Event Touring for Domestic and International Tourists in India
Most of us live in big cities and our travel destinations are limited to the world we see on beaches, circus and other places but to find solace ,nothing is better than connecting with ancient Buddhist practices and festivals which involve community participation. Losar is one of such tribal festival which has its roots in ancient practices which includes folk songs, dance and beautiful masked costumes. Here is all you need to know about Losar festival.
Losar is a festival common to India, Bhutan and Nepal . It is celebrated in the Hilly regions of India (in Himanchal Pradesh , Sikkim , Arunanchal Pradesh and Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir) by the the Tibetan tribes which migrated and settled in these area hundreds of years ago.
Losar is celebrated on the at the beginning of the Tibetan new year which follows the lunar calendar , it is also a Harvest Festival. Each Year Losar Festival is associated with gender , element and animal.
In 2018 Male Earth Dog was the deity for this festival and in 2019 it is to be celebrated from 5th February to 7th February and the deity associated is Female Earth Pig/ Boar .
Preparation
Houses , roads and cities are cleaned. Walls of homes are painted with auspicious symbols like "reversed Swastika", the sun and the moon. The Debts are paid and new cloths are bought.
A Shrine is set up by families which is made from "Phymar"-a wooden bucket and 5 TYPES of grains are kept in it . Hence named 5 grain basket.
Local Cuisines and Drinks
A drink -- Chang-- beer made of barley is prepared on the 1st day of the festival and it is served hot .
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| Chang-barley beer |
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| Chang barley Beer |
Special foods like Kapse( losar pastries) and Guthuk (a unique soup) is prepared on the eve of the Losar New Year.
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| Kapse- Tibetan pastries |
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| Guthuk- Veg Soup |
Losar Festival Dress and Costume
People wear Colorful traditional dresses and a "sheep Head" type costume hat. The word "sheep head" sounds similar to "beginning of new year" so the sheep head cap is a customary .
Another beautiful costume is the Mask which is wore during the Cham ( a traditional dance). This mask is twice the size of human head and depicts the Wrathful Dieties/protectors.
Song and Dance
A folk song named Junglu is sung by the people and a traditional Mask dance - Cham - is performed by the monks in the monasteries.
Cham is a vibrant costumed ritual cum dance which is supposed to have been performed by Guru Padmasambhav in 800C.E in Tibet. The dance is performed to cleanse the area from evil presence . It is a depiction of tussle between deities and Deoms, and both these characters are performed bythe Monks in the monastries.
This cultural bonanza is nothing less than a dream for the people living in big cities and PEOPLE who want to explore the unexplored corners of India and Tibet.
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