STATE TIMES NEWS
Kargil: The annual ‘Mamani’ – the ethnic food festival – has been organized by Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation (HCHF) in collaboration with village communities and youth associations in the Kargil district of Ladakh for the last several years.
This year the Mamani festival is being organized in the historical village of Steyangkung, Barsoo Kargil in collaboration with village Nyarpa committee, Awaz the Voice, Muntazir Enterprises Kargil, Zee Enterprises Kargil, Shotopa Traders, Heritage Trials Ladakh.
Steyangkung is a 500-years old village and is being developed as one of the well-maintained heritage villages in Ladakh.
KVK Kargil Principal Scientist Dr Ghulam Mehdi was the chief guest and Programme Executive AIR Kargil Annendra Singh Guest of Honour and Major Dr Raja C was the special Guest on the occasion on Saturday.
Dr Nawaz Ali, Dr Nasreen Fatima, Dr Sonam Wangchuk, Historian Mohammad Sadiq Hardassi, Cultural Activist Anayat Ali Shotopa and many other guests and thousands of People from nearby villages attended the Mamani Festival .
While talking to the media, Anayat Ali Shotopa said that the history of the celebration of Mamani Festival in Ladakh goes back to the ancient tradition of giving food to departed family members. He informed that during ‘Mamani’, people exchange food with their relatives and neighbours and worship a variety of spirits (Lha). The main motive of celebrating the festival is to revive the ethnic foods and the organisers claimed to have succeeded in reviving more than 35 cuisines and along with that it helped people to preserve their traditional attire, culture and artifacts.
Founder HCHF Dr Sonam Wangchuk said that the best traditional food stalls have been given cash prizes by HCHF in order to motivate participants. It was encouraging to see that many VIPs attended the events to support the villagers’ efforts to revive this significant traditional festival. “Celebration of the festival was started by Anayat Ali Shotopa 6 years back and in the 3rd year HCHF collaborated the event and every two years the festival shifts from one place to another which aims at motivating people towards preservation and promotion of their culture.
The festival has 25 different ethnic food such as Kung, Kapchey, hRchab, Popot, Gangtur, Prapoo, tSamik, Gruma and eight varieties of Herbal Products along with display of Traditional Equipment such as Utensils, Agriculture Goods as well as a stall by Local Youths who have started a Museum at the village. Himalayan Cultural Heritage Foundation presented certificates for three different individuals for their outstanding contribution in different fields. This year the certificate was presented to Haji Ghulam Mohammad Steyangkung and Mohd Ibrahim (Garba) for their contribution in preservation and promotion of Cultural heritage and Ahmad Hussain Ambulance Driver BHR&C for his voluntary service to save precious Life in Ladakh.
