has a central area where there are traditional songs and dances performed by
each tribe. It also has a central shopping area where you can see and buy traditional arts and
crafts made by people from all over the state. There is also a Naga Chef competition each year,
where the top four finalists are given a stall each where they run a kitchen for guests to sample and
rate their food; the winner of the competition is decided based on the billings and ratings at each
stall over the days of the festival.
Day 3 (03.12.2016): Hornbill Festival
Spend another day at the Festival and in the evening drive to Kohima to get a feel of the Hornbill
Festival at the night bazaar.
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Day 4 (04.12.2016): Khonoma Village
Drive to Kohima town and visit the Cathedral and World War II Cemetery. Then visit the Khonoma
Village where we will spend the night. Khonoma is a Angami Tribe warrior village that is known for
its battles with the English and for its leading role in the Naga freedom struggle. In recent years
Khonoma has become famous for its community based conservation projects and eco friendly
tourism initiatives.
Day 5: (05.12.2016): Hornbill Festival
Today we plan to enjoy the last day of the Hornbill Festival and visit the Hornbill rock concert at
Kohima.
Day 6 (06.12.2016): Dzukou Valley
Trek to the Dzukou Valley, a charming valley known for its summer flowers and wild herbs which
sprout along the stream banks.
Day 7 (07.12.2016): Dimapur
Depart to Dimapur Airport for your departure.
Optional: This trip can be extended by a week to include:
• Visit to the famous Kaziranga National Park (a UNESCO World Heritage Site, home to more
than 75% of the World’s total population of Indian One Horned Rhino, Asiatic Water
Buffalos, Elephants, Swamp Deer, Barking Deer, Hog Deer, Tigers and over 400 bird
species)
• Assam: tea plantations, Sivasagar (Siva Temple)
• Ride on the Brahmaputra River to Manjuli Island (the largest inhabited river island in the
world).
ETOSE: People & Places | Gartenstrasse 14 | 72631 Aichtal-Aich | Germany | eMail: [email protected] | Web: www.etose-tourism.org