Garos prefer to identify themselves as Achchik Mande or hill people. Their most important festival is Wangala. They call this festival - Wanna, Wanagala, Wanma Rangchua and Drua Wanbala. During this time, various preparations for the Wangala festival take place in Garo villages.
Also known as the festival of 100 drums, Wangala festival celebrates the Sun god with dances, rhythms and colorful costumes that fill the Garo hills of northeast India with joy and energy. Everyone gets busy rehearsing dances and songs. The tune of the enchanting song Wangala Wangala Achikrang Wangala...Wangala Wanagala...Middina Rugala - is heard in the villages.
The Wangala festival is usually held at the end of the monsoon season and before winter, when the new crops are harvested. The word 'wana' means offerings to the gods and goddesses and the word 'gala' means offering.
Garos believe that the sun, under the command of the god Missi Saljang, causes the germination and maturation of seedlings from seeds. Therefore, gratitude is expressed to him in this festival before harvesting the harvest. It is also called the festival of Navanna or thanksgiving.
According to the rules of this festival, the rice in the middle of the Jumkhet is harvested last. The Garos call that place the place of A'sirka. The rice is harvested and incense is offered to the gods. Then the rice is cut from the roots, tied in bundles and brought home.
At this time, everyone shouts with joy. They believe that with the last harvest, they also bring the gods home. They believe that the gods and goddesses do not stay on earth forever. During Wangala, they bless the devotees and go back to their homes.
After bringing the rice home to Wangala, the Garos first sacrifice a rooster in the name of Missi Saljang or the god Sun. Because the rice was planted in that place in the name of the god Sun. Then they make wine with the new rice. After this ceremony, the Sanni Nakma (village head) calls everyone to a meeting and fixes the date of the Wangala festival.
According to the number of days, the Garos of the plains tie a knot with a rope, while the Garos of the hills tie it with a type of tree bark called Omak Bigil, and tie it to the roof of the house. After a day, one knot is untied.
Before Wangala, the Garos are forbidden from tearing and using banana leaves. Before the festival day approaches, the villages are in a frenzy of making liquor. Everyone repairs and cleans the places of worship, houses and barns.
Cows, pigs, goats, and roosters are bought from the market for the festival. New clothes and ornaments are bought for the people of the house. Feathers of roosters and Dukua birds are collected for use in the festival.
The day before the festival is very sacred for the Garos. On that day, no one goes out of the village. No work is done. In the evening, the men and women of the hill Garos gather in the Nakpanth and feast on wine and rice. Then, they play musical instruments, dance and sing and rehearse the Wangala.
The first day of Wangala is mainly a festival of offerings. New rice, fruits, vegetables, and animals and birds are offered to the goddess of harvest and store, Rakshima, the goddess of the home, the god Surya, etc., along with wine. On this day, the Garos sacrifice cows and pigs for the festival and distribute the meat among everyone.
The Nakma (village head) catches two crabs from a nearby spring or canal or river and puts them in a pot. Before noon that day, he goes to Jumkhet with a red or white rooster. There, at the A'sirka place, he offers it to Missi Saljang or the god Sun and worships it. Then, returning home, he arranges the items for the Wangala ceremony.
What are the Rituals of Wangala Festival?
In the middle of the room, a few banana leaves are arranged in the shape of the English letter U or in a square shape, and new rice, ginger, various types of kachu, pumpkin, salanga, te, chinara, etc. are cut into two halves and arranged.
Agricultural equipment used in jumkhet - da, axe, spade, hoe, etc. - are placed next to them, covered with banana leaves, and a few handfuls of rice are placed on top.
Then all the musical instruments are placed in a row on one side—dama, dadik, kram, rang, nagra, adil, kakwa, kha'ar, etc. A rice matka or pot is tied with white thread like a garland, and three cotton balls are tied to the thread.
Then it is completely filled with rice and a chicken egg and a bunch of rooster feathers are placed in it. When the people of the village gather at the house of the nakma, the Wangala ceremony begins after noon.
How is the Wangala Festival Celebrated?
The day before the festival, no one goes out of the village. No work is done. In the evening, the Garos in the hills gather together, men and women, to feast on wine and rice. Then, playing musical instruments, they dance and sing and rehearse the Wangala.
The first day of Wangala is basically a festival of sacrifice. New rice, fruits, vegetables, animals and birds, along with wine, are offered to the mother of crops and the goddess of wealth, Rakshime, the household deity, the god Surya, etc.
The priest himself or the priest begins the ceremony by wearing a red or white turban and a tuft of rooster feathers on his head. First, he worships the goddess of wealth and the mother of grains, Rakshim, in a rice pot or container, reciting mantras.
Then he slaughters a chicken, smears its blood on three balls tied with a thread garland, sprinkles the blood on the pot or container, and applies the chicken's hair to the wet blood. At this time, new wine is offered to the goddess of wealth. The Garos call this 'rangdik' or 'mitde'.
