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| LADARCHA FAIR |
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Previously,
this fair used to be celebrated in Kibbar maidan in Spit in the month of July where
traders from Ladakh, Rampur Busher and Spiti meet in this fair to barter their produce.
Due to closure of Tibetan traders, this fair is now being celebrated at Kaza, the
headquarters of Spiti Sub Division in the 3rd week of August. A large number of visitors
and traders from Kullu/ Lahaul/ Kinnaur meet there. It has now become a conference of
cultures of Spiti, Ladakh & Kinnaur as also of the Indian plains. |

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| PAURI
FAIR |
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This fair is celebrated during summer in the 3rd week of August every
year. In earlier times this was the most prominent fair of Lahaul. People of all casts and
creed gather there, not only from Lahaul but from Chamba and Kullu too. The fair is
combination of pilgrimage and festive activities. Preparations are made at least a
week in advance and most of the people leave their homes a day before the
celebrations, where they have faced darshan of the statue of Triloknath (Shiva Lord
of Three Worlds) or Avolokiteshvara as it is regarded by Buddhist. After paying
their obeisance, people go to the parikrama gallery between the inner and outside walls
of temple. Pilgrims/ devotees usually complete three or seven clockwise
circumambulations of the gallery/ rotating the prayer wheels and
murmuring Mantras ( OM MANI PADME HUM) every morning and evening till they stay
there. Ghee and Mustard oil lamps are lighted continuously inside. People donate money and
Ghee/ Oil to maintain the lamps, one of which is so big as to accommodate 16 Kgs. of
Ghee/ oil. After the prayer and rituals, the fair begins. Temporary shops, tea
stalls and hotels are established at the fair ground. As soon as darkness overtakes,
the pilgrims dance in a huge circle to the melody of folk songs devotional or otherwise.
On the second morning, a traditional procession is taken out, which is headed by the
Thakur of Triloknath riding on a decorated horse. Their destination is the place
where as per traditional lores, seven gods, the youngest of whom was
Trilokinath had appeared from seven springs in the past. This is the most important
ritual of the fair. The precession then returns to the fair ground for
more festivities. Some people for their native places leave as soon as the
procession disperses, while others stay until the third day when the fair is over. |

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| TRIBAL FAIR KEYLONG |
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Tribal fair coinciding with
Independence day is celebrated with great pomp and show from 14th to 16th August, at
Keylong the headquarters of the district. People from all parts of the valley congregate
in their queer disposition and a large number of Indian and foreign tourists gather here
to witness the fair. It is being celebrated as at State level fair. In order to make the
fair colourful , artists and cultural troupes are invited from Chandigarh, Dharamshala,
Leh , Chamba, Kullu, Spiti in addition to local artistes. |

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| TSHESHU
FAIRS |
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Tsheshu fair is celebrated
in Shashur, Gemur, Kyi, Kardang Tabo and Mane Monasteries in the months of
June. A large number of devotees/ people gather on these occasions. Devil dance is performed by the Lamas bedecked in colourful dresses
and wearing masks of different birds and animals. |

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| FESTIVAL OF LIGHT |
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A festival of lights known as
Diwali is celebrated all over India in October every year. A similar type of festival is
celebrated as Khogla in Pattan valley and Halda in other valleys of Lahaul at the
second and third week of January. The date is fixed by a Lama while in Pattan valley
it is celebrated to Magh Poornima coincide with (full moon). Pencil cedar branches are cut
into strips and are tied together into bundles to make a torch called Halda quite similar
to Hola in upper regions of Shimla district. In the evening halda at each house are
lit and brought together at one centre place. This is repeated four to five times, each
time in honour of different deities. When the ceremony is over, the
villagers return to their houses. The haldas are prepared and lit in the same manner
and collected at one place where they burn to lashes. But there is slight difference.
Along with honouring the deities, the people of Gahar valley curse the Ranas of
clans hostile to their own.. The people of Keylong curse the Ranas of
Goushal and Kardang threatening to bite their hearts. |

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| FAGLI |
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Fagli, locally known as Kus or Kuns
is one of the most important festial of the Pattan valley. It falls, after a
fortnight of Khogla on Amawasya (Moonless Night) in the first/ second week of
February. The houses are fully decorated and oil lamps are lit. A Baraza is set-up
which consist of a bamboo stick, two to three feet tall, mounted on the floor.
Around the stick a white chader is draped in such a maanner as to suggest an angel
dressed in while, sitting in the corner, ornamented with jewellery and marigold
flowers. Delicious dishes are placed before the Baraza along with burning incense.
The Baraza represents the angel SHIKHARA- APPA) grand mother of the peak and
here visit is considered to bring prosperity to the house. According to ritual demand the
head of the family and his wife getup early in the morning to prepare (TOTU) (A
dough of roasted barley flour and butter milk) and kwari. The Totu is taken upto the
roof which is offered to the deities. Kwari is later thrown to the crows who await
for it as if they have received the invitation. The totu is distributed among the
family members as prasada. The couple go to pay their annual respects to their cows and
sheep to express their gratitude and acknowledge their dependence on these animals.
Rest of the family members getup and pay their respects to their elders of the household
by bowing to them and touching their feet. After breakfast they first visit their nearest
and aged person within the village and then the entire village community congregate to pay
their respects to each house with Marchu (Local puri). Each day of the festival has a
special name to show its own significance. One day is called punha, a
symbolic representation of ploughing the fields. Since the fields are covered under snow
during the period, so symbolic ploughing is done. Two green willow sticks representing the
bullocks and two more representing yoke and plough are moved forward in the room in the
front of the Baraza. In the following weeks feasts and festivities continue among
relatives and friends, along with the exchange of marigold flowers and other gifts. |

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| GOTHSI ( GOCHI) |
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There is a festival of the Bhaga valley
which is celebrated in February in the houses where a son was born during the preceding
year. The villagers gather in the morning. A dough is made of Sattu ( roasted barley ) and
is placed in a big plate. It is lifted by four men to the place of the village deity
which is generally an idol of stone, a tree or a bush. A young girl dressed in her
best clothes and decked with ornaments accompanies them. The girl carries a pot of chhang
( Local drink). She is followed by two men, one carrying a burning stick of pencil
cedar and the other pencil their cedar leaves tied together in a lambs skin.
The woman giving birth to the first son in the year, dressed in her best clothes
accompanies them to pay homage to the village god. Labdagpa the village priest
worships the God with a bow and an arrow. The dough is then broken and thrown away
to appease the gods. The lambs skin is placed on a tree or a bush near the idol of
the village deity and is shot at by arrows. Lohars beat drums during the ceremony.
After the worship of the village deity is over, the people disperse but the relatives and
friends move in to group and visit all their houses where male children are born. Drinking
and dancing go together, sometimes all through the nights |

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