Wangala Festival: 100 Drum Festival of Meghalaya

We celebrate more than 100 festivals in the Indian subcontinent. Each festivity has a unique history and cultural relevance. One of those is the Wangala festival of Meghalaya. Its grandeur attracts several visitors who thoroughly enjoy the celebrations on this day. Let’s explore the festival’s significance and other interesting facts!

Date of the Wangala Festival

Date: 8 November, 2024
Day: Friday

What is the Wangala Festival?

This is a 100-drum festival we celebrate in Meghalaya, India. On this day, we honour the Sun God, who brings good results in the harvest fields. People celebrate it in the first week of November. The local people wear traditional clothes to celebrate the festival.

This is one of the most colourful festivals in India. The Garo Tribe community primarily celebrates it for seven days. People sponsor the festival these days, and the best dance group wins money. We observe this day as a public holiday in Meghalaya.

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Who are the Garo Community?

The Garo people are tribes who have settled in the northeastern Indian states of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Bangladesh, and Tripura. They are one of the last remaining tribes in northeast India. Their language is part of the Sino-Tibetan languages. The Wangala festival is the main festivity they celebrate in November. Some other festivals these tribes celebrate are the Rongchu Gala, Ja Megapa, Sa Sat Ra Chaka, Mangona, etc.

History of the Festival

This is an important festivity celebrated by the Garo community. We dedicate this beautiful festival to Misi Saljong (Sun God). The community people worship the Saljong God (God of Fertility). We seek their blessings at the Wangala festival. This cultural festival imbibes a sense of harmony among the community tribes.

Folklore of the state tells about a dance performed by aquatic animals. They welcomed humans in their dance. Some say crabs revealed dance steps to the tribes. On this day, we arrange two dance events, Rugala and Kakkat. These are two different dance forms of Meghalaya. The Garo people celebrate this to showcase the cultural identity of the tribes and promote their rich cultural heritage from one generation to the other.

Celebrations of the Day

On this occasion, we enjoy the celebrations of the tribal community. They represent their festival wearing colourful traditional attire, and beating 100 drums creates a mesmerising environment.

The Wangala Festival Dance

Flutes and gongs catch the attention of all visitors, who learn about the significance of the rich tribal culture. Men and women follow a dance pattern, making parallel lines. We organise sports events, instrumental competitions, and arts and crafts exhibitions, among other things.

Local Crafts and Cuisines

The stalls consist of exquisite jewellery, handmade cone stuff, and textiles that depict the culture of Meghalaya to tourists and visitors. On this occasion, we can enjoy the delicacies of Bamboo shoot curry, Aamin ( made of meat, rice and bamboo shoots), Nakham bitchi ( dried fish soup), rice cakes, and other authentic dishes of the state. We make Pukhlein ( a sweet dish ) on this day.

Rituals of the Festival

These are the rituals of the festival:

The first day’s ritual is Rugala. A priest burns incense sticks and pours rice beer. We make a special rice paste to decorate the chiefs’ houses.
The celebrations of the second day make us rejoice. We dance, creating two parallel lines.
The boys and girls of the Garo community, who are called the Nomil and Pante, participate in the festival.
One hundred Pantes play the bamboo flute.
We worship the Sun God in this festival.

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Some Interesting Facts About Wangala Festival

Some interesting facts about this festival are:

It is celebrated by 30 % of the Garo tribes, the second largest tribes in Meghalaya.
People have celebrated this festival for a long time. It was first celebrated in 1967.
On this day, we play the Nagra drum, the chief instrument at the Wangala festival.
You can extend the celebrations for the festival by a week.
The Garo people have made the flutes from animal horns ( buffalo horns) and bamboo,
The Wangala dance is inspired by the Wagtail bird.
The old and young can participate in this joyful festival.
This festival marks the end of the harvest season.