Khogal Festival of Himachal Pradesh
Name of Festival : Khogal Festival
Time of celebration (Month)
Khogal Festival is celebrated on full moon day month of January
Major Territory of Celebration
Khogal Festival is celebrated in Lahaul and Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, India
About Festival
To celebrate the Khogal Festival male member of the family gather at one place and get drunk on a local specialty known as ‘Chakti’. These men go from one house to another house drinking. This activity continues till mid night. At the mid night the drummers sit on the rooftop of a house and play their drum and flutes. The sound of the drums and flutes mark the beginning of the Khogal celebrations.When the villagers hear this sound, they scream and run towards that house with lighted torches.This particular act denotes the chasing of the evil spirits away.At last all the torches collected together, and the people perform local dance around the bonfire.When the villagers back home then they offer worship or prayer to their family deities and also to the local deity, Baraja.
