Monpa tribe

Itanagar, March 07: The Indian Army continued its close ties with the local Tawang Monpa tribe of Arunachal Pradesh and participated in the week-long Losar festival celebrations.

The Monpa tribe, who have their own rituals and traditions in Tawang and West Kameng areas, celebrate Losar with great enthusiasm.

Losar is a unique festival where the entire neighborhood of Monpa Villages comes together to celebrate.

Losar celebrated with much fanfare and enthusiasm signals the start of spring and begins on the first day of the Lunar calendar.

The festival commences a week before the dates with residents cleaning their houses and the community preparation of various delicacies most importantly the Khow Suey.

The Metho ceremony during the festivities is very conspicuous to Tawang. During this ritual, sacred chants along with the burning of a sacred fire torch cleanse the evil spirit and paving way for the holy spirit in the area.

The Monpas have called Tawang their home since 500 BC and are devout followers of Himalayan Buddhism.

The Indian Army in Tawang which has been part and parcel of the local tribe was not left behind.

The Army personnel were hosted by the various village community to participate in the religious rituals and witness various competitions, especially the indigenous sport of Archery and traditional extravagant feasts accompanied by locally prepared barley beer.

The locals made a warm gesture by reaching out to the Indian Army troops even at their duty locations in Zimithang, Kereteng, and various other locations to celebrate with them.

This heart-warming gesture touched the troops with a ‘home away from home’ feeling.

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The Indian Army in its secular fabric has adopted the rituals of the Monpa Tribe and assisted the various sho (villages) in arranging these events.

The Tawang area has witnessed large-scale infrastructure development and implementations of various schemes of Government specific to the development of the border areas.

This has provided the Monpas with opportunities and avenues toward greater economic prosperity. The Losar Festival interweaves people and drenches them in the colour of festivities.

Riots of colour in terms of religious flags and decorations create such an aura of irresistible charm.

The enthusiastic participation of the Army in the local traditional Losar has been well received by the locals and highlights the bonhomie and the mutual trust between the army and the local population.