Shillong—the annual 100 Drums Wangala festival kicks off to a great start

The 41st annual Hundred Drums Wangala festival witnessed a great start on Thursday, which is being celebrated at Asananggre village, situated at around 18 KM from the town of Tura. The three-day festival will culminate on Saturday during when 10 Wangala troupes will participate in beating 100 traditional drums as young girls dance alongside. The troupes will be competing with each other and will be vying for the top prize. Also, the troupes participating in the fest hail from the ‘Songsarek’ (animistic) villages where people still follow the traditional way of life.
The said annual harvest festival of the Garos has, over the years, earned vast popularity and has been witnessing huge footfall of tourists almost every year. Since its inception in December 1976, the Hundred Drums Wangala festival has created a lot of records in terms of welcoming tourists.
During this festival, one gets to witness the indigenous lifestyle of the Garos, and also try some of their authentic dishes. The fest was flagged off with an eco-marathon early in the morning, which will witness grand finale on Saturday. The finale will be graced by the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong as the chief guest.

As mentioned earlier, the first Hundred Drums Wangala Festival was celebrated on 6th and 7th December 1976, and since then the tradition of celebrating this fest continued. These days, dance troupes from Karbi Anglong and Bangladesh also come to take part in the fest.