Celebration Me Feng is one of the oldest festivals in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has been celebrated for thousands of years.
Mayfeng is a Balti word meaning to throw fire. In ancient times, this festival was celebrated with great fervor in Baltistan and fire-fighting ceremonies were held in all corners of Baltistan, children, young, old and women. Everyone used to celebrate this festival together, the elders of the house used to make torches of sticks for their children whichIn the local language, Dandria is called Lander.
The youngsters would play concerts with their friends and the women would prepare delicious traditional dishes at home, notably Marzan, Azouq, Hizb, Khurbale Troble, Hjb Bale. This series of music, dance and firefighting continues throughout the night.
As soon as evening falls in celebration of Feng, people leave their homes, making fireballs or torches, singing in groups, and climb a high mound or hill, where they light a large collective bonfire and sit in a circle. Singing and dancing is an important part of this celebration, the dance is a fire dance while the local languageI call it Hughes.
In ancient times, Mayfeng was celebrated three weeks before and three weeks after December 21, but in modern times, the Balti people only celebrate it on December 21 and barely keep the festival alive. The belief about throwing flames from a high place while waving torches in celebration of May Feng was that when fire is brought out of the house, the evil spirits in the house are all gone with this fire, people pray that the time to come is ours. Good luck, plenty of water and good crops, all these prayers and then fireIs thrown down from a height.
The celebration marks the beginning of the new year according to the Feng Tibetan calendar, as Baltistan is heavily populated by Tibetans and in ancient times the area was part of Tibet.
Similarly, Budliff quotes another historian as saying that there is a valley between the mountains at the foot of the Karakoram and the Himalayas, crossing the Hindu Kush mountain range, where people celebrate fires on long December nights, everywhere. Young people light fires on high places and sing and danceThe valley is lit in December.
Another reason for the Mayfeng celebrations seems to be the long winter in Baltistan. Mercury drops to minus 30 degrees in the coldest nights of December and January, so life here is very difficult. From December 21, the long cold nights gradually get shorter and the days get bigger, so this festival heralds the arrival of spring. Can also be celebrated.