Basoa or Bishu is a festival celebrated by aboriginals and the farming folk of
Himachal Pradesh on the first day of the month of Baisakh. Three days before the festival, the people make cakes from Kodra flour, and wrap them in leaves.
On the morning of the festival, the people invite their married daughters and other relatives, and then break and eat these cakes with honey and water flavored with jaggery. They also sing many ritual songs.
In Chamba, some inter-village festivals called Jataras take place in memory of Queen Sui during Basoa. They sing sad songs about the queen and refresh the old memories in the hearts of the people.
In Kinnaur District during Basoa, the people cook a savoury gruel known as Doon and eat it together with family members. The villages, which do not celebrate Chaitrual, consider Basoa as the beginning of a new year. On this day, the Gods are dressed in special finery, and the brass masks of the gods are cleaned and polished.
