Over 86,000 people attended Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival in its first five days in Naga Heritage Village Kisama to take in the magnificent silver jubilee edition. An annual tourism promotional event of the state government began on December 1 and attracted 86,640 visitors, including 1,715 foreigners, 22,546 domestic tourists, and 62,379 locals, according to Joint Director of Tourism Toka E. Tuccumi. The 10-day festival is also known as the festival of festivals.
During the day, Sikkim, one of the participating states for this edition, also displayed their cultural artifacts. The visitors were confused, though, by the Naga tug-of-war match between the Naga tribes, which was organized by the Department of Youth Resources and Sports and featured competitors dressed in traditional garb. Along with indigenous activities and cultural performances, tourists take in the nightly Hornbill International Music Festival, which is organized by the Task Force for Music and Arts. Every day starting at 5 p.m., a variety of local, national, and international bands and musicians perform on the main avenue.
