W for Wangala

Wangala

Wangala or Hundred Drum Festival (also known as Hundred Drums, Wanna, Wanna Rongchuwa) is a harvest festival celebrated by the Garo tribes, of Meghalaya & Assam in North East India and Greater Mymensingh in Bangladesh. They express their gratitude to the God and Goddess, called Misi Saljong, also known as Pattigipa Ra'rongipa (Sun-God), for blessing the people with a rich harvest. It falls in between September to December, the precise date being fixed by the headman.

Wangala Celebration

Celebration:

Wangala starts with Rugala and Sasat Sowa are rituals being celebrated on the first day performed inside the house of the Nokma (chief) of the village. Dama Gogata is celebrated on the last day. The rituals are followed by merry making.

Rugala tradition

A nagara (a special drum used for calling the people on solemn occasions) is beaten. The social celebration of the Wangala Festival goes on in the villages for a number of days, with eating, drinking and merrymaking. The men and women dance in mirthful gaiety with the beating of drums, blowing of the buffalo horn trumpets and bamboo flutes. 

Horn Trumpets

The men wear dhotis, half-jackets and turbans with feathers. The women wear colourful dresses made of silk, blouses and a head-wrap with feathers. The highlight of the festival is when 300 dancers and 100 drums descend on the field in all their splendour in celebration.

Dance with Nagara

History of Wangala

History of Wangala does not date back very ancient. The first Hundred Drums Wangala Festival was organised on December 6 and 7, 1976 at Asanang, the Headquarters of Rongram Block, 18 km from Tura in India. 

Aditya Sinha

27.04.2016

That’s for today with U. Tomorrow it would be another festival with “V”
List of Other Festivals : Anant Chaturdashi, Akshay Tritiya ,Buddha Purnima, Basant Panchmi, Baisakhi,  Chhatha, Diwali/Deepawali, Easter, Festival of Breaking Fast - Eid ul Fitr, Ganesh Chaturthi, Holi, Id-ul-Zoha or Bakra-Eid , Janmashtmi , Karva Chauth, Lohri, Mahavir Jayanti, Nag Panchmi, Onam, Pongal , Queer Facts , Ramnavmi , Simhastha, Teej, Ullambana or Ghost Festival, Vijaydashmi , Wangala, Xmas, Yamdvitiya, Zagor

For my parallel second Challenge blog with A pls visit : Let the Soul Pour

For other A to Z challenge blogs visit : A to Z Challenge 2016