Himachal's Raulane Festival becomes National Talk

Recently, social media brought to light a 5,000-year-old winter ritual known as Raulane, originating from Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh. During this ritual, villagers celebrate symbolic marriage with masked dancing by men known as Raula and Raulane across regions. Raulane is a ritual dance festival that concludes the Suskar Festival in Kothi and Kalpa villages, where the people pray to the Sauni (Fairies) of their local meadows (similar to Bugyal in Uttarakhand).

In the upper Himalayas, Kalpa's Raulane festival feels less like a show and more like a secret, but an interesting one. The internet recently found a few videos and pictures, and in no time, it was a sensation; people were curious about what it was. Let me tell you, Raulane is not a staged performance. It is a living ritual that honours the Sauni fairies who are believed to protect people through winter.

During the festival, two men symbolically "marry" and become vessels for the Saunis, embodying a divine couple-the Raula or groom and the Raulane or bride. They don heavy woollen robes and ornaments and distinctive face masks. They also enact a slow, meditative dance at the Nagin Narayan Temple, and the whole village joins in. The festival is a statement of faith and community.

A festival even history can't trace back to

Historians trying to trace its beginning often end up admitting that Raulane slips through every modern method of classification. It belongs to that time when myth and routine were not separate, when a prayer could also be a dance and a dance could also be a message to the sky.

Villagers refer to them, not as far-off gods, but as gentle, watchful beings composed of frost and moonbeams. They watch over the herds and shepherd lost travellers through sudden fog. They alleviate the hardship of winter simply by being present.

Long before the wooden temples of Kalpa were raised from stone foundations, Raulane was simply a gathering of thankfulness, where families would leave flowers, milk, and hand-made trinkets to the Sauni who sustained the valley. That act of quiet offering became more elaborate over countless generations, and thus resulted in the ritual we see today.

Want to witness the festival firsthand? Don't worry, we've got you covered!

We have curated a few tips for you to immerse yourself in the magic of this ancient Himachali festival :

1. Be aware of the cold: March is typically very cold on the hills. Make sure to bring appropriate warm clothing and otherwise prepare yourself for the cold.
2. Travel is not smooth sailing: The road infrastructure is treacherous and the city is far. There are limited buses. To go there, take a daily Reckong Peo bus or a bus from Chandigarh to Reckong Peo. There are also cabs that could be hired, but again there are limited cabs.
3. Accessibility: The place where the Festival is held is not very big, so confirm with the locals if they will be allowing outsiders into the Festival space. If the attendance grows, the locals might bar non-locals from participating in the Festival.
4. Reverence for their traditions : It's imperative to respect the local norms and rituals while being there. We strongly recommend our readers to refrain from indulging in any activity which might portray the locals or their traditions in a negative light.

The Raulane Festival is going viral not because it is new, but because it feels timeless. It is a reminder that somewhere, high in the Himalayas, communities still dance with nature, honour unseen spirits. They celebrate spring with a grace the modern world has almost forgotten.