The festival of 'Sonam Lochar' in Sikkim is celebrated by which community?

Sonam Lochar is the New Year festival of the Tamang community, celebrated in Sikkim, the Darjeeling hills of West Bengal and Nepal. It is celebrated on the first day of the bright half of the month of Magh, usually in late January or February. "Sonam" means farmer or prosperity, and "Lochar" (Losar) means new year.

Sonam Lochar is celebrated according to the Tamang calendar, which, like the Tibetan calendar, follows a cycle of 12 years, each named after an animal, such as the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, bird, dog and pig. The festival marks the change from one animal year to the next. It is also associated with the end of the winter season and the beginning of the farming season.

The Tamangs are mainly Buddhists. During Sonam Lochar, they visit monasteries (gompas) to offer prayers, light butter lamps and hoist new prayer flags. Homes are cleaned and decorated, and families prepare special dishes and sweets, such as "khapse" (fried biscuits) and sel roti. People wear their traditional costumes and jewellery, visit relatives and friends, and seek the blessings of elders. Cultural programmes are held, with performances of the traditional Damphu dance, named after the "damphu", a round, flat drum that is the traditional musical instrument of the Tamangs. The festival is a public holiday in Sikkim.

The Tamangs are one of the communities of Nepali origin living in Sikkim and the Darjeeling hills. Sikkim has a diverse population, including the Lepchas, the Bhutias and many Nepali communities, such as the Gurungs, Tamangs, Limbus, Rais, Sherpas and Newars. Each community has its own New Year: Tamu Lochar (Gurungs, 30 December), Losoong (Bhutias and Lepchas, December) and Losar (Tibetan New Year).

Why not the other options?

• ✗Gurung community celebrates Tamu Lochar.
• ✗Limbu community celebrates Chasok Tangnam.
• ✗Lepcha community celebrates Namsoong (Losoong).