Connections

TRIBAL COUNCIL

agaland, a mountainous state in the northeastern corner of India, sets the stage for one of the country’s most colorful extravaganzas—the Hornbill Festival. Held this year on December 1–10 in the Kisama Heritage Village outside Kohima, the annual event celebrates the traditions of Nagaland’s 16 tribal groups through cultural performances, folk arts, food fairs, native sports like archery and wrestling, and ritual ceremonies. Beyond the showground, festival-goers can visit the village’s morung (meeting houses) where the individual tribes showcase their own songs, dances, food, and handicrafts, which you can buy, like the embroidered shawls of the Angami. Fashion shows and traditional games are all part of the fun, though the popular chili-eating contest is for serious contenders only: the