From Our Correspondent
TURA: The 42nd 100 Drums Wangala festival came to a colourful conclusion at Asanang village on Saturday evening as the young maidens danced to the beat of hundred traditional drums before a crowd of several thousand spectators.
Participating in the grand finale, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma lauded the efforts of everyone involved in preserving the cultural way of the Garos.
“Our A’chik tribal identity is reflected in our traditional ways and it is pertinent to preserve them. With the celebration of Wangala, we show the world the rich culture of our tribe. It is what makes us who we are” said the chief minister while addressing the crowd at the start of the 100 Drums Wangala contest in the morning. The chief minister was accompanied to the special event by North Tura MLA and chief adviser to the CM Thomas A Sangma, legislators Ferline C A Sangma, Benedict Marak, Brening Sangma, MDCs and senior government officials.
Conrad stressed on the need to preserve as well as encourage the traditional lifestyle of the Garo tribe and pointed out that exchange programmes among the Garo community residing in different parts of the world would go a long way in this direction.
The chief minister revealed that during the visit to Bangladesh this week, a discussion took place between the Meghalaya delegation headed by him and the Garo MP from Bangladesh, Jewel Arengh, for an exchange programme wherein Garos from both sides would get the opportunity to interact and learn the Garo culture.
“We are planning to hold exchange programmes for Garos not just from Bangladesh but also from Tripura and Assam. Such trainings will further strengthen the bond among our people living in different parts of the world,” said Conrad.
The chief minister also mentioned that an upcoming Tribal Research Institute, a dream project of late P A Sangma, is under construction at Babadam region which is home to many Songsareks who still maintain the Wangala celebrations in a unique way.
An optimistic chief minister said that the Tribal Research Institute being constructed at a cost of Rs 48 crore will in time expand to become a full fledged tribal university.
The chief minister, through the tourism department, also handed over a cheque worth Rs 25 lakh to the Wangala Committee.
During the Wangala competition, dance troupes from ten different villages displayed their skills in various events such as the harvest dance, plucking of the citrus Chambil fruit, a dance depicting protection of their paddy from wild boars and the dance of the maidens on a new moon night, among others.
