Wangala Festival: Date, History and Significance

Wangala Festival, also known as the festival of ‘100 drums’, is a harvest festival celebrated by the ‘Garo Tribes’ in Meghalaya. During this festival, people offer various sacrifices to the deity Sanljong or the Sun God.

The Wangala Festival is usually celebrated for two days but sometimes it can also go up to a week. The celebrations include serving local rice beer to the Sun God, dressing up in colourful traditional attires and dancing to the beat of 100 drums. The dance form has a popular pattern where two parallel lines are formed, one of the women, and the other of the men. With the beating of the drums, the lines move in rhythm.

Wangala Festival 2022 Date

The festival of 100 drums is all set to take place for three days this year starting November 10. The three-day post-harvest festival is organised by the Hundred Drums Wangala Festival Committee.

History of Wangala Festival

Wangala Festival is the winter harvesting festival for the people of the Garo Tribe in Meghalaya. During this festival, people pay their respects to ‘Misi Sanljong’ or ‘Pattigipa Ra’rongipa’ or the Sun God!

The popular belief is that the dance form performed during the Wangala festival was initially performed by water creatures. Although humans were invited to the festival, they had no idea about the dance form. It is believed that the crabs taught humans how to perform this particular dance. Hence, the dance movements look like it is derived from carb movements.

The first Wangala dance performance was held on December 6 and December 7, 1976, at Asanang, which is about 18 kms from Tura. Since then, the festival of 100 drums has been celebrated every year.

Significance of Wangala Festival

The celebrations of the Wangala Festival honour the Sun God and also mark the end of the long harvest season. It also signifies the onset of the winter season. For the Garo tribe in Meghalaya, the festival of 100 drums is also a way of preserving and promoting their cultural identity. They also showcase their culture and traditions to the rest of the world during the Wangala Festival.

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