Annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival at Asanang from Nov 8-10

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.