What Is Himachal's Raulane Festival? A Farewell To Fairies That Pre-Dates Memory Itself

Visuals of performers adorned with heavy jewellery, and their faces fully masked with colorful cloths made of wool has garnered a lot of attention on social media in the past week. These visuals are from the rehearsals Raulane festival celebrated in the upper reaches of Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur region.

The name along with the visuals may be fresh for many, but the tradition itself dates back to almost 5,000 years ago; To an era which is beyond the memory of recorded history. Passed down to generations and posterities through the word of mouth, songs, and gestures, no one actually knows the exact origin of this mystical festival.

However, what we do know is that it is a farewell for guardian mountain fairies known as the Sauni, who descend upon the villages to protect the locals from harsh winter months. The ritual is said to not only be a marker for the end of harsh winters, but also a welcome to the sprouting of spring.

While, this is the broader understanding of the ritual, it has different interpretations across all the villages in Kinnaur, these villages include Kalpa, Kothi, Sangla and neighbouring hamlets.

In some of these villages the event takes place as soon as winter ends, whereas others wait for spring to properly begin. Another common practice is to observe the festival in the days following Holi and the length of the ritual also varies from village to village.

The ritual revolves around the Raula and the Raulane, a pair of chosen villagers, who are often male, and symbolise a divine couple.

They are adorned in heavy silver jewellery and a sturdy mask carved out of wood conceals their real identity. They are dressed in thick kinnauri woollen clothing and once they transform into the Raula and the Raulane, they cease to speak to each other.

The only communication that happens between them is through deliberate gestures, dance, and movement.

According to local beliefs, the nature of the movement along with the deliberate pauses in front of the shrine conclude the Sauni's journey.