Wangala Drum Festival Garo Hills Meghalaya Harvest Celebration

Wangala is the harvest thanksgiving festival of the Garo people of Meghalaya and Assam, celebrated every November to thank the sun god Saljong for the rice harvest. The festival is most spectacular in Tura, the administrative centre of West Garo Hills, where a mass celebration involves hundreds of dancers in traditional warrior dress performing the Doksanggipa (100 drums) ceremony. Garo men wear red and black woven loin cloths, elaborate headdresses with hornbill feathers and elephant tusk ornaments, and carry dao swords and shields, while women wear Garo traditional dakmanda and ring skirts. The continuous drum beat from large double-headed dugga drums sets the rhythm for the procession and communal dance. Wangala is also an occasion for display of traditional Garo textile wealth: the wearing of specific woven garments signals marital status, clan membership, and social prestige. The Wangala Festival at Tura draws thousands of visitors annually and has become one of northeast India most-photographed cultural events. Meghalaya tourism uses Wangala as a cultural brand for attracting international visitors. Traditional Garo weavers produce ceremonial textiles specifically for Wangala season, supporting the handloom economy of Garo Hills.