The Hornbill Festival is Nagaland’s biggest annual festival. Every year, the state celebrates December 1 to December 10 at the Hornbill Festival which is hosted by Kohima’s state tourism, art and culture department. The festival takes place in Kisama, a village near state capital Kohima. The purpose of the Hornbill Festival is to promote inter-tribal cooperation and is meant to conserve, maintain and revitalize Naga heritage, distinctiveness and richness.

In Nagaland, the festival is known as the “Festival of Festivals”. The celebration is named after the Hornbill bird, a bird local to Nagaland is revered in its culture. The festival is a celebration of the bird known for its vigilance and grandeur. The social and cultural life of Nagaland comes to life during the festival which features tribal dances, songs and folklore.   

The festival is observed through folk dances, traditional music, local cuisine, handicraft and art workshops, among other things. Sponsored by the Union government, the state tourism, art and culture department organises the fest.

The twenty-first edition of the Hornbill Festival had to be organised virtually on account of the curbs imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival was also cut down from 10 days to five. The first day of the festival, December 1, marks the date of Nagaland attaining statehood.

This year, however, the Hornbill Festival has been called off in protest against the death of 14 civilians during a botched counter-insurgency operation. Protests over the deaths have erupted all across the state and several tribes of eastern Nagaland and other parts are virtually on strike.

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The Hornbill Festival is also Nagaland’s biggest tourism extravaganza. It forms a major source of tourism revenue for the state and allows the rest of India and the world to understand Naga culture and heritage.