SIACHEN FOLK FESTIVAL, Nubra valley, Ladakh
The festival is marked to celebrate the glory of the ancient Silk Route that passed from the heart of Nubra Valley. Also, it carries a message to promote and preserve our cultural heritage by promoting sustainable tourism and sensitizing the present and upcoming generations to their cultural heritage and its significance. In an effort to preserve the legacy of the heritage silk route trade, a two-day Siachen folk festival is being organized on the first weekend of June every year. This year, it falls on June 1st and 2nd, 2024. The festival has provided an opportunity for domestic and foreign tourists to have a look into the rich cultural heritage of Ladakh. The aim of the festival is not only to attract tourists to Nubra Valley but also to educate the local people about the importance of their culture and heritage. The unity and cooperative system followed in Chamshen village without any generation or other gaps, especially to organize the Siachen Folk Festival, is an example for other villages. The founder of the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation, D. Sonam Wangchok, said that as long as the villagers unitedly organize the festival with purpose, HCHF will support it every year in whatever way is possible. He said that the festival helps to inculcate interest and value for cultural heritage among the Ladakhi people, especially the youth. The festival is a very lively and colorful affair. Different cultural groups from the village as well as from outside come together to participate and showcase the beauty of their culture. Local food stalls, cultural programmes, traditional sports, local handicrafts, etc. are the main attractions of the festival. The festival offers a unique experience of the Ladakhi village’s cultural and traditional lifestyle. These activities are ways to teach the present younger generation the beauty of their culture and the importance of preserving one’s old traditions and cultures. The celebration is in keeping with the essence of the Ladakhi festival, marked by feasts, dances, traditional sports, and music, all in full measure while taking measures not to disturb the ecological sensitivity of the region.
Organizers
- Chanskyong Chostsogs Tsogspa Chamshen (Youth Association of Chamshen Village)
- Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation (Heritage Himalaya)
- Chamshen Village Community
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Venue
Polo Ground, Chamshen, Nubra valley, Ladakh
(The venue used to be a polo ground on the famous silk route during the silk route trade and it is being revived to host the Siachen Folk Festival).
Aims and Objectives of the Festival
Before 2019, the Siachen Glacier had restrictions on public visits. Very recently, it has been opened for tourists at the Siachen base camp. Thus, it becomes our moral duty to promote sustainable tourism in the region so as to save the sanity of the place. Thus, such festivals hold a significant place in making the locals as well as the tourists sensitive regarding the local culture and heritage. The festival aims to:
-Celebrate the Cultural Plurality of the Region
-Revive the dying culture of the region.
-Sensitize the present and upcoming generations to their cultural heritage and its significance.
-Promote sustainable tourism.
Highlights of the Festival
Cultural programmes by villagers and schoolchildren, traditional archery competitions, traditional food stalls in willow wattle sheds (tsele), and painting competitions for schoolchildren are the major highlights of the festival. The archery competition is organized separately for traditional bows and arrows as well as for modern bows and arrows to spread awareness, particularly among the younger generation, and to revive the centuries-old sport of Ladakh.
Tsele (Willow Wattle Sheds/huts)
Tsele (willow wattle sheds) was very popular in Nubra and Baltistan until recently. Every house used to have a willow wattle shed or hut, especially for the summer months. During the hot summer months, family members used to live and cook in the hut, but with the introduction of concrete buildings, people started to dismantle the huts. However, the organizers of this festival are making an effort to revive the hut and the making skills. In this festival, all the local food stalls are being run in the different sizes of Tsele made by the villagers beforehand. This site is very unique, even in Ladakh.
Nubra Valley
Nubra is located north of Leh and can be reached by road across Khardongla (18380 ft), the world’s highest motorable road. The average altitude of the Nubra Valley is 10,000 feet above sea level. It is located between the Karakoram Mountains in the north and the Ladakh Mountains in the south. The valley is known for its rich cultural heritage, lush villages, silvery sand dunes, lofty and majestic mountains, and river basin greened with sea buckthorn bushes with their bright berries. Besides the two largest monasteries, Deskit and Samstanling, the valley is dotted with many other historical
The Heritage Himalaya Trails is organizing tours to Nubra Valley and other parts of Ladakh during the festival. For booking and the unique itinerary, write to heritagehimalaya23@gmail.com or contact Ms. Dechen at 7051197063.
Text contributed by HCHF