Nowruz Festival Hunza 2018


A very happy Nowruz to everyone!!

What is Nowruz festival?

It is also the Parsi New Year and a festival of spring, Jamshed-e-Navroz marked on the first day of the first month of the Shehenshai calendar followed by the Zoroastrian faith. Named after the Persian ruler Jamshed, in whose reign the festival began, Jamshed-e-Navroz is symbolic of rejuvenation and revitalization.

Nowruz in Hunza valley?

The people of Hunza valley, among others in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, celebrate the Persian new year with great energy. The celebrations are quite different from what is observed in modern day Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan etc but Hunza has been able to keep this tradition alive throughout centuries.

21st March 2018 has been observed a holiday across Hunza until recently when the region strictly started following the Pakistani calendar of holidays. On the occasion, people dress up and visit each other. Special prayers are offered in Imam Bargahs and Jamat Khanas and Mehdi, bangles, and Eidi are also part of Nowruz celebration. "I remember it has been celebrated with great joy," Shamsuddin Muhammad says. 'Bikak' is specially cooked for the occasion and young girls enjoy most by playing rope. Special open programs are organized to perform traditional dance and very famous among the men. Women and girls also swing and sing songs.

Here is a song on Nowruz by a blind singer from Hunza which was written by the late Allama Nasir Hunza,  father of Burushaski language.


Nowruz celebration in Karimabad, Hunza 2017




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