Annual Hundred
Drums Wangala Festival at Asanang from Nov 8-10
The Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival of the
Garos is being held this year from November 8 to 10, next at Asanang, 18 kms
from Tura the headquarters of West Garo Hills district. The Governor of
Meghalaya, Mr. Ranjan Shekhar Mooshahary will participate as the chief guest on
the final day of the festival.
Preparations are
on in full swing for the three-day cultural extravaganza with the Hundred Drums
Wangala Festival Organizing Committee meeting every Friday since the last
couple of months to chalk out the details.
It may be
mentioned that the Wangala is the most significant post-harvest festival of the
Garos. It is a thanksgiving ceremony to the God "Misi Saljong", also known as "Pattigipa Ra'rongipa" (the Great Giver) for having blessed the
human beings with rich harvest of the season. Offerings of rice beer are made
to her and incense is burnt in her honour during the Rugala and the Sa’sat So’a
ceremonies prior to the weeklong Wangala festival.
Although the
Wangala has been traditionally practiced from times immemorial, however with
the advent of Christianity and modern culture, this cultural identity of the
Garos was seen to be fast disappearing. Therefore, in order to protect,
preserve and promote the festival, a group of like-minded thinkers came
together and decided to organize the Wangala Festival on modern lines, in which
a group of 30 dancers with 10 drums would form a troupe or a contingent; and 10
such groups with 300 dancers making up the “Hundred Drums Wangala Festival”.
Thus, the first Hundred Drums Wangala Festival was organized at Asanang, the
headquarters of Rongram C&RD Block, on December 6 and 7, 1976. Since then,
the festival is being organized every year in the second week of November and
has grown over the years under the patronage of Meghalaya Government and
nurtured by the Hundred Drums Wangala Festival Organisation.
This year the
ten participating Wangala troupes are: one each from Tura (West Garo Hills), Williamnagar
(East Garo Hills, Baghmara (South Garo Hills), Ampati (South West Garo Hills),
Resubelpara (North Garo Hills),
Dadenggre civil sub-division, Gonda-Chibokgre – the winners of last
year’s Wangala dance competition, Dingnapara (Selsella Block), Buripara
(Rongram Block) and Gondenggre (Rongram Block). As in being done over the
years, this year too, a troupe from Bangladesh will come and participate in the
Wangala Festival.
The troupes will
arrive at the venue on the first day of the festival and the ritual called the Mese Cha’a will take place to mark the
start of the festival. On the second day, that is on November 9, once can
witness the indigenous games and sports, followed by the Rugala ceremony in the afternoon, while the last day of the festival
will witness the Sa’sat So’a and Dani Doka rituals to be performed by the
Nokma of Gonda Chibokgre village, followed by the Wangala dance competition of
the ten participating troupes, after which the main Hundred Drums Wangala dance
will be performed bringing to a close the three-day festivities.
A three-day
district-level Handloom & Handicrafts Exhibition is also being organized by
the District Commerce & Industries Centre, Tura, adjacent to the Wangala
venue at Asanang, coinciding with the Wangala Festival.
