Chalo Loku festival

Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh

Winter is the best time for Arunachal Pradesh to soak in the joy of festivals. Amid biting coldwave, the Nocte people in Tirap district celebrate Chalo Loku with much fanfare and excitement. The agriculture based event falls on November 25 where the colourful people makes it an occasion to participate in joy and merriment. 'Cha' means Paddy, 'Lo' means Season and 'Loku' which means festival.

Loku, means driving away the old season of the year and the event is celebrated with fervor and gaiety at Senki Park in the district. These tribal people pray to god “Rang” for bumper harvest, peace and prosperity. Songs and dance are performed from house to house.

The first day of the three day long festival is called Phamlamja, the day of entertainment, gathering of food and slaughter of cattle. The second day is Chamkatja. They pray to god

“Rang’ seekiong divine help. The final day is called 'Thanlangja. The elders seek blessing for good fortune by breaking eggs. The important part of the festival is the Chalo folk dance.