100 Drums Wangala Festival concludes on a colorful note

The three-day annual grand cultural fiesta of the Garos, the 100 Drums wangala Festival marking the end of harvest and the beginning of winter season concluded today with dancing troupes from ten villages from all over Garo Hills including Bangladesh exhibiting their dancing prowess to the beats of hundred ‘damas’ or drums at Asanang in West Garo Hills.

‘Wangala’ the Harvest festival of the Garos is a post harvest celebration performed by the Garos after the harvest is over. The festival is the culmination of the jhum cycle or slash and burn method of cultivation still being followed by the Garos in the footsteps of their forefathers.

The cycle begins when the Nokma of a Village allots a plot of land for the jhummias of the village for cultivation of crops where jhum crops like jhum paddy, maize, chilies, millets, tapioca, ginger etc are grown The plot is then sanctified by a ceremony called Mite Amua by the local Shaman to find out if the place is suitable for cultivation or not and sacrifice a chicken or a cock to the gods. The land is then cleared by the villagers by cutting the jungle with daos locally known as Atte.This is done during the months of December to January. The cleared land is kept as it is to dry up till February and March when the whole village will fix the date for burning their plots collectively.
 

The a·ba so·a or burning of the plot of land is then made by first making fire lines so that the fire does not spread to adjoining areas. After this comes the ceremony called agal maka where again the misi saljong the god of fertility is appeased by a ceremony where a cock is sacrificed to make sure that the crops will be blessed by the god of fertility and harvest will be good.

            Meghalaya Governor, Ranjit Shekar Mooshahary who attended the final day of the 100 drums wangala festival as the Chief Guest was accorded a grand traditional welcome and a twenty gun salute`. The Governor was accompanied by Principal Secretary M S Rao while Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma arrived as the Guest of Honor.

                  Speaking on the abundance of varied cultures in the country and especially in the Northeast Mooshahary said that the wangala drummers were greatly appreciated during the recent Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Acknowledging the participation of troupes from neighboring Bangladesh the Governor said that culture has no boundaries and that it was a matter of pride to be able to preserve our rich cultural and traditional beliefs and practices. 

He also stressed on the need to conserve and protect the traditional practices and pass them on to the younger generations. Mooshshary later released a book ‘Rites of Passage in the Garo Oral Literature’ written by Dr.S Alva B Sangma.
            Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma welcoming the Governor informed the gathering that the government can render better support for the festival in future. He said that allotment of funds for the 100 drums wangala festival improved from last year only and urged the organizers to strive to organize the festival in a grander scale so as to attract people and tourists from outside the state and the country.     
            The final day of the festival was marked by the ‘Sasat Soa’ and ‘Dani Doka’ rituals followed by the wangala dance competitions wherein participating troupes vied with each other to becomes this year’s best dancers and drummers. Earlier yesterday competitions on indigenous games and sports, various forms of oral recitations and chant and traditional musical instruments was held besides traditional folk song competition organised bt Meghalaya Aids Control Society. Later prizes were given out by the Governor and the Chief Minister to winners of various competitions held during the festival.