Art & Culture · Topic 14 of 16
National, religious, regional, tribal and north-eastern festivals and fairs of India
The Basics
India's cultural life is also expressed through its fairs and festivals. These are celebrated in every region, by every community, through every season of the year.
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India observes three national festivals: Independence Day, Republic Day, and Gandhi Jayanti.
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Diwali, Holi and Dussehra are major Hindu festivals observed across India.
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Harvest festivals share one idea across India: thanking nature once the year's main crop is gathered in. Each region built its own version of this idea, shaped by local crops, calendars and legends.
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Across the forested and hilly belt of central and eastern India, tribal communities such as the Munda, Oraon, Ho, Santhal and Baiga follow their own farming calendar. This calendar is distinct from the classical Hindu calendar used in the plains.
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India's religious calendar produces daily worship and seasonal festivals. It also produces enormous periodic gatherings called melas. At a mela, pilgrimage, ritual bathing and trade all happen together.
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The Hornbill Festival brings together all the major Naga tribes of Nagaland on one platform. It is organised by the state government. It is held every year from 1 December to 10 December. The venue is Kisama Heritage Village, near Kohima, built specially for this festival. Tribes attend in traditional costumes, carrying clan weapons, bows, arrows and headgear. The festival is named after the hornbill bird, which holds deep significance in Naga folklore and appears as a motif in tribal headgear. It also introduces younger Naga generations to tribal traditions that might otherwise fade.
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By the early 2000s, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) had begun maintaining a Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This list recognises living traditions passed down across generations, not monuments. India has nominated several festivals to this list over the following two decades.
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