Ladakh: Chuchot – Appu and Appi dance around the patio heater

21. + 26. December 2025

 

 

Appu and Appi are the “elders” who, in the week following the start of Losar, drive out the old year and ask for blessings for the new year in the village of Chuchot. Over several days, they perform ceremonies in households each evening. Chuchot is divided into several units, and each unit celebrates on its own. For this purpose, one household is selected in rotation to be responsible for Appu and Appi in the following year. This household then appoints two (younger) men, who have a year to learn the rituals.

 

They go to every household, dance, joke around, bless the household deities (which is the most difficult part to learn), and bless everyone present in the house. People receive a dab of butter on their foreheads and then give money in return. Over the course of the days, quite a bit of money is collected; part of it is spent on all the food and drinks, and part may be kept by the two men. Appu must then shoot an arrow at a Skyin (see above – a creature shaped from repeatedly kneaded tsampa, a mix of a mythical being and an ibex). This comes from old times, when survival depended on successful hunting.

 

We were invited to attend this household ritual one evening. The household was very cheerful, and there was also some general dancing: first a few men, and then my group together with two men. It was fun. They dance very slowly, which makes it easy to keep up, but at the same time the individual steps and arm and hand movements are more significant, and you really have to be skilled to do them properly.

 

Appi had a bit of difficulty remembering everything and therefore often had to be prompted by the audience about what to do next. This repeatedly caused laughter.

 

We were also offered butter tea, milk tea, chang, snacks, and an evening meal. And there were many joyful faces welcoming us. Here are my photos from the evening (overall, I filmed more than I took photos):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also found it amusing that people danced around the patio heater.

 

After Appu and Appi have gone through all the households, there is a closing ceremony, which usually lasts the entire day and takes place on different days depending on the household unit. This year there was disagreement about how much of the ceremony should be performed – some were in favor of the full program, others of a reduced version. “Our” Appu and Appi wanted to do the full program, but this conflicted with another major celebration elsewhere. We therefore attended a reduced celebration on a different day, and we liked that one very much as well.

 

First, however, we had lunch in a private home with a woman who showed us her traditional clothing. The head of the household also posed:

 

 

 

 

A few houses further on, everything had been set up for Appu and Appi. First, they jumped and danced around inside the house, moving about in one room. These two were cheekier and even funnier than those from the previous ceremony.

 

 

 

 

During a break in the dancing, Appi received a video call:

 

 

Chuchot also has a large Muslim community, and the children—especially the girls—were enthusiastically involved, clustering at the window together with the other children:

 

 

 

In the courtyard, a festive tent had been set up with an “altar.” Women and men sat separately, drinking and enjoying themselves. Appu and Appi danced here as well and collected a lot of money. Amounts deemed too small were rejected and, amid laughter, more was squeezed out. They particularly targeted people with good incomes. When the amount was right, a little celebratory dance was performed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In between food was cooked and served:

 

 

 

 

The afternoon wore on, and the monks had already finished their storma and thread construction, into which they had incorporated everything “negative,” and were waiting up on the roof.

 

 

 

And then the moment finally arrived. The sadhus jumped in:

 

 

 

Appi ran off, leaving a trail of flour behind him.

 

 

Appu grabbed the storma/thread construction and ran with the sadhus after him, all out of the village and onto a field. In a large ceremony, Appu shot an arrow, the construction was chopped up, old clothing was removed and replaced with new clothing (so the elders were transformed into the young), and they returned to the house carrying a block of ice. I wanted to capture everything on film. I was quick (and puffing accordingly) and had managed to get a great spot, filming and filming – until I sadly realized that I hadn’t actually turned the camera on. How frustrating! So for the blog, only these two photos remain:

 

 

 

Maybe I’ll come again someday. I really enjoy these celebrations, with all their excitement and joy, and I’m happy to be part of them when these very ancient traditions are kept alive.

 

We weren’t done with Losar yet; another celebration awaited us. But in between, we had a day of “break”.