Thursday, October 22, 2009

LOCHHAR


Participants performing during cultural showSangmo Yonjan-Tamang in Kathamnduकाठमाडौं, February 9, 2008 -The biggest festival of Tamang community Sonam Lochhar was celebrated in several areas of the country, including Kathmandu valley, with great fanfare and joviality by the Tamang people, organizing a variety of cultural programmes.The Tamang people marked their 2844th Jiwa (mouse) year, New Year in Kathmandu on 25th Magh (Feb.8th) exchanging good wishes and warm greetings among friends, family, relatives while feasting and dancing.Tamang girls dancing joyfully in their traditional attire Though 25th of Magh (Feb.8th) is the main day for celebrating Lhochhar or Lhosar, people of different regions celebrated from the beginning of Magh month in their own ways.The meaning of Lho is year and ‘Chaar’ is new. Thus, Lochhar means New Year. There are altogether 12 Lho in Tamang calendar. Every Lho is named after birds or animals such as mouse, ox, tiger, cat/rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog and pig. Among these twelve Lho, one Lho changes every year. In this series, Jiwa(mouse) year has begun this time.Due to ideological differences, individual Tamang organizations celebrated Lhochhar in separate venues. At the function organized by National Federation of Tamang(NFT) in International Conference Centre (ICC), New Baneshwor, Tamang leaders emphasized unity among Tamang organizations to ensure the proportional representative of Tamang in April 10 Constitutional Assembly (CA) Poll.“It is high time to unite all the Tamang organizations to win political achievement,” formal minister Satyaman Lama, stated.President of NFT, D.B Bomjan said Lhosar is not just for celebration but also to inform the Tamang community about the upcoming CA election.Similarly, Nepal Tamang Ghedung(NTG) ran a cultural rally and show at Tudhekhel, Khulamanch where political leaders expressed warm greetings of Lhochhar to the Tamang people.Nepal Rastriya Tamang Ghedung also organized a gathering to mark the festival Lhochhar at Nepal Pragya Pratisthan, Kamaladi on the same day.The common objective of these groups is to establish federal Tamangsaling autonomous state with republic.Tamang personalities attending the function to mark Lochhar festival. Photos by Sangmo YonjanThis year the Nepal Government recognized the greatest festival of indigenous Tamang community Lochhar as a national festival and declared it a national holiday. The government has recognized eight more ethnic festivals for the first time in Nepal’s history.The following national holidays have now been officially established: Tamu Lhochhar for Tamu; Sonam Lhochhar for Tamang, Yholmo and others; Udhauli & Ubhauli for Kiratis (Limbus and Rais); Siruwa Pawani for Rajbansi; Maghi for Tharu; Chhat for Maithili; Eid for Muslims and Christmas for Christians. The Tamang people appreciated the government’s decision to grant a national holiday for celebration of their main festival, Lhochhar.

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