Ambitiously touted as the ‘festival of festivals’, Hornbill is yet to make a serious impact on the reveller map. Most of the non-Naga faces were the camera-toting, national and international media workers, militantly pursuing that perfect shot. One old English lady was laboriously coaxing a Reebok-clad, spear-wielding boy to let out a war cry when I arrived at the venue. She let out a series of high pitched shrieks subtly hinting at her dream shot to the daftly smiling youth and his clansmen. After what it seemed like they had their fill of fun, the youngster stood up and said in perfect English, “But we don’t have any more wars, madam.” Looking a bit dejected, the lady began to walk away, muttering a hurried “thanks anyway” when the lad motioned her to wait: the entire tribe stood up, clanged their feather-adorned spears, tilted back their headgears decked with boar teeth and together let out a series of bloodcurdling war cries. Not wanting to miss this great photo-op, almost every camera in the venue had surrounded the group in seconds and flashes went off more furious than a Pirelli calendar launch.
The Hornbill festival, in addition to its frenzied energy of motion, twirling colours and vibrant notes, holds several layers of relevance in the life of the modern Naga. With over half the population depending on agriculture, all the festivals are related to harvest cycles. Each of the 16 tribes has its own festivals through most part of the year, but they all come together for Hornbill. Though not easily discernible to the outside eye, each tribe member is distinguished in their own way from other tribes – could be in the coloured goat hair that ornament the spear or their daos (traditional knives), bamboo headgears plumed with wild orchids and hornbill feathers and wild animal teeth. There are serious attempts to portray the gala as a show of oneness to the outside world – a display of solidarity among clans that have a long history of being at loggerheads with each other. Generous gifts and kind words are exchanged, intertribal interactions are greatly facilitated with harmony, peace and ultimately progress as long cherished goals.