Wangala Festival

Wangala is the post-harvest thanksgiving festival of the Garo people of Meghalaya, celebrated to mark the end of the agricultural season and to honour Misi Saljong (Pattigipa Ra'rongipa), the sun god of fertility and the giver of harvest.

The state-level edition — popularly called the Hundred Drums Festival — is hosted at Asanang in West Garo Hills, where dozens of Garo villages parade together in feathered headdresses to the synchronised beat of long oval drums (dama).

• The iconic Hundred Drums (Dama Gogata) procession
• Chief (Nokma) leading the Rugala thanksgiving ritual
• Garo men in feathered headdresses and warrior attire
• Folk songs honouring Misi Saljong, the sun god of fertility
• Indigenous Garo cuisine and rice-beer (chu) stalls

• Witness one of the largest synchronised drum performances in India
• Far less commercial than mainstream tourist festivals
• Direct interaction with Garo Nokmas and village elders
• Striking visual contrast of feathered headdresses against green hills

Wangala is a centuries-old Garo agricultural rite originally performed in individual villages once the year's crops were safely harvested. The Rugala thanksgiving ritual, performed by the village chief (Nokma), opens the festival by offering rice-beer and the first grains to Misi Saljong.

The collective Hundred Drums state edition at Asanang was inaugurated in 1976 to give the festival a unified public platform and to make it accessible to outside visitors. Individual villages continue to hold their own Wangala on their own dates through the post-harvest months.

• Annual dates: typically the second weekend of November (two days) at Asanang.
• Venue: Wangala Festival Ground, Asanang, ~18 km from Tura, West Garo Hills.
• Village-level Wangala celebrations occur on locally fixed dates from October through December.

The Garo are one of Meghalaya's three main matrilineal communities, alongside the Khasi and Jaintia. Property and clan name pass through the mother, and the youngest daughter (nokna) traditionally inherits the family home.

Garo men at Wangala wear feathered headdresses, dao swords and shell ornaments, while women wear the dakmanda wraparound skirt with red and black bands. The village chief is the Nokma, who leads ritual and ceremonial life.

Wangala is both a thanksgiving for the harvest and a social reset for Garo villages — debts of labour are reckoned, marriages are arranged and clan relationships are reaffirmed at the festival ground.

• The Hundred Drums (Dama Gogata) procession of Garo villages drumming in unison.
• Rugala thanksgiving ritual led by the Nokma at the start of the festival.
• Garo warrior attire — feathered headdresses, brass earrings, dao swords and shell necklaces.
• Folk songs invoking Misi Saljong and ancestral spirits.
• Indigenous Garo cuisine — wak pura (pork), nakam bitchi (dry-fish broth) and rice-beer (chu).
• Crafts bazaar selling Garo textiles, bamboo work and cane baskets.

• Air: Guwahati Airport (GAU) is the nearest functional airport, ~220 km from Tura.
• Rail: Guwahati Railway Station is the closest convenient railhead.
• Road: From Guwahati it is a 6–7 hour drive to Tura via NH-17; Asanang is a further 30-minute drive. Shared sumos and pre-booked cabs are the standard options.

Neither Inner Line Permits nor Protected Area Permits are required for Meghalaya. Foreign nationals should still register with the Foreigners Registration Officer in Shillong or Tura if staying for an extended period.

November in West Garo Hills is mild and dry, with daytime temperatures around 20–26 °C and cool evenings. Pack light cottons for the day, a light jacket for the evening and sturdy shoes for the festival ground.

Most visitors stay in Tura (Hotel Rikman Continental, Hotel Polo Tower and several mid-range guesthouses) and drive to Asanang each morning. A small number of homestays are available in villages around Asanang for travellers wanting a closer base.

• The drum procession is best photographed from a slightly elevated position at the edge of the field; arrive early to secure a spot.
• Headdress portraits are most striking against the green hills behind Asanang; soft late-afternoon light works well.
• Ask the Nokma's permission before photographing the Rugala ritual.

• Tura Peak (872 m) and the Tura Range — short hikes with views over the Brahmaputra plains.
• Nokrek National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and home to the wild citrus Citrus indica.
• Siju Cave, one of the longest cave systems in India.
• Balpakram National Park — the Garo "land of the spirits".

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

Wangala Festival is a living cultural event hosted by the Garo community. Please attend as a respectful guest, not a spectator.

• Day 1 — Arrive Guwahati and drive to Tura, capital of the Garo Hills (long road day; overnight Tura).
• Day 2 — Full day at the Wangala (Hundred Drums) Festival ground at Asanang: opening Rugala ritual, dama drum processions and Garo cuisine.
• Day 3 — Second day at the festival for the dance competitions and craft bazaar; evening folk performances in Tura.
• Day 4 — Drive into the Nokrek Biosphere Reserve via Daribokgre; forest walk to the Nokrek peak viewpoint and citrus gene sanctuary.
• Day 5 — Visit Pelga Falls and Garo villages around Tura, then transfer back to Guwahati.