Kohima: The 26th edition of Nagaland’s famed Hornbill Festival – the “Festival of Festivals” – drew to a grand close on December 10 at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
This year’s closing ceremony was graced by Special Guests, including Arunachal Pradesh Minister Pasang Dorjee Sona, the High Commissioner of the Republic of Malta to India, Reuben Gauci, and Ireland’s Deputy Ambassador to India, Raymond Mullen.
For the past nine days, visitors thronged into Kisama, witnessing the vibrant culture and traditions of the Naga tribes – from traditional sports and indigenous games to ethnic cuisines and handcrafted art, and many more.
(Photo courtesy: X@MDoNER_India)
The Hornbill Festival is a 10-day annual tourism promotional event organized by the Nagaland Government to showcase the state's rich and traditional cultural heritage. It provides a unique platform for visitors from all over the world to witness Naga cultural diversity at one venue and the states of Northeast India as a means of cultural exchange through folk songs, local cuisine, adventure, sports, art, handicrafts, literature, etc.
Dressed in traditional Angami attire, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the festival, calling it a powerful symbol of unity and a tradition that binds communities while embracing progress. (Photo courtesy: X@JM_Scindia)
The Hornbill Festival was first organised in 2000; since then, it has been celebrated in various districts of Nagaland from December 1 to 10 each year, which coincides with the Naga statehood day (December 1).
In the current edition of the festival, six countries, namely Austria, France, Ireland, Malta, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, were the partner countries, and Arunachal Pradesh was the state partner.
As a country partner, Ireland inaugurated Nagaland’s iconic festival at Kisama Village. (Photo courtesy: Embassy of Ireland, New Delhi)
The festival is named after the great Indian hornbill, known as the concave-casqued hornbill, the globally respected bird, which is displayed in folklore in most of the state’s tribes.
