Kandali Festival is a

festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival ...

held by the

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tribe of the

Pithoragarh Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of t ...

district of

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

state in

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. This festival coincides with the blooming of the Kandali plant, which flowers once every twelve years. It is held in the Chaundas Valley between August and October. It celebrates the defeat of

Zorawar Singh Zorawar Singh may refer to: * Zorawar Singh (Dogra general), general of Raja Gulab Singh * Zorawar Singh (Sikhism), third son of Guru Gobind Singh * Kanwar Zorawar Singh, Indian Army general {{Hndis, Singh, Zorawar ...

's army, which attacked this area from

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

in 1841.

The Ritual

Folklore says that soldiers returning along the Kali River looted the villages on the way, hiding in the Kangdali plants. The women resisted them, destroying the Kangdali plants. This is re-enacted during the festival. Another tale tells of a boy who died after applying the paste of the root from a shrub known as Kan-Dali on his wound. Enraged, his mother cursed the shrub and ordered the Rung women to pull up the root of the Kan-Dali plant off its ground upon reaching its full bloom, which happens once in twelve years. A victory dance is performed every twelve years upon the destruction of this shrub in its blooming period. The women lead a procession, each armed with a ril, a tool which was used in compacting carpet on a loom. The children and men follow closely behind, armed with swords and shields. As they sing and dance, their music echoes in the valley, and upon approaching the blooms, warlike tunes are played and war cries are uttered. The women attack the bushes with their rils. The men follow up by hacking the bushes with swords, and then uproot the bushes and take them back, as the spoils of war. Victory cries are raised and rice is cast towards the sky to honour the deities with the prayer that the people of Chaundas Valley may always be victorious over their enemies. After the victory dance and the extermination of the shrub, the festival is concluded with a feast. Kandali last bloomed in .

References

External links

Rung Mung
Festivals in Uttarakhand Pithoragarh district August observances September observances October observances Hindu festivals {{india-festival-stub