India plans to showcase Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival at G20

India plans to showcase Nagaland’s famous Hornbill Festival when it assumes the G20 presidency on December 1.

The Hornbill Festival:

• The Hornbill Festival is celebrated in Nagaland to encourage inter-tribal interaction.
• It is one of the largest indigenous festivals organized by the State government of Nagaland to promote tourism in the state.
• The festival is celebrated annually in the first week of December in order to preserve, protect and revive the uniqueness and richness of the Naga heritage.
• The festival is considered the“Festival of Festivals” in Nagaland.
• The festival is named after the bird – Hornbill which is the most revered and admired bird for the Nagas.
  

Cultural Significance:

• The species Hornbill is closely identified with the social and cultural life of the Nagas, as reflected in various tribal dances, songs, and folklore.
• Hornbill festival exposes the culture and tradition of the tribal people and reinforces the identity of Nagaland.

Geo-Strategic Significance:

• The move to showcase the Hornbill Festival on a global scale is in the direction of not limiting G20 to major urban cities and using the opportunity to showcase India’s rich and diverse cultural landscape and to identify opportunities to showcase the country’s cultural heritage through G20 events.

About the Hornbill Species:

• They are a family of birds found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, and Melanesia.
• They are characterized by a long, down-curved bill which is frequently brightly colored and sometimes has a casque on the upper mandible.
• They are the only birds in which the first and second neck vertebrae (the atlas and axis respectively) are fused together.
• The family is omnivorous, feeding on fruit and small animals.
• They are monogamous breeders nesting in natural cavities in trees and sometimes cliffs.
• Protection Status:
  • Threatened in India
  • Extinct in South Asia