The Garo people celebrated their major annual traditional Wangala festival amid singing, dancing and performing various traditional arts at Mariumnagar Shadhu George Dhormopolli in Jhenaigati upazila, Sherpur on Sunday.
To mark the festival, the area wore a different look as it was decorated while Garo people of all ages participated in the festival wearing colourful traditional dresses.
The Wangala festival is a traditional carnival for the Garo community to thank their Almighty Misi Saljong.
Thousands of years ago, the Garos believed that fruits and roots collected from the jungle were their main food, as they did not have seeds to grow plants. One day they prayed to their god for seeds and the next day they found two types of paddy. They preserved those and started cultivating on the hills.
After harvest, they used to thank their god first and then consumed the rice and celebrated the occasion.
Now, the Garos, who are converted Christians, used to thank Christ after the harvesting.
Local sources said some 22,000 member of the indigenous community from 47 villages in Sherpur and Jamalpur districts gathered in the area to observe the day.
The festival started through ‘Tokkadan’ around 9:30am and ended up by drinking ‘Chu’, one kind of liquor made by rice, in the night.
Monday, July 20, 2026
