The Wangala Festival

I had the pleasure of attending the Wangala Festival in 2019. It was held in the small town of Asanang near Tura, where the main celebration takes place. Also known as the Hundred Drum Festival, Wangala is the primary festival of the Garo tribes of Meghalaya and Bangladesh.

Wangala Festival

The Wangala festival is typically celebrated in November or late October and features various rituals and performances that resemble Thanksgiving. During the festival, everyone shows up in their traditional Garo attire, with the women wearing the dakmanda and the men dressed in their colourful turbans and waistcloths. The main highlight of Wangala is the drum-beating ceremony, where a hundred drums are played at one time, creating a rhythmic symphony that it reverberates across the region, signifying the unity and solidarity of the Garo tribes.

The festival also features various dance performances, showcasing the cultural and artistic heritage of the Garo people. Additionally, the festival is an occasion for feasting, with locals serving delicious dishes like pakhnam (rice porridge) and chak (a fermented rice dish).

Highlights of the Wangala Festival

1. The celebration of the rice harvest

Wangala is all about celebrating the rice harvest, which is the lifeline of the Garo community. Their love for rice is palpable — they make various food and rice beer from it. As a part of the festival, people dress up in traditional clothes, dance to the beats of the drums, and offer prayers to their gods for a bountiful harvest.

However, with the changing climate and social structure, the number of days Wangala is celebrated for has reduced from a month to seven days. The rice harvest has become less due to changing weather patterns, but this rice-dependent tribe never forgets to thank their gods for the plentiful bounty and prays for a good batch of crop during the next season.

During my 2019 visit, I personally observed the Garos' deep connection with rice and their land. The festival had a sense of gratitude and community as people came together to celebrate the harvest, dance, and feast on traditional delicacies made from rice. The community, just like their Khasi counterparts, worships nature and values the presence in form of the festivals, songs and dance.

2. The hundred drum dance

The hundred drum dance is the highlight of the Wangala Festival. This dance is participated in by various Garo villages around Tura, each group representing their village by the colour of their dress. The dancers, both men and women, perform the dance in a circle, while the drummers play the rhythmic beats of drums that start slow and become louder as the days go by. The dance is symbolic of the harvesting season, with the movements of the dancers mimicking the swaying of the rice plants.

In some villages, the dance is also performed around a sacred pillar. The structure symbolises the god of the Garo people, Misi Saljong, who is believed to bless the people with a bountiful harvest. The pillar is adorned with colourful flowers and silk cloth, and the dance is performed in a circular formation around the pillar. The dancers move in perfect unison, stepping forward and back while waving their hands in the air.

At the main festival venue of Asanang, the dance is also a competition. The winning group is decided on the last day of the festival, and the victors are awarded a prize.

3. The traditional shamanic rituals

The Wangala Festival of the Garo tribe is not just a celebration of the rice harvest, but also a time to honor their ancestral spirits and deities. The festival begins with traditional shamanic rituals performed by the village shamans, also known as nokma, who offer pumpkins and other fresh crops to the deity. The shaman blesses the festival venue and prepares the rice beer, which is then shared among all festival visitors and guests.

One of the most important aspects of the shamanic rituals during Wangala is the prediction of the rainfall and harvest. The shaman observes the direction of the smoke rising from the ceremonial fire, and based on its movement, predicts the amount of rainfall and harvest that the community can expect in the coming year.

Once the prayers are over, the dancers start performing, and the beats of the drums start getting louder as the days go by.

4. The food and rice beer

Garos, being a rice-dependent tribe, love to indulge in a wide range of rice dishes. During the Wangala Festival, their love for food is taken to a whole new level. The festival is an occasion for the Garos to showcase their culinary skills and present their guests with some mouth-watering delicacies.

The food at the festival includes everything from beef, pork, fish to all the leafy vegetables. Expect a lot of fritters made with different kinds of vegetables and meats. One of the highlights of the festival is the rice beer, which is made on the festival ground. The Garos take pride in their rice beer, and it is a must-try for any visitor to the festival. Although it is potent, it is not as smelly as the handia of Jharkhand.