Kohima: The latest edition of the annual Hornbill Festival in Nagaland is set for a triumphant return from December 1-10 at the iconic Naga Heritage Village at Kisama after a virtual celebration in 2020, abrupt cancellation in 2021, and a boycott by seven Eastern Naga tribes in 2022.
The mega festival, locally known as the “Festival of festivals” was virtually celebrated in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, the festival was called off after 13 civilians were killed in Mon district by security forces on December 4. Last year, the Eastern Nagaland People’s Organisation (ENPO) abstained from the festival due to hardships faced by its cultural troupes.
Addressing a press conference at the heritage village in Kohima on Friday, Nagaland tourism minister Temjen Imna Along informed that a final consultative meeting with the stakeholders and government departments was held to review preparations for the 24th edition of the Hornbill Festival.
He said that chief minister Neiphiu Rio who reviewed the ongoing works shared contentment with the progress of the preparations. Saying that the festival is set to return with full fervor, Along informed that the latest edition of the festival will be a prelude to the silver Jubilee celebration of the festival next year.
The minister also thanked the Eastern Nagas for coming forward in exhibiting the spirit of Naga unity despite its earlier decision to abstain from the festival again.
He promised that the upcoming mega festival will be an experience to witness the traditional, cultural and contemporary Naga way of life.
The festival, he said, will witness a record-number of foreign ambassadors during the 10-day festival. When asked how Nagaland is benefiting by bringing in huge foreign diplomat-delegation to the state, Along said that the sense of alienation of the people in a way is having a breakthrough through the festival.
He said that the festival has exposed Nagaland to the world, making a mark on the global map. Interactions during the festival with foreign delegates, he said, has also opened doors for the government to partner with foreign countries in various sectors.
Along observed that the Hornbill Festival has been making it easier for the global community to understand the Naga people and their way of life.
Further, Along shared the government’s vision of making the Kisama Heritage village a “truly heritage village”. When asked how it plans to achieve it, Along said that the established village which houses the Naga Morungs is not just about the food or drinks. As these morungs one defines the uniqueness of each tribal community, he said that participants will be encouraged to introduce the tribes to visitors through informative reading materials.
This year, the state is collaborating with the United States of America as the country partner of the Hornbill Festival and Colombia as the country partner of the Hornbill Music Festival. Over 800 international, national and local musicians are expected to share a stage at the mega festival.
A tourism official informed that for the first time, a Mithun show, and local pig exhibition will be showcased to the visitors at the heritage village.
As per the official, lats year’s expenditure by the tourism department was estimated at Rs 5.5 crore while a report of the festival by a research team of the Kohima science college revealed a revenue generation of around Rs 109 crore from the festival across all districts. To this, minister Along informed that a proper analysis by the department will be made for the current year.
It was assured that the government will work out ways to monitor potential price hike of items during the festival.
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While about 1,40,200 footfall including local, domestic and international tourists were recorded last year, the government is hopeful that the footfall will increase this year.
Meanwhile, Nagaland chief minister Neiphiu Rio inaugurated the Food and Music Festival at Imagiland, Kisama on Friday in the runup to the Hornbill Festival. The two-day event will include live music concerts, food stalls, kid’s carnival, art installations, book corner, and many more. The event is being organized by the ministry of tourism and Nagaland Tourism.
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