The Tamang Society Qatar (TSQ) celebrated their biggest festival, Sonam Losar 2852 at Gulf Horizon Hotel recently. More than 500 Tamangs attended, dressed mostly in their traditional attires.
Tamangs are one of the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal. They have their own distinct culture, language and religion. They follow a lunar calendar, along with the Buddhist and Bon people in the Himalayan regions of northern Nepal. But some mark Sonam Losar as their New Year, whereas many, including Sherpas and Bhotes, mark Gyalbo Losar. The festival has Tibetan and Chinese origins.
The Tamang have a tradition of marking each year with a distinct animal, from a list of 12. This year the Tamang are celebrating the year of Monkey.
Tharcha Lama, one of the participants, said the last 12 days of the year are a time to clean and prepare a welcoming atmosphere for the New Year. The monasteries perform a special ritual, mask dance, to expel negative forces. People go to monasteries, stupas and chaityas and perform ceremonial rituals there.
The meaning of Sonam is blessing. In Losar blessings for good fortune are sought by farmers, professionals, and all members of the society. On the other hand, Gyalbo means ‘King’. Some say that Gyalbo Losar was created by a Tibetan King in order to distinguish between New Year celebrations for citizens and government officials. Although there is typically a one month gap between the two Losars, every 12 years they occur at the same time.
The recent TSQ celebration featured multiple musical performances. The first performance was a welcome song performed by Uttam Lama and his group, dressed in traditional attire.
Dolma Lama performed a Tamang selo dance. Roshani Rai, Manish Tamang, Shree Tamang, Som Tamang, Sanu Tamang and Santosh Tamang performed on a Nepali Tamang film song.
This was followed by a lama dance by Gajyo Lama, Bangchu Lama, Gurba Lama, Gaurab Lama, Tharcha Lama, Lacho Lama, Parkash Lama, Mamchu Lama, and Bikash Lama. The performance included the use of musical instruments like Dambaru, Gorkhali Khife, Gandro, Jhaki and Ganti.
Kancha Tamang, Dha Ghale, Bangchu Lama, Gurba Lama and Uthar Lama also performed a Kasturi dance. Their performance depicted the history of Tamang and Tamang musical instruments.
Other Tamang artistes who performed at the event included Babindra Tamang Rubina Lama, Pasang Lama, Salina Tamang and Sushila Tamang. Hem Waiwa and Sanu Waiwa had been flown in from Nepal for the celebrations.
The programme was chaired by Tharcha Lama, president of Nepali Tamang Society and Siya Ram Chaudhary, president of International indigenous Society, was the chief guest.