Published Paper Details:

Folk festivals and Fairs are a component of folk tradition, which is essentially the customs that represent the distinct culture of a certain Indigenous groups that sets them apart from other culture or traditions. It is among the tools that allow us to distinguish the way of life of a specific community. The study is taken on folk festival of Rawain Valley of Uttarkashi District with special reference to folk festival Devlang of Gair Banal. Geographically, the Rawain pargana (District) was a part of erstwhile Tehri principality, which was a populated and geographically wide area during the reign of Tehri monarch (1815-1949 A.D). The Rawain Valley consists of 18 Pattis (Revenue blocks), Banal Patti is one of the 18 Pattis of Rawain Valley, where Devlang festival is celebrated. The study intended to introduce the unique traditions & rituals involved in Devlang and various dimensions like Folk Deity of Banal Patti, the two conflicting Thoks (Sathi and Pansai), who demonstrate their power to establish supremacy over one another, Role of Khund (Militia and one of the important parts of folk deity regency) and Ritualistic role of Nattan (a group of dalit community). This paper tends to outreach different realms of Devlang fair and its importance in Maintaining age old culture and traditions in Rawain Valley. Both primary and secondary sources are used, Primary data is collected by structured interviews with village veterans, priests, and Nattan community and for the secondary source's books, Articles and journals were used.