Kargil, Jan 22: Ethnic Mamani festival was observed at the historical village of Steyangkung, Barsoo in the Kargil district of Ladakh on Sunday. More than 25 different dishes and traditional artifacts were displayed on the occasion. The annual festival is being organised by the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation (HCHF) in collaboration with village communities and youth associations for the last many years.
This year the Mamani festival was organised in collaboration with the village Nyarpa committee and in collaboration with Awaz the Voice, Muntazir Enterprises Kargil, Zee Enterprises Kargil, Shotopa Traders, and Heritage Trials Ladakh. Steyangkung is around a 500-year-old village and is still well-preserved. It is being developed as one of the well-maintained heritage villages in Ladakh.
On the occasion, KVK Kargil Principal Scientist Dr Ghulam Mehdi was the chief guest, while the Programme Executive AIR Kargil Annendra Singh was the guest of honour. Major Dr Raja C was the special guest. Others present during the festival included famous dentist Dr Nawaz Ali, Gynecologist Dr Nasreen Fatima, Dr Sonam Wangchuk, historian Mohammad Sadiq Hardassi, cultural activist Anayat Ali Shotopa and thousands of people from nearby villages.
Anayat Ali Shotopa said the history of the celebration of the Mamani festival in Ladakh goes back to the ancient tradition of giving food to departed family members. “During Mamani, people would exchange food with their relatives and neighbors and worship a variety of spirits (Lha),” he said, adding, “The main motive of celebrating the festival in such a way is to revive the ethnic foods.”
Shotopa said they have been successful in reviving more than 35 cuisines. It also helped people to preserve their traditional attire, culture and artifacts, he added.
Dr Sonam Wangchuk, the founder of the Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation, said the best traditional food stalls have been given cash prizes by HCHF in order to motivate the participants. It was encouraging to see that many VIPs attended the events to support the villagers’ efforts to revive this significant traditional festival, he said.
Dr Wangchuk said the celebration of the festival was started by Anayat Ali Shotopa six years ago and in the 3rd year, HCHF collaborated with the organisers for the event and every two years the festival shifts from one place to another, motivating people towards preservation and promotion of culture.
The certificates and consolation prizes were distributed among all stallholders.
In the event, 6 groups of 4 families from each of the villages presented different varieties of dishes and around 25 different dishes like Kung, Kapchey, hRchab, Popot, Gangtur, Prapoo, tSamik, Gruma, etc, and some 8 varieties of herbal products along with the display of traditional equipment, utensils, agricultural goods as well as a stall by local youths who have started a museum at the village. The HCHF presented 3 certificates for three persons for their outstanding contributions to various fields.
This year, certificates were presented to Haji Ghulam Mohammad Styangkung and Mohd Ibrahim (Garba) for their contribution to the preservation and promotion of cultural heritage, and also to Ahmad Hussain, an ambulance driver of BHR&C for his voluntary service to save precious lives in Ladakh.
Haji Ghulam Mohd expressed joy and happiness for making the age-old tradition of Mamani in a systemic way to celebrate as a festival. “We hope the village will attract tourists in the future,” he said.
