HORNBILL FESTIVAL

About:

• Venue: It is held at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama which is about 12 km from Kohima in Nagaland.
  
  
• Duration: It is annually held from 1 - 10 December.
  
  
• Background: The first festival was held in 2000.
  
  
• Organizers: It is organized by the State Tourism and Art & Culture Departments of the Government of Nagaland.
  
  
• Objective: To encourage inter-tribal interaction and to promote cultural heritage of Nagaland.
  
  
• Key highlights of festival:
  • Festival highlights include the traditional Naga Morungs exhibition and the sale of arts and crafts, food stalls, song and dance shows, indigenous games etc.
    
    
  • One of the major highlights of this festival is the Hornbill International Rock Festival where local and international rock bands perform.
    
    
  
  
  
• Nomenclature:
  • The festival is named after the bird “Indian hornbill”, which is displayed in the folklore of most of the state's tribes. There are 9 hornbill species in India of which Great Hornbill is the most famous.
    
    
  • It is also called the 'Festival of Festivals'.