After the Bhandara Devi, wine and drinks are offered to the household deity after reciting mantras. Entering the house, the nakma or priest sacrifices a rooster to the household deity, recites mantras, and applies the rooster's blood and feathers to the front fence of the house.
Similarly, a rooster is sacrificed to the pole in the middle of the house and its blood and feathers are applied. In this way, blood and feathers are applied to musical instruments as well. Wine is also offered by reciting mantras on agricultural implements covered with banana leaves. After this, the main worship and worship of the festival begins.
The priest, after reciting a mantra, sprinkles the newly harvested rice or cooked rice all over the house, placing the rice, vegetables, fruits, etc. kept in front of him. Then, after reciting a mantra over the two crabs caught in the morning, one is released.
The other is pierced with a bamboo stick, the crab is placed on top and buried on the floor of the house. This pierced crab is considered to be the companion of the sun god during his farewell.
During the Wangala festival, the Garos prepare their favorite drink, Chu, from the first harvest of rice, which is harvested in Dikka.Photo: Salgira Chisim
Then the Nakma or priest recites a mantra addressed to Missi Saljang or the god Sun. He pours the liquor of Pong on the prepared items - rice-vegetables, agricultural fruits, vegetables, etc. one by one, and quickly gets up from his seat, crosses the front door and returns to his seat.
Then he starts dancing by chanting the mantra while holding the millam (Garo double-edged sword) and the spi (shield) kept on his right and left sides. At this time, everyone starts playing the musical instruments arranged.
In this way, the Rugala ceremony is completed in every house of the Garo village. Therefore, in large villages, the Rugala ceremony has to be performed at night or the next day if necessary.
After the ceremony is over in all the houses, everyone returns to the house of the Nakma. On the night of Rugala, the Garos spend their time dancing, singing, and having fun. Pitha is prepared in every house. The young men and women dance and sing happily and make the others drink alcohol.
At this time, they ask and answer questions to each other with songs like Ajeya, Darwa Khabi, etc. The answers to the questions are usually given by the older men and women. Through this festival, the young Garos learn about the creation theory, theology, religion, biology, philosophy, mythological stories, and the glorious past traditions of the Garos. As a result, the culture and tradition of the Garos survive from generation to generation.
Sasat Sa'a means offering of incense. This ceremony is held on the second day of Wangala. Early in the morning, everyone in the village gathers at the house of the Nakma (village headman). He first sprinkles new rice paddy all over his house. To the Garos, this sprinkled rice is a symbol of hail. It is an expression of the wish that there will be good rain during the agricultural season and that the crops will yield a good harvest.
Sasat Sa'a means offering of incense. This ceremony is held on the second day of Wangala. On that day, early in the morning, everyone in the village gathers at the house of the Nakma (village headman). He first sprinkles new rice paddy all over his house.
To the Garos, this sprinkled rice is a symbol of hail. It is an expression of that wish that there will be good rain during the agricultural season and that the crops will yield good harvests. The Nakma himself or the priest takes Pong liquor from the four corners of the Nakma's house and offers it to the deity in the storeroom and in the malajuri.
Then he burns incense and recites mantras in the name of the god Surya or Missi Saljang and offers the incense, filling the whole house with smoke. If the black smoke of the incense goes outside the house, the Garos believe that the clouds will come like this next year and rain will fall. They believe that the god Surya is pleased with the fragrance of the incense.
At this time, musical instruments are played and the Garos start the 'Grika' dance with Khamal Millam and Sfi. In between the dances, wine and khaji are served. They dance and sing in a large circle in the courtyard with various gestures. This is called Sa'adal or Mara Roa. This is basically free dance and song. In this way, dancing, singing and eating are done in every house. The events of this day in Wangala are more interesting.
The third day of Wangala is the Kram Gagata or Jal Wata. Kram Gagata means delivering the Kram of the Nakma to the house of the Nakma. And 'Jal Wata' means farewell. That morning, after breakfast, everyone gathers at the Nakma's house.
In the Nakma's house, the rituals of Rugala and Sasat Sawar are performed again in a short form for the gods and goddesses. This ceremony is held in all the houses of the village throughout the day. Dancing, singing, eating and drinking continue as on the previous day. However, it does not have the same pomp as before. On this day, a feeling of separation arises among the young men and women.
Just before dusk, everyone arrives at Nakma's house with their musical instruments. He then asks everyone to play their instruments for the last time. As soon as the musical instruments start to play, Nakma offers the last Rugala and Sasat to the gods Surya and Rakshim in the Maljuri of his house, expressing his thanks and gratitude.
Then, he bids them farewell happily, requesting them to come again next year to bless him. The musical instruments like Dama, Kram, Rang etc. are kept in Nakma's house. Thus ends the Wangala festival.
The festivals of the Garos have changed with the passage of time. As a result of religious conversion, the present-day Mandi or Garos have lost the original form of the Wangala festival. Many of the rituals of the festival are superstitions to them.
As a result, the Wangala festival is now limited to only dance, song and some rituals. But still, the tradition and original culture of the Garos are revealed in this festival.
