Above the Kisama Heritage Village

On Day Five of the Hornbill Festival, I decided to take a short walk up the hill behind the Kisama Heritage Village. It wasn't sunny but I felt the need for some proper exercise and I'd rather it to be cool when I have to do exercise. (One reason I enjoy staying with my friends in Bara Bosti here in Kohima, is that I have to climb up the hill to get back.)

So after running into a Sumi friend who then pointed me in the direction of the path up the hill, the sign I found said that it was 1.85km to the top of 'Mt Kisama'. I'm a little confused about this, because later there was another sign that said 'Mezabo Hill'. I'm going to have to find someone from Phesama village to explain this...



The walk itself was pleasant enough. Some parts of the track were quite slippery. I didn't have shoes with good traction, so I ended up taking more time to come down than I did going up.




Just a little way up the hill and I was already treated to a great view of the heritage village, with the nearby village of Kigwema (I believe)on the ridge in the background. Below the village, the terraced fields are pretty impressive (and pretty too).




At the top of the hill, which seemed to be called 'Mezabo', there was a nice little picnic area that seemed to be maintained by the nearby village of Phesama.






There was also a little lookout pavilion next to the picnic area.


From the lookout, I could see Phesama below and Kohima in the distance. Sadly, the whole valley was covered in cloud / mist at the time, so the photos weren't great.


On my way back down the hill, I spoke to some of the Assam Rifles soldiers who were on duty. A Bengali guy from Kolkata sat me down and offered me a cup of black tea. My knees needed a break and I was starting to feel cold, so I said yes. Also, I try not to reject any offers made by men holding semi-automatic weapons.

We spoke for a few minutes, mostly in English and he told me how he'd been posted to Nagaland for the last 7 years. I ended up taking a photo with him and with the younger soldier who was on duty with him. The younger guy was from the Khiamniungan tribe, a 'minor' Naga tribe from the eastern part of the state. Incidentally, I have to admit that Khiamniungan men's shawls are my favourite among the Naga tribes, but sadly I didn't know how to say it in Nagamese.

In the end, the young guy took out his mobile phone and took a picture of us as well. I'm glad he did - after all, why should foreigners be the only ones with photos to show their friends back home?

Getting to Kisama on public transport

Yesterday I had to get from Kohima to Kisama by myself. I was told that this year (it changes some years), the easiest ./ cheapest way to get from Kohima to Kisama for the Hornbill Festival without a private car is to first get a local taxi to the P.R. Hills Junction traffic point. Coming from the War Cemetery, the Hotel Japfü will be on the hill to the right and the massive Nagaland Police HQ building (see below) on the hill to the left.



Continuing down the road towards Imphal (with the Hotel Japfü to the right and the Police HQ to the left) just a little bit from the traffic point, the road will swing to the right. About 100 metres from where the road turns, there'll be a few yellow Sumos (the big jeep-like vehicles, not the wrestlers) waiting outside a "Network Travels" office to the left. These Sumos should be labelled 'Zonal Taxi'. (When I went there I saw many taxis waiting right at the point where the road swings to the right - I'm not sure if those were also going to the festival grounds.)

The cheapest way is to look for a yellow Sumo that's filling up and say you're going to Kisama. No matter what language you speak, the passengers will understand 'Kisama' (pronounced 'kee-sah-mah', with the stress on the first syllable). Some Sumos will be going straight to the festival ground gate, but many will be heading towards other towns, like Jakhama and Khuzama. These will still pass Kisama, but they'll only drop you off at the base of the hill and you have to walk up (it's only a 10-15 minute walk, but it's uphill).

Yesterday morning, I ended up getting a Sumo that was heading to Jakhama. There were 4 men crammed into the back row, 4 women in the middle row and 2 girls in the front row. Being the only male in the front two rows, the driver thought it most appropriate that I sit next to him.

The reason? When the vehicle's this packed, it's common practice to have a passenger sit with the gear stick between their legs.

The journey wasn't very long and it wasn't as uncomfortable as I thought it would be.

Except a few times when the driver went into 4th gear.

Hornbill Festival 2010

Here're a few photos from this year's Hornbill Festival (1 Dec - 7 Dec). It's held every year at this time here in Kohima - though the festival ground itself is in the village of Kisama, which is a bit of a drive to get to and the traffic coming back into Kohima was atrocious both times I went. There were other activities in and around Kohima too, like a night bazaar, the Miss Nagaland 2010 beauty pageant and the Hornbill Rock Contest.

I only made the trip out to Kisama twice given that I was in Zunheboto till the third day of the festival, and had spent most of the fourth day travelling. Anyway, I managed to catch a number of performances on the main stage, see replicas of the morungs (the traditional boys dormitories) of all the major tribes in Nagaland, check out the WWII museum, and even bought Mum that asükhu (wood plate on a stand) that she asked for (the guy at India Post assured me they could deliver it, but I'm having my doubts).

I don't have a lot of commentary on the festival itself. Given the diversity of the performers and performances, I'm finding it a little hard to remember what I saw and the significance of each performance. I don't really mind that many of the performances wouldn't be considered 'authentic' by even a lay anthropologist, since the festival gives the numerous cultural associations around the state a chance to showcase some of the traditional songs, dances and games that they're trying to maintain. (I'm saving other criticisms I have for another post.)

One of the entrances to the festival grounds


Participants waiting to perform


Pochury women, having just played a traditional game of catch


A nice touch on the last day of the festival