THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

Annual Fairs
In addition to the regular markets, there were the annual fairs,
The Madi Mulkharka u, for example, was held in the month of M4Rh each
year on the day of Sri Panchami (the fifth day of the waxing moon). A
similar me16 was held at Madi Rambeni, on a piece of ground by the
confluence of the Maya Khola and Piluwa Khola rivers on the 22nd Ceyt
(4th April). For those young people and some older who wanted to
venture further afield, there was a large annual me16 in Limbuwan near
Taplejung, called Sambidan mela, held over the first three days of Poush
(mid-December). Groups of young people from Tamaphok often travelled
together to attend these special events. Economic activity was only a
small part of the attraction of these &; far more important, in the
young people's eyes, was to meet people from other parts of the
region.",
One of the most interesting of these annual melSi, both because of
its timing and ethnic associations, was the Ranke Bazaar, which took
place the day after Saun San.krEinti in mid-July, the height of the
monsoon season, The Ranke was divided into two distinct parts,
temporally and spatially. During the day there was a market, held in
Chitre, a small roadside hamlet about 45 minutes walk from Basantapur
(Plate 291, This was renowned for the sale of jackfruit, the first of
the season brought up from the Tarai, as well as maize, bananas and
other warm weather crops.
As the afternoon wore on the nature of the event and its location
began to change. Caste Hindu f ami 1 ies headed for home, whi 1 e young men
and women of Tibeto-Burman extraction walked back to Basantapur to
prepare for the night's festivities. Approaching the town at this time