Hundreds of Garo tribals gathered here recently to celebrate the harvest festival of Wangala with much fervour here.
The festival marks the end of a period of toil for farmers wanting a good output from their fields.
Dressed in their traditional fineries, farmers of the tribe gathered together to dance in honour of Saljong, the spirit of the Sun and fertility.
"We celebrate this Wangala festival each year, to commemorate the post harvest season and in this festival we mainly include fun, merriment and joy, to... and we invoke the blessing of the goddess (unclear) Saljong who is also the deity of the Garos. He is the Sun god, he is regarded is the deity of fulfillment and prosperity," said Sanjeev G. Momen, General Secretary (Administration) of Garos Union Nagaland zone.
The popular dance, known as the Wangala Dance or 100-drum Festival, is an intrinsic part of the post-harvest festival of the region.
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As per tradition, on the first day of the festival, the dancers offer their agriculture produce to the Sun God, while on the second day, known as Kakkat, it is a time for both dancing and merriment.
While the men play the drums during the festival, women perform the traditional dance, moving their feet to the rhythmic beat of drums.
Every year, the popular festival draws huge crowd, including tourists.
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