Tura, Nov 9: The beat of drums or “dama” as it is called in Garo, reverberated in the air from Thursday as the annual Hundred Drums Wangala Festival got underway at Asananggre, 18 kms from Tura, the district headquarters of West Garo Hills. The post harvest festival will concluded November 10.
Meghalaya Governor RSMooshahary is schedule to be the chief guest at the final day of the Wangala festival on Saturday.
It may be noted that the Wangala is the most significant post harvest festival of the Garos during which rituals are performed and offerings given to Misi Saljong also known as ‘Patigipa Ra’rongipa’ (The great giver) for having blessed the people with a rich harvest.
Ten Wangala troupes from various parts of Garo Hills which make up the Hundred Drums Wangala dancers, as well as a team from Bangladesh, arrived here Thursday forenoon dressed in their traditional finery and carrying their drums, gongs, horns and other traditional instruments to participate in the three-day festival. During the afternoon they converged at the venue and rehearsed to synchronise their drum beats and dance steps for the grand finale.
The Hundred Drums Wangala Festival Organizing Committee makes all the preparation for the three days festival.
The Wangala festival 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”.
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.- : Courtesy hundreddrumswangalafestival.blogspot.com/
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