The tradition & historical record
3 min read · 2 sourcesThe Bono-na or Bono nah is an ancient festival of the Minaro (Brokpa) people hosted alternatively between Dha and Garkon villages of the Aryan Valley region of Ladakh, India with a gap of a year. It is a festival of thanksgiving to their deities and gods for good crops and prosperity to the people and the land of Minaro. The festival begins with a man who is Lhaba. The Lhaba dictates the ancestral Hymnal. A Lhaba is descended upon by the spirits of gods who possess him. The Lhaba meditates for 24 hours on one foot at high hill rock. During those periods of meditation, he eats just three handfuls of barley flour. After the completion of meditation, the villagers assemble around him and sing ballads, perform folk dances and treat him like a god and worship him. He officiates as priest to perform the ancient ritual of the Minaro. Subsequently, he leads a congregation of worshippers at the appointment festival ground, and the villagers welcome him. They perform a folk dance with joy and sing ballads. The Hymnal of Bono-na has eighteen songs in the language of the Minaro. The Hymnal of Bono-na is considered holy for two main reasons. First, it contains the last remnant of the Minaro mythology and their cosmology. Secondly, it contains the historical recollection of the Minaro people. This hymnal has illustrated the list of place names of their migration from Gilgit to the present Da hanu region. 1
Origin
The elders of Dha claimed that their ancestors have originally came from Europe, and settled in Pur Valley, east of Gilgit. The three extraordinary son of Angutho, named Galo, Melo, and Dulo, became wealthy. After they faced an assassination plan from a king of Gilgit, the brothers Galo, Melo and Dulo decided settle in their favourite place. The son of Melo, Thopamaro, and the Dulo decided to stay in Ganokh. The son of Dulo, Gil singe, and the Melo in Nirdha. Finally Galo and this son settled in Handangsmin. Then they have planned to have a yearly festival hosted alternatively between Ganokh, Nirdah and Hangdangsmin. This festival is known as " Bono-na" festival. They had a Duhiya, a place for their deities, where they sacrifice a goat for them before starting the "Bono-na" festival. 1
The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Bono na”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. 1
Bono na is ancient festival of the Brokpa, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. 2