DEHRADUN: A centuries-old victory ritual returned to Gunji, a Himalayan border village near the China and Nepal frontiers, on Saturday after a 12-year interval, as residents symbolically beheaded an effigy of a legendary Jumli king.
At about 10,500 feet in Pithoragarh district's Dharchula subdivision, Gunji is a major halt on the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage route and was once an important Indian centre for border trade with Tibet. Its strategic location and cultural importance have drawn visitors from the Vyas, Darma and Chaudas valleys.
The ceremony, known as ‘Jumli Hya Samo’, commemorates the community's deliverance from what oral tradition describes as the ruler's tyranny. “The ritual represents freedom from oppression and the triumph of the people,” local residents said.
Organisers prepared the king's effigy on a palanquin, placing the blood and entrails of a black goat inside as prescribed by custom. Young volunteers then carried it to Phasganj ground and concealed it among bushes.
Later, children, young people and elders, dressed in traditional attire and carrying swords, marched to the ground under the leadership of the village head and local spirit mediums, known as devdangars. The mediums searched the scrub until they located the hidden figure.
At the ceremony's climax, the village head severed the effigy's head with a single sword stroke. Other residents then struck it in accordance with tradition and applied the blood released from the figure to their foreheads as a “victory tilak”.
Following the ritual, participants returned to Gunji in a triumphant procession. At the village entrance, women in brightly coloured traditional dress welcomed them with 'mangal geet' (traditional song), or auspicious folk songs.
Celebrations featuring music and community gatherings continued late into the night.
Representatives of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) and Border Roads Organisation (BRO) attended alongside residents, relatives and guests from neighbouring valleys. The ITBP assisted with arrangements and crowd management.
Festivities continued on Sunday with cultural performances and a community feast, bringing together families from across the remote high-altitude region. For Gunji, the rare revival was both a celebration of heritage and a public reaffirmation of an identity shaped by the frontier.
The gathering also underscored enduring links among the Vyas, Darma and Chaudas communities despite distance, often difficult terrain and long Himalayan winters.