Fairs &
Festivals
Fairs and festivals have always been an integral
part of the tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh so also is the Monpa
tribe. Like other tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, the festivals of Monpas
are also mostly associated with agriculture and religion. Monpas of
Tawang celebrates number of festivals every year Some of them are as
follows:
Losar :
Losar the New Year festival is perhaps the most
important festival of the Monpas. It generally falls during the last
part of February or early part of March. It is celebrated with great
solemnity and gaiety which last for I5 (fifteen) days. Various dances
are performed during the festival. Every one is pressed to partake of
delicious foods, beer and wine on the occasion.
Torgya :
It is a Monastic festival being celebrated every
year in the 28th day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar which
generally falls in the month of January every year. This festival is
believed to be celebrated to chase out the evil spirits and usher in the
prosperity and happiness both human being and crops. During the festival
a ritual monastic masked dances in magnificent traditional attires are
performed in cham-lang the courtyard of the Tawang Monastery
Dukpa Tse-She :
On the fourth day of the seventh month i.e Dukpa
Tse- Shi, the Lord Buddha delivered his maiden preaching on the Forth
Novel Truths to his initial five disciples in the Deer Park at Sarnath.
The day is commemorated by visiting religious shrines and offering
prayers.
Gaden Ngamchoe :
As per lunar calendar, this festival falls in the
twenty fifth day of tenth month. This is observed to perpetuate the
death anniversary of Je Tsongkhapa, the founder of Gelukpa an order of
the Tibetan Buddhism As a mark of devotion and to mourn His death,
devotees can be seen drinking gruel of bit of flouring dumplings in the
evening. Lamps are lighted in the evening on the house roofs and
verandahs of the houses and Monasteries to commemorate the occasion.
Lhabab Duechen :
The twenty second day of the ninth month of the
Lunar calendar is celebrated as Lhabab Duechen- the day on which the
Lord Buddha descended from Tushita, the realm of God. The day is devoted
to religious activities like circumambulating shrines, lighting lamps
and praying.
Saka Dawa:
This festival is celebrated in the 4th month of the
lunar calendar to mark the achievement of Nirvana by Gautom Buddha.
Traditional
Dances
Apart from the monastic dances performed by the
monks during the Torgya festival, the Monpas have several other
attractive pantomimes dance-dramas depicting legendry stories or events.
Some dance-dramas also impart moral lesson In most of the dances/
pantomime the artistes wear mask which have resemblance of human, animal
and birds faces. The musical instruments they use for traditional songs
and dances are trumpet, drum, cymbals, clarion, conch shell etc.
Achi Lhamo dance:
It is one of the popular folk dances amongst Monpas
of Arunachal Pradesh. This dance-drama form of performance tells a tale
about a famous King Choegyal Norsang of Jangchok Nga-dhen kingdom.
Through the rhythmic movements and songs, they tell how the king
vanquished his enemies and won the heart of his beloved ones. This dance
is usually performed during Torgya festival.
Yak dance :
The yak has a major role in the economy and
prosperity of the Monpas with it multi-purposes usage. This dance
depicts how a man named Thegpagali discovered yak many hundreds of years
ago.
Lion & Peacock dance :
This dance associates with the saint Tentelling who
was meditating on the mount Gangrikarpo for three consecutive years in
the Himalayan range. Surprisingly, on the other ridge of the same
mountain dwelt two snow lions. The two snow lions saw the Saint
meditating for such a long period of time all devoid of food or drink
and quitting himself from the worldly affairs. Out of compassion, the
two snow lions would always visit the saint and offer him milk for
survival and finally they became intimate friends. Eventually, the
people heard of this marvelous relationship between animal and human
being, so they went to have the sight of the fact. People were then much
overwhelmed by the service rendered by animal to the St. Tenteling.
Overjoyed with the marvelous relationship between St. Tentelling and
animals and the wonderful time they had spent in the jungle the people
danced together. Thus this traditional Lion dance signifies the fact
that the peace and harmony comes to this world only when there is a
complete harmony and cohesion amongst all living creatures on this
earth. 
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