On the third day of the ongoing 10-day Hornbill Festival, a total of 12,830 people including hundreds of foreigners visited the festival venue at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama, near Kohima on Tuesday.
According to the day-wise statistics released by the directorate of tourism, Nagaland, out of the 12,830 visitors, 485 were foreigners, 3,600 were domestic and 8,745 were local tourists from Nagaland.
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On second day of the festival, a total of 12,848 people visited the festival including 548 foreigners, 3,346 domestic and 8,954 local tourists.
On the inaugural day of the festival, the total number of visitors was 45,142 including 407 foreigners, 4,954 domestic and 39,781 local tourists.
Also read: Nagaland: Cultural events mark second day of Hornbill Festival
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On Tuesday, the third day of the festival began with cultural extravaganza showcasing the rich traditional dances, songs and games of Naga tribes at Naga Heritage Village.
Tuesday’s cultural events called ‘Cultural connect’, presented by the art and culture department, were held in two sessions with Padma Bhusan and Grammy winner Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhat as special guest of the first session.
The tribes, who performed in the morning session, included Zeliang, Kuki, Yimchungru, Sumi, Rengma, Kachari, Pochury and Chakhesang. Ao, Phom, Konyak, Lotha, Khiamniungan, Garo, Chang and Angami performed in the afternoon session.
Also read: Nagaland: Hornbill Festival kicks off at Naga heritage village
The cultural show began with a performance by Zeliang cultural troupe called Herielim (hornbill dance) to pay tribute to the great hornbill bird, which is the state bird of Nagaland.
The dance attempts to capture the movements of flocks of excited hornbills feeding on fruits atop the trees. Kuki cultural troupe performed Savailhun, a dance and song performance to acknowledge hunter’s valour, bravery and feat.
Sangkusukadi (arrow shooting) was demonstrated by Yimchungru cultural troupe.
Archery is a sport played by the Yimchungru tribe and its main purpose is to identify the best marksmen. The game displays the skills of the marksman in hitting the targets accurately.
The Sangtam cultural troupe performed Rothsa Nyichi or war dance. This dance is performed when the warriors prepare for battle.
Helo He (game and song) is a folksong sung to encourage cultural traditions and values and was performed by Sumi cultural troupe.
While Rengma cultural troupe presented Ngada dance, a dance performed on the 5th day of the Ngada festival where dancers in their full traditional attire move around the village in joyous procession.
Baad Bheta Puja, a traditional ritual, was performed by Mech Kachari tribe.
The ritual is performed by setting up a gate-like structure made of bamboo which stands as an obstruction to all the evils and epidemics plaguing the community.
The ritual is performed in the presence of the community members who pray together for good harvest, health and peace.
Atutu Kukhu (trumpet blowing) presented by the Pochury troupe is a wind instrument carved out of a special variety of bamboo.
The instrument is blown on three occasions from men’s dormitories in every evening to ward off wild animals from fields and alert villagers of eminent attack by enemies in the village.
Chakhesang cultural troupe presented Thuno Kuhuo Lizo, a folk song sung by the men and dedicated to women who weave cloth. The men express their love and admiration for the women’s hard work in producing beautiful clothes.