The 4th North East Riders Meet 2012 billed as "North East Friendship Rally" hosted by Nagaland Motorcycle Club (NMC) as part of the Hornbill Festival of Nagaland was flagged off on December 5 from Agri Expo site, Dimapur at 8:00 AM. The participants rode till Kohima and then entered the Naga Heritage village Kisama at 12:00 noon. The rally, which is an annual meet of Royal Enfield riders witnessed a decent number of participants from almost all the north eastern states including, Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune. It is one of the most unique events where the riders know no creed, colour or gender differences. The only exception is any rider attending the meet has to have the legendary Royal Enfield Bullets. The day is usually marked by Royal Enfield Show, Tug of War (Inter-state), slowest riding of motorcycle, best modified motorcycle, arm wrestling, NERM Rock night etc. NERM is a yearly event where Royal Enfield Riders from the North east region and invitees from mainland India assemble with their bullet bikes covering thousands of kilometres to meet and get acquainted with one another where the riders know no creed, colour or gender differences.
"The Hornbill festival held in the first week of December shows that with its stunning natural beauty and great cultural traditions, Nagaland can offer a rich fare to tourists.
NAGALAND, with its diverse tribal culture, is a land of festivals. A narrow strip of mountainous territory with rugged hills, emerald valleys, sparkling streams and a rich variety of flora and fauna, the 16th State of the Indian Union has salubrious climate throughout the year. It is bounded by Assam in the west, Myanmar in the east, Arunachal Pradesh in the north and Manipur in the south. Sometimes referred to as the `Switzerland of the East', Nagaland represents unimaginable beauty, moulded perfectly for a breathtaking experience. For the adventurous, the State is an ideal place for trekking and jungle camping and offers limitless possibilities for exploring its lush sub-tropical rainforests, which are a treasure trove of medicinal plants. The 20-lakh-strong Naga people, by nature, are fun lovers, and life in Nagaland is one long festival.
Festivals mainly revolve around agriculture, it being the mainstay of the economy. Over 85 per cent of the population of Nagaland is directly dependent on agriculture and lives in the 1,000-odd villages situated on hilltops or slopes overlooking verdant valleys. In this blissful setting, Nagas enjoy nature with a rare gusto that visitors to the State look at with awe and admiration. In most of these places agriculture consists of a single crop. Although some religious and spiritual sentiments are inter-woven into secular rites and rituals, the predominant theme of the festivals is the offering of prayers to a supreme being, which has different names in different Naga dialects. At these festivals, the gods are propitiated with sacrifices by the head of the village, for a bountiful harvest, either before sowing or on the eve of the harvest. In fact, agricultural work and religion are so interwoven in Naga society that it is difficult to describe the festivals independent of the processes of agriculture.
For encouraging inter-tribal cultural interaction and bringing together the festivals of the various tribes under one umbrella, the Government of Nagaland has evolved a festival called the Hornbill festival, where one can see a melange of Naga cultural displays at one place. Organised by the State Directorate of Tourism every year between December 1 and 5 in Kohima since 2000, the festival is intended to revive, protect and preserve the richness and uniqueness of the Naga heritage and attract tourists. The festival, in a way, is also a tribute to the hornbill, a bird most admired by the Naga people for its qualities of alertness and grandeur. This majestic bird is linked closely with the social and cultural life of the people, as is evident in tribal folklores, dances and songs. The awe and admiration for the bird is symbolically displayed on almost all traditional tribal headgears worn during festivities."
Source: http://www.hornbillfestival.com
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