Every dzongkhag (district) has numerous ancient religious and folk/ritual festivals mostly conducted annually; some of the festivals are conducted once in two to three years. The festivals play vital role in binding community members together, thus living in peace and harmony. It also reflects community identity. But as the village communities are increasingly exposed to modern ways and amenities, the younger generation is increasingly oriented towards the modern world and is proportionately less enthusiastic to participate in festivals.
While previous generations have been able to sustain festivals by observing and understanding the celebrations and through their shared experiences and memories, the younger generation is comparatively less informed about the festival tradition that so identifies them as their heritage. Elderly community members express concern that festival celebration will lose its prestige and priority in the minds of younger generations with each passing year, and that such a situation might contribute to the loss of an important local religious and folk celebration.
So in order to preserve and promote the tradition of festival celebrations, NLAB aspires to document and research festivals of every district and bring out a special volume of report on each district. The NLAB has completed the research of Bumthang District and published a book titled, “Festivals of Bumthang Dzongkhag”. At present, NLAB is working on the festivals of Lhuentse Dzongkhag which is planned to be published towards the end of the 12th FYP.