Wangala (Garo)

Understand

Where Wangala (Garo) comes from

Wangala is the post-harvest festival of the Garo tribe of Meghalaya, celebrated annually in November to honour the sun god Misi Saljong (the supreme deity of the Garo religion, the 'giver of life') and to mark the harvest of the year's crops. The festival is the largest annual celebration of the Garo community and is one of the most important festivals of the Northeast. The dance is performed at the central festival-ground of the Garo Hills, with the men and women of the community dancing in coordinated formations to the central songs of the festival and to the rhythm of the Garo drums (the dama and the kram). The Wangala is recognised as the most distinctive regional tradition of the Garo community and is regularly performed at the cultural programmes of the state and at the national cultural pageants.

How it's practiced

Wangala is performed by men and women of the Garo community in a circle (or in two facing rows) at the central festival-ground of the Garo Hills. The men and women perform in coordinated steps to the song of the Wangala cycle and to the rhythm of the Garo drums (the dama and the kram). The dance is energetic, with the men and women performing the small jumps and the large arm-movements of the Garo tradition. Costume is the colourful Garo traditional dress — the egring (the women's head-dress of woven bamboo with feathers), the colourful shawl and the men's dhoti-kurta with the small regional cap. Performances are at the central Wangala festival and at the cultural programmes of the state.