Meghalaya schools to stay shut on Friday, Nov 13, for Wangala

Schools across Meghalaya will be closed on Friday, November 13, after the state government declared a holiday for Wangala, the post-harvest festival of the Garo community, The Times of India reported on Monday.

The holiday applies to government, government-aided and private schools and other educational institutions in the state. Because it falls on a Friday, students and teachers get a three-day break, with classes resuming as per the normal timetable on Monday, November 16.

What parents should check

Schools that had planned internal tests, practicals or project deadlines around November 13 will need to reschedule them. Parents are advised to confirm the arrangements with their child's school, since individual institutions may issue their own instructions on reopening and any rescheduled activities.

About Wangala

Wangala, often called the 100 Drums Festival, is the most important post-harvest celebration of the Garo people. It is held to thank Misi Saljong, the sun god revered as the Great Giver, for the year's harvest, and marks the end of the agricultural cycle.

The best-known part of the festival is its music and dance: rows of performers in traditional Garo dress and feathered headgear move in formation to the beat of the dama, a long cylindrical drum, accompanied by horn-blowing.

Golden jubilee year

This year is the 50th edition of the central Wangala celebration. The main festival will be held at Asanang Chibragre near Tura in West Garo Hills from November 11 to 14, where organisers are preparing for about 1,000 drummers. Wangala is observed in villages across the five Garo Hills districts and by Garo communities in other parts of Meghalaya and neighbouring Assam. At the central celebration, troupes from different villages perform in turn, and the event also draws visitors from outside the state.

The school holiday on November 13 lets students and teachers in the Garo Hills and elsewhere take part in the celebrations with their families.

NEInsider will update this story if the Education Department issues further instructions about the holiday.