Curtains came down on the ten-day long Hornbill Festival of Nagaland, also coined as the Festival of Festivals, with a glittering closing ceremony as thousands of visitors, both domestic and foreign, matched steps with the unity dance of 16 Naga tribes performed in background.
Nagaland Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, C Apok Jamir said the main purpose of the festival is to showcase the rich Naga culture in all its splendour, wonder and diversity.
A total of 2,43,111 tourists, which include 114 foreigners, 19969 domestic and 2,22,000 local visitors witnessed the coming together of the 16 major tribes of Nagaland displaying the unity through the diverse culture.
Over all there had been a rise of 70,709 visitors to the Hornbill festival.
Jamir said that Hornbill festival was planned in such a way that it was held at one particular venue at Kisama from December 1 to 10 every year for the convenience of the tourists from all over the world, domestic tourists from other parts, local visitors.
The other purpose of the Hornbill Festival is to earn revenue through tourism for the state and also to foster camaraderie and better understanding between people, he said.
As the name suggests Hornbill festival is also organised to encourage the survival of Hornbill birds and also to bring back other endangered, threatened and rare birds and animals back to the state and thereby bringing ecological balance in the long run.
“This festival is not only about celebration and showcasing of the rich culture but this we would like to campaign for a greener plant, to create awareness of the cause of climate change, environment protection,” he said adding that Hornbill festival venue at Kisama was declared as “No Plastic Zone” this year.
“This Hornbill festival has been a great success because of the overwhelming visit of tourists, domestic and foreign without which Hornbill festival would have been meaningless,” Jamir said.
He thanked all the departments, Naga hohos (bodies), neighboring villages, villagers of Phesama and Kigwema, all entrepreneurs and artists who have put up stalls.