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Festivals of Nepal

Dashain

The most important of all festivals. Celebrated all over Nepal. In some ways it may be compared with Christmas, but, of course, its background is completely different. Like many Nepalese festivals, Dashain has many facets:

Dashain is dedicated to Goddess Durga (therefore it is also called "Durga Puja"). It commemorates Durga's victory over the demon-buffalo Mahisasur, which led to its more extensive significance as the "festival celebrating the victory of Good over Evil"!

Dashain also commemorates the victory of the Hindu hero Rama over the evil demon-king Ravan who, as described in the epic called "Ramayan", kidnapped Ram's wife Sita and kept her imprisoned for many years in his island of Ceylon.

In the eyes of the farmers, Dashain means the promise of a prosperous crop for it coincides with the time when barley has to be sown.

Above all and for all Nepalis, Dashain, somehow like Christmas, is the occasion for exchange of visits and presents.

The word "Dashain" means "Ten days" ("das" in Nepali = "ten") Indeed, the most important day of this long-drawn festival coincides with the "tenth" day after the new moon (called "aunsi") of the month of "Ashwin" But "Dashain" begins on the first day of the clear fortnight of that month.

In every house, village, and town of the country. Dashain is one of the few festivals that is celebrated throughout the country.

Before Dashain starts, a general cleaning takes place in each house. Floors are thoroughly washed with water and cow-dung, walls are white-washed or painted in ochre and, since every family wishes to have Durga visiting their home, a "path" of red or yellow powder is spread from the doorstep to the "puja-room" ( or the "puja-corner" if, like in modest houses, there is no special room ) where all daily rites are performed.

At the entrance of each village (sometimes also on its main square) a curious scaffolding is erected. It consists of four huge bamboo poles, strongly tied together two by two on top, their "legs" widely spread out and solidly fixed in the ground. a horizontal bar links the four poles and a swing made of twisted and intertwined bamboo and other fibbers are attached to this bar with thick ropes.

Young and old enjoy using these swings during the whole Dashain period and immediately when it is over, they are dismantled. In some villages, the swing is replaced (or added to) a system of rotating wheel to which four primitive seats are attached.

On the banks of each river: devotees perform their ritual ablutions and offer fruits and flowers to Durga.

The various stages of the festival:

The first day :this day is called Ghatasthapana and is an official holiday. The word means: "preparing the sacred jar". In fact, on that day nothing spectacular happens in the open. But in each house, the holy water-vessel called "Kalash", often embossed with Durga's image, is taken out of its recess and filled with consecrated water and, on the outside, a few seeds of barley are planted with great care in a mixture of cow-dung and fine sand collected from the banks of the sacred river Bagmati. This vessel is kept in a dark room and the seeds and forthcoming sprouts are watered every day. No women is supposed to enter this room for ten days. But special rites must be observed and wealthy families hire the services of a Brahmin for this purpose. On the last day of Dashain, it is important that these sprouts should have grown to about four inches . a good omen for the coming harvest. Then, men and women cut the sprouts and fix them, shaped like a small yellow-green bouquet in their hair above the left ear, a pretty as well as a luck-bringing ornament.

The following four days, again nothing is to be seen in the streets. On what is traditionally called "the seventh day", but which does not necessarily coincide with it, the first important ceremony is "Fulpati" which means: the day of the flowers.

In the early morning hours, boys prepare their kites by rubbing the strings with a mixture of glue and glass-powder. Kite-flying, throughout all Dashain, becomes a real sport. Its objective consists in "cutting" the opponent's string if his own has a sharper glass-coating. (In fact, simple kite-flying starts earlier than Dashain for it is connected with the approach of the monsoon and originally, the kites were regarded as a kind of "prayer-letter" sent to the abode of the gods to beg for beneficial rain at the right time.)

The main ceremony of the "seventh day" is the solemn arrival of the "Royal Kalash" to Kathmandu. This is a jar made of red-brown clay containing various kinds of flowers, long-stemmed banana-leaves, sugarcane stalks etc. , a whole bouquet neatly tied together with a red (Nepal's national and most "auspicious" color) silk or cotton ribbon.

