The post Nepal’s Biggest Festival Season: Tihar, A Festival of Humans, Birds, Animals and Colors appeared first on Nepali Sansar.
]]>Also known by the names Deepawali and Yamapanchak, Tihar is the second biggest Nepalese festival after Dashain and usually falls in the month of October or November every year.
Yamapanchak, meaning the five days of Yama, honors Yama Raj, the God of Death.
Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and luck is also widely worshiped during this period.
The festivals brings together the key aspects of nature- people, animals and colors. As part of the festive rituals, cows, crows, dogs and ox are worshiped across the country symbolizing the manifestation of various gods.
Tihar festival begins with the worshiping of crow, which is considered as the messenger of death in Hindu tradition. Crows are considered to be the messengers of death and the belief is that by pleasing them, they would not bring any news of sorrow to the family.
On the day, Nepali Hindus offer different food items to crows early in the morning and pray for luck, as they believe crows bring in messages to houses at the start of the dawn.
The second day of the festival is dedicated to dogs and is celebrated as Kukur (dog) Tihar.
On the Kukur Tihar day, the entire Nepali Hindu community worships dogs owing to their religious significance as the guard of Lord Yama, the god of death. It is also believed that dogs can lead the souls of the dead to heaven.
Dogs are offered special prayers with tika, garland and delicious foods.
The third day of Tihar is called Gai Tihar and marks the worshiping of holy cows, which hold great significance in the Hindu tradition. On the day, cows and goddess Lakshmi are worshiped with great fervor as cows are considered to be a form of goddess Lakshmi.
People illuminate their homes with bright lights, candles & oil lamps and keep their doors and windows open to welcome prosperity. Additionally, people play cards and light fireworks.
The fourth day of Tihar witnesses the worshiping of oxen and is celebrated as Goru Puja. Apart from Goru Puja, this auspicious day also marks three different pujas including Govardhan Puja and Mha Puja.
On this auspicious day, Vaishnavism followers perform the Govardhan Puja, where believers worship a Govardhan Parvat made of cow dung.
After worshiping animals for three days, the fourth day justifies the concept of worshiping the soul, which is common in all beings. The Newari community performs the Mha Puja and worship their own souls.
This is the fifth and the concluding day of the 5-day long Tihar festival.
On this day, sisters adorn the foreheads of their brothers with Paanch Rangi Tika, a combination of five different colors including yellow, green, red, blue and white, wishing them a long life and prosperity.
While sisters offer Shaguns (wishing good luck) of dry fruits such as hazelnut (Katus), walnuts, sweets and fruits, brothers in return give them gifts and money along with blessings of protection assurance for the rest of their life.
Visitors to Nepal during this time can enjoy the grand Tihar festival in Kathmandu with colorful night lighting and many cultural and religious celebrations. Rani Pokhari temple, which is open to the public only on the fifth day of Tihar each year, is another attraction. The five days of the Tihar festival provide a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the Nepalese hospitality and leave with memories that last a lifetime.
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]]>Tihar is the second most important festival of the Nepal’s biggest festival season, after Dashain.
With the festival fast approaching, the government officials have already begun strict market monitoring activity to see that there is no malpractice in case of food items sold in the market.
The Department of Supplies Management (DoSM) and the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) have already begun making special inspections in the market.
These departments have been sending across market monitoring teams to check adulteration in the Kathmandu Valley and across other parts of the country.
“We have focused mainly on shops selling ghee, sweets, cooking oil, apparels and footwear,” says DoSM Director General Kumar Prasad Dahal.
As part of their inspection rounds, the officials have so far destroyed a large quantity of food items and sweets that were found with expiry date.
On account of Tihar and Chhath festivals, the sales demand for earthenware products such as diyos (butter lamps) and jars made of clay and ceramic is on rise in the villages of Mahottari District.
The demand for these products has resulted in creation of a specific market that sells only these clay and ceramic products.
“More than 20 new such shops have sprouted in the major junction and local market of Bardibas,” says Bhawanath Khatiwada, General Secretary of Bardibas Trade Association.
This appears as a good opportunity for the communities that hold expertise in making such natural products.
The sale and purchase of earthenware in Mahottari bazaar, during the Tihar and Chhath festivals alone, makes up business worth Rs 2.5 million, says the Mahottari Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Owing to the rise in demand for flowers such as marigold, globe amaranth and chrysanthemum during Tihar, the flower market usually demands on imports to meet the domestic demand.
However, it’s not the case for this Tihar.
“Last year, we had met around 40 percent of demand for marigold during Tihar festival through imports. This year, import of marigold is expected to come down to almost 20 percent of the demand,” says Dilip Bade, senior vice president of Floriculture Association of Nepal (FAN).
Bade was confident about sufficient supply of such flowers during the festival. “We have already achieved self-sufficiency in chrysanthemum and globe amaranth,” he added.
The demand for dry fruits is usually at peaks during Tihar festival, as the Nepali Hindu women offer these delicious items to their brothers during the Bhai Tika festival.
Owing to the demand and to finish off the existing stock, not even an artificial price hike is expected in the market in terms of dry fruits sales.
“If dry fruits remain unsold, they will remain in stock of traders for a year. That is why I don’t think there will be artificial price hike. Customers will not have to pay more for dry fruits for the Bhai Tika festival,” says Devendra Bhakta Shrestha, Secretary, Nepal Chamber of Commerce (NCC).
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]]>Nepal’s longest festival Dashain concluded yesterday with the celebration of Kojagrat Purnima among the country’s Hindu community.
Vijaya Dashami is the tenth and most auspicious day of the festival and marks the celebration of goddess’ victory over the demon Mahisasura.
Following the 10th day, Nepalese continue the victory celebrations for the next five days and conclude the 15-long Dashain festival on the Kojagrat Purnima day.
This is also the final day for Nepalese receiving tika, jamara, prasad and blessings from their elders.
Jamara (barley sprouts), grown as part of the Dashain rituals, will be removed from the Dashain Ghar on this day and immersed in holy rivers.
Marking the Purnima night, the devotees remain awake throughout the night offering special prayers to Goddess Lakshmi for prosperity and wealth.
The Nepali Hindu community strongly believes that the Goddess Lakshmi roams around the earth on this special day and blesses those Ko-jagrat (meaning ‘who is awake’ in Nepali).
Concluding the 15-day long Dashain, the Kojagrat Purnima day also marks the beginning of preparations for the other two important festivals of the Nepal’s biggest festival season i.e. Tihar, the festival of lights, and Chhath.
Tihar falls two weeks after the concluding day of Dashain. This year, it is celebrated from October 19-21, 2017.
Chhath is another important festival of Nepal that is celebrated on October 25, 2017 in 2017.
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