Dashain : Gathering and Celebrating Together

Dashain is one of the major festivals celebrated in Nepal. The festival, which falls around the month September-October, is also celebrated all around the world by the Nepalese Diaspora. Since family and relatives gather while worshipping gods and goddess and celebrating the days, the value of the festival has also increased. Family dispersed in due of their works returns to their home during Dashain.

The festival is a blend of Hindu Tantrik and animistic harvest festival traditions. Ghatasthapana is the first days of the festival. "Dashain Ghar", special worship room is set up on this day, where Astha-Matrikas (the 8 tantrik goddesses) and Nava Durgas (the 9 durga goddesses) are worshipped. Barley is sowed on big earthern pots which have a coating of cow dung. These seeds will sprout in ten days. The sprouts, which symbolize a good harvest, will be decoratively placed on the heads of family members later on in the festival as a blessing.

On the seventh day, Fulpaati, the town of Gorkha sends an offering of flowers to Kathmandu. A band associated with the army also plays its music and goes through the old core of Kathmandu.

Day after Saptami is Asthami - the day of sacrifices. Goddess temples all over the Kathmandu Valley receive sacrifices, ranging from goats and buffaloes to ducks and chickens. Blood, symbolic for its fertility, is offered to the goddesses. This meat is taken home, cooked and takes the food as a blest by divinity. This food, after offering to the household gods, is shared amongst the family.

Sacrifices continue on Navami, the ninth day. Families will visit various temples around the Kathmandu Valley. On the tenth day, "Dashami," a mixture of rice, yogurt and vermillion will be prepared by the women. This preparation is known as "Tika". Elders put this on the forehead of youngers to bless them with fertility and abundance in the upcoming year. The red also symbolizes the blood that ties the family together. Elders will give "dakshina", or a small amount of money, to younger relatives at this time. The Tika continues for five days, during which time people also gather to play cards around massive amounts of food and drink.

In several parts of Nepal, Dashain is the only time of the year when people receive a set of new clothing. Likewise, in poorer families, the animal sacrifice was eagerly anticipated since it might be the only animal protein the family would eat all year. This may be true in certain parts of Nepal where food is in low supply, but is less so in the cities. In general, the tradition of sacrifice is lessening with the easy availability of meat for daily consumption, and with the influences of Vaishnav Hindus (who are vegetarian).

Indra Jatra...

This festival falls on the fourteenth day of the bright moon fortnight of Bhadra (sept): but it starts on the twelfth day of the bright fortnight: then all together it lasts for eight day. The main day of the festival is believed to be the fourteenth day of the fortnight. On the twelfth day of the Bhadra bright fortnight a thirty-two feet’s long pole is erected at the Hanumandhoka palace in Basantapur. This pole has been brought always traditionally from the forest of Bhaktapur. After adjusting the long pole Lord Indra’s idol is worshipped. The lord’s idol keeps tying round by the threads. There’s an interesting anecdote regarding to this Tying Indra:

Once Lord Indra’s mother was on her religious worshipping program and she was in need of flower called parijat. His mother then sent him to search the flower; then lord Indra went to search of that flower; and finally he saw that flower there in the garden of Hanumandhoka. He then thought of stealing the flower; and went to steal the flower. Suddenly a soothsayer Baidhya saw him and captivated him there and he was released only after eight day when his mother came there to request the soothsayer. So this festival lasts for eight days. The lord’s idol is kept at certain Guthiyar’s house and it’s brought only once in a year when the festival starts.

The fair starts only when lord Indra is worshipped there highly in a traditional manner. Many people crowd there to look the starting day of the festival. Since that day the Hanumandhoka palace looks very unusual; until the ending of the fete different kinds of mask dances from different parts of the valley are demonstrated.

On the fourteenth day of the bright fornight of the festival which is called the main day of the festival; Kumari the Living Goddess’s chariot is rounded around the main through fares of the city. Also two bachelor small boys from shakya Newari cast are kept each on the separate chariot as a fenture of God Bhairab and Ganesh; then they are also rounded along with the kumari’s chariot. The chariot procession starts only when President of Nepal worships there by offering some monetary donation (Dakchhina) and takes the Prasad (oblation) from there .The chariots are rounded altogether two days and ends on the second day. Many kinds of traditional mask dances are shown along with the kumari Jatra Viz. Halchowk’s Aakahs Bhirab dance; Bhaktapur’s Mahakali dances; Kilagal’s Pulukishi dances are the famous ones. The Royal Sword (Khadga) also is shown along with the jatra and the army Band also parades together along with the chariot; the typical Nepali traditional band “The panchai Baja” also walks in the chariot voyage playing the music. The main through fares of the voyage are Lagantole, Bhimsenthan, Marutole, chikamangol, Jaishideval, Jyabahal, Bramantole, Kilagal, Bhotahiti, Asan, Indrachowk and etc palaces.

On the second day night, the Dangi procession is carried out which is believed to be the mother of lord Indra. Along with the Dangi the devotees scatter Sadbij (miscellanous items of a few cereals) in the name of their deceased souls; this is also called to go to see the dead soul’s path traveling towards the heaven.

On the eight day, the last day of the fete the three chariot compulsorily should travel via kilagal because a long time back when there were many kings in the valley; a king’s queen wished to see the Nanichaya’s Jatra means the kumari’s fair; so it’s believed that since that time, the voyage uses to travel via there compulsorily because the queen used to stay in kilagal. On this day too His Majesty the king comes to take the Tika from these living deities in Hanumandhoka.