[citation needed] The first Hundred Drums Wangala Festival was organized on 6 and 7 December 1976 at Asanang, near the Rongram C&RD Block Office, 18 km from Tura, India.

True traditional styles of celebrating Wangala can be found in remote "Songsarek" (animistic) villages such as Sadolpara in West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya, where people who worship the old gods still persist in their way of life; all the while rejecting Christianity.

These rituals are performed inside the house of the Nokma (chieftain i.e. the husband of the woman who holds power over an a'king) of the village.

Dama Gogata, the dance with drums, flutes and assorted brass instruments by men and women in colourful dresses and proud headgear - a picture which is synonymous with visuals of Wangala - is performed on the last day of the days-long celebration.

[citation needed] During Wangala, people young and old dress in their colourful garments (Dakmanda", Daksari, or Gando) and feathered headgear (do'me) and dance to music played on long, oval-shaped drums (Dama).