GILGIT: The traditional Bow festival was celebrated in Phekar area of Nagar district on Thursday to welcome the arrival of spring season.

After the celebrations, the local people start cultivation in their agriculture fields, hoping for a good crop in the upcoming season. Participants of the event enjoyed local traditional dishes and performed rituals at the venue.

Riaz Ali, a resident of Phekar, told this scribe that the festival was celebrated in their village in February every year and usually on Thursday. The village has a population of about 5,000 people. He explained that in old times the villagers faced food shortage when the wheat production declined in their fields. He said that the villagers then went to a local spiritual leader, Syed Dawood, who advised them a spiritual practice and the villagers still followed the ritual in the form of festival.

The event was usually celebrated in a field situated near the shrine of Pir Syed Dawood at Phekar village. According to the tradition, each villager brings seeds of different crops and sow them symbolically during the festival.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018