After a lull of a year owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, one of the biggest crowd pullers in North Garo Hills, the Nokpante Festival at Damas, will be held on December 29.
Organized by the Damas Youth Forum (DYF), the festival will also coincide with the 25th anniversary celebrations of the NGO.
In Garo culture, the house where, traditionally, unmarried male youth or bachelors live is called a nokpante. The word nokpante means the house of bachelors. They are generally constructed in the front courtyard of the Nokma, the village chief. It literally translates to ‘nok’ meaning house and ‘pante’ meaning bachelor.
The festival in Damas looks to celebrate the tradition of the nokpante and its significance in Garo culture while it will also look to provide a boost to the indigenous games played by the Garos.
“This is a showcase of our culture and tradition and is also special since we also celebrate our NGO’s silver jubilee. The festival also looks to invest in our culture and make all that come to understand what it means. It is relevant at this time, especially in the modern day and age of information and misinformation,” said DYF president, John Navy G Momin.
The organizers added that, apart from the showcasing of the nokpante, the event will also involve traditional indigenous games, music and other competitions. A rock show featuring bands from across Garo Hills will be another highlight of the show this year.
