26th edition of Hornbill Festival begins in Nagaland

• The 26th edition of the Hornbill Festival, Nagaland’s annual cultural and tourism event, began on December 1 at the Naga Heritage Village in Kisama.

• Nagaland and Manipur Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla, who attended the occasion as the chief host, formally declared the 10-day festival open.

• Thousands of people, including tourists from different parts of India and across the globe, attended the grand inaugural function.

Hornbill Festival

• Conceptualised in the year 2000, the Hornbill Festival is a 10-day annual tourism promotional event organised by the state government to showcase Nagaland’s rich and traditional cultural heritage in all its ethnicity, diversity and grandeur. 

• Dubbed as the “Festival of Festivals” this event provides a unique platform for visitors to witness not only the Naga cultural diversity converged at one venue but also the states of Northeast India as a means of cultural exchange, while adventure, sports, art, handicraft, fashion, music, literature, etc also come as part of the special package.

• During Hornbill, which takes place from December 1 to 10, the entire Naga culture is showcased in full splendour in the Kisama village of Kohima district. 

Nagaland

• Nagaland came into being on December 1, 1963 as the 16th state of the Indian Union. Kohima is the state capital. 

• With a geographical area of about 16,579 sq km, the state shares its  borders with Assam in the North and West, Myanmar and Arunachal Pradesh in the East and Manipur in the South. The topography of the state is nearly all hilly. 

• Many rivers cut through this mountainous terrain, the main ones being Dhansiri, Doyang, Dikhu, Milak, Tizu and Zungki.

• The state has a population of about 1.9 million. These people are composed of 17 different major tribes, each representing a unique cultural system. 

• With a population density of 120 persons per sqkm, generally one major or minor tribe enjoys predominance across each of the 16 administrative districts.