Which of the following best captures the core rituals and symbolism of the Fagli (Kus/Kuns) festival in Pattan Valley?

Correct — B. The Lahaul-Spiti district administration describes a day of Fagli called punha, a symbolic ploughing of the fields.

The fields lie under snow at that season, so two green willow sticks stand for the bullocks and two more for the yoke and plough, and they are moved forward in the room before the Baraza → option (b).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Baraza, symbolizing Shikhara-Appa, is made with marigold and turmeric and placed at village shrines. — Village shrines is the error. The Baraza does represent Shikhara-Appa and is decked with marigolds, but it is a draped bamboo stick set up inside the house.
• (c)
  Totu, made of wheat and honey, is offered on rooftops to priests, then fed to goats. — Wheat and honey is wrong: totu is a dough of roasted barley flour and buttermilk. It is offered to the deities on the roof, then shared by the family as prasada.
• (d)
  Kwari sweets are made by elder women for temple offerings, as men chant to crow spirits. — Crows are fed, not chanted to. The head of the family and his wife prepare kwari, and it is thrown to the crows waiting for it, not made for a temple.

Fagli, locally Kus or Kuns, is one of the main festivals of the Pattan valley in Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh. It falls on the Amavasya, the moonless night, in the first or second week of February, a fortnight after Khogla.

Houses are decorated and lamps lit. A Baraza is set up: a bamboo stick draped in white cloth and dressed with jewellery and marigolds. It represents Shikhara-Appa, 'grandmother of the peak', whose visit is thought to bring prosperity.

Key facts

• Fagli (Kus or Kuns) is a festival of Lahaul's Pattan valley, held on the Amavasya in the first or second week of February.
• Punha is the day of symbolic ploughing, done indoors with willow sticks because the fields are under snow.
• The Baraza, a draped bamboo stick, represents Shikhara-Appa, 'grandmother of the peak'.
• Totu, a dough of roasted barley flour and buttermilk, is offered to the deities on the roof.

Common traps

• Choosing (a) because Shikhara-Appa and the marigolds are genuine. The Baraza is set up inside the house, not at village shrines.
• Confusing Lahaul's Fagli with the masked Fagli dances held in other parts of Himachal Pradesh.

No directly related past PYQ was found.