This jar is carried by a group of Brahmins. All the way from Gurkha, some 45m. west (72 km. ) of Kathmandu. Having reached the capital, their first stop is the Royal parade-ground called Tundikhel where His Majesty is in the process of reviewing the troops and receiving "Dasain wishes" from Nepalese and foreign dignitaries. Officials who do not attend the military parade gather nearby, all of them wearing the formal Nepalese dress, the black coat and the immaculate white jodhpur, the head covered by the black "topi" cap.

Why has this jar to be brought all the way from Gorkha ?

Firstly, because Gorkha is the cradle of the present reigning dynasty and the princedom from which Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great started his unification campaign. Secondly, because the "Fulpati" bouquet symbolizes Taleju, the Royal family's tutelary goddess whose most sacred image is enshrined in the ancient Gorkha Palace.

The second stage of the Fulpati procession is Hanuman Dhoka. Along this route, the jar is carried on a richly decorated palanquin, protected by a hand-painted umbrella and preceded by a unit of soldiers wearing the black uniform dating back to Prithvi Narayan's time (end or the 18th century).

Later, the Fulpati is carried inside the old Royal Palace and deposited in one of the courtyards reserved for the members of the Royal Family. The Sovereign and his entourage preceded by a detachment of red-uniformed horse-guards arrive at this place to "make certain" that the Kalash and the Fulpati have reached now their final destination.

The following day, i.e. the "Great Eighth day" ("Maha Astami") and, even more so, the night after, called "Kala Ratri" (= the Black night), are mainly dedicated to massive sacrifices of various animals as offerings to Durga and her blood-thirsty 'alter ego', Kali.

On this occasion, it is a matter of several hundreds of he-goats imported mostly from Tibet over the dreaded Nangpa - La (18,945 f. = 5776 m.) in the Khumbu which are doomed, after having been granted a last couple of days "rest" on Tundikhel's grazing ground, where they are fed, weighed and sold. In addition, several hundreds of buffaloes are also offered to Durga, in commemoration of her victory over Mahisasur.

The sacrifices take place near one of the many temples on Hanuman Dhoka, specifically in one of the courtyards. At midnight, 8 buffaloes and 108 (a very auspicious, even sacred number), goats will be beheaded, the first ones with a large sword called "khora", the second with the ordinary "khukri". Both executions have to be carried out with one stroke only. Woe to the executioner who would have to resort to a second ! During the rest of the night, festive suppers are served in many Nepalese houses. Meat (collected after the sacrifices) is distributed profusely: Dashain is one of the few occasions in many families when meat is consumed !

On the ninth day, called "Navami" the series of sacrifices continue from dawn onwards, this time in the historical "Kot courtyard" close to the Police Head-Quarters building on Hanuman Dhoka. Foreigners may attend this ceremony if they get up early and then only if there is still space to accommodate them on the special balcony reserved for them.

Here, the blood of the sacrificed animals helps to protect the regimental flags presented at the Kot and, in town, the bonnet and wheels of all vehicles, At the airport, it is the nose of each plane which will be sprinkled with goat's blood. The stains must remain for a whole week, otherwise, the protection would not be effective against any mishap. Similarly, tools, instruments etc. are being given the same treatment.

The tenth day marks the end but also the apex of the whole festival: thousands of good-wish cards are exchanged and mailed among relatives and friends.

In the course of the morning it is imperative that each Nepali calls on his elder relatives, to begin with his parents and grand-parents. Officials have to call on their superiors with the purpose of receiving from them the "tika" i.e. the red dot - a mixture of sindur powder rice-grains and curd, placed on the forehead. The "tika" ceremony also takes place inside the Royal Palace, where His Majesty himself receives it from the High-priest attached to the Palace. In turn, His Majesty puts the red dot on forehead of the dignitaries, officials etc... who come to present the Sovereign their good wishes, loyalty and respect.

In the afternoon, in all three cities of the Valley, masked dances and processions mark the end of Dashain. Several of these dancers carry wooden swords, also a symbol of a Durga and a reminder of her prowess.

Dashain ends on the day of the full moon (Kartik Purnima) a day on which Hindu women go fasting and proceed on a pilgrimage to Pashupatinath.

To be noted: Buddhists also take part in the Dashain festival although it is, of course, primarily, a Hindu celebration. But in Patan and Bhadgaon, where there is a large Buddhist population, many processions may be watched, visiting one shrine, sanctuary or temple after the other, offering rice-grains, coins etc... to Buddha or Bodhisttava statues.

Dashain is over and the Nepalis who have observed all the rites face the coming twelve months with full confidence.

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