Sekrenyi Festival

Sekrenyi is the festival of purification of the Angami Naga community, celebrated for ten days every February. The festival follows a fixed ritual sequence beginning with the Kizie purification on the first day and closing with reconciliation and feasting in the second week.

The principal celebrations take place in Angami villages around Kohima — Jakhama, Viswema, Kigwema, Khonoma and Kohima Village itself — and quietly draw a smaller, more committed group of cultural visitors than the December Hornbill crowds.

• Traditional Angami purification rituals (Kizie)
• Warrior dances performed in full Angami regalia
• Folk songs sung in call-and-response form
• Community feasts (Thekra Hie) of pork and rice-beer
• Indigenous Angami games and wrestling matches
• Men in red-and-black shawls and women in mechala skirts

• Experience authentic Angami traditions away from Hornbill's crowds
• Excellent cultural photography opportunities at Kohima villages
• Direct interaction with Angami host families in Jakhama and Viswema
• Witness ancient purification ceremonies still observed in full
• Easily combined with a visit to Kohima's WWII heritage sites

Sekrenyi (also spelled Sukrenye or Phousanyi) has been observed by the Angami for generations as their principal community festival, marking the start of the new year and the cleansing of the previous year's misdeeds and ill-health. It is recognised as the Angami's most important festival and is gazetted in the Government of Nagaland's official festival calendar.

• Annual dates: ten days starting on 25 February (fixed).
• Main venues: Angami villages around Kohima — Jakhama, Viswema, Kigwema, Khonoma and Kohima Village.

The Angami are concentrated in and around Kohima and are one of the larger Naga tribes. They were historically organised into khel (territorial divisions) within each village and are known for stone-walled terrace agriculture, especially the famous terraces of Khonoma and Viswema.

Angami men wear the red-and-black tsükhu shawl with white bands; women wear the mechala skirt with a shawl draped over the shoulder. Khonoma is also notable as India's first declared green village.

Sekrenyi is a ritual reset — a cleansing of the body, the household and the community before the agricultural year begins. The Kizie purification rite, performed by the male head of each household at the village water source, is the festival's spiritual anchor.

• Kizie purification ritual at the village water source.
• Warrior dances performed in full Angami regalia.
• Thekra Hie — community feasting and rice-beer (zutho) shared across households.
• Folk songs sung in call-and-response form by men and women.
• Indigenous Angami games and wrestling matches.
• Visits to the stone-walled terraces of Khonoma and Viswema.

• Air: Dimapur Airport (DMU), ~75 km from Kohima, is the nearest airport.
• Rail: Dimapur Railway Station is the main railhead.
• Road: From Dimapur it is a 3–4 hour drive to Kohima via NH-29. Angami villages such as Jakhama, Viswema and Khonoma are 15–25 km from Kohima.

Indian nationals require an Inner Line Permit (ILP) for Nagaland; apply through the Nagaland ILP portal.

Foreign nationals do not require a PAP for most of Nagaland but must register with the FRO on arrival.

February in Kohima is cold and dry, with daytime temperatures around 12–18 °C and nights dropping to 2–6 °C. Mornings can be foggy. Pack warm layers, a windproof jacket and sturdy shoes.

Kohima offers hotels and homestays across price points. Angami village homestays in Khonoma, Jakhama and Viswema provide the closest base to the festival. Book through a Nagaland tour operator; demand is lower than Hornbill but properties are small.

• The Kizie ritual at dawn at the village water source is the most ritually significant moment — always ask the household head before photographing.
• Angami textile portraits photograph beautifully in the soft February haze; aim for early morning.
• Carry warm gear for early-morning shoots; fingers stiffen quickly in Kohima's February cold.

• Khonoma village — India's first declared green village.
• Kohima War Cemetery.
• Dzukou Valley trek (challenging in February — check weather).
• Japfu Peak and the rhododendron forests.

A curated selection of photographs from Sekrenyi Festival. All images are placeholders until license-cleared festival-specific photographs are sourced — see our photography policy.

Sekrenyi Festival is a living cultural event hosted by the Angami Naga community. Please attend as a respectful guest, not a spectator.

• Day 1 — Arrive Dimapur, transfer to Kohima; evening at the Kohima War Cemetery.
• Day 2 — Full day at Kigwema or Jakhama for the Sekrenyi opening: Kizie purification ritual and Thekra Hie choral singing.
• Day 3 — Drive to Khonoma — village walk, the Tragopan Sanctuary edge and a meal with an Angami host.
• Day 4 — Return via Kisama (Naga Heritage Village) for the Angami morung and the surrounding Angami villages.
• Day 5 — Day hike toward Dzukou Valley from Viswema; transfer to Dimapur for departure.