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COVER STORY |
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COVER STORY |
FESTIVALS With
the increase in the population, Kathmandu valley's dynamics and structures of population
have changed. New migrant families are coming up and the structures of old families are
transforming from extended ones to nucleus. The family relation is no more confined to a
particular locality and caste as it has become heterogeneous in nature. Many families even
have married relations to international families. Since valley has turned into a
metropolitan, one can witness the transformation taking place in our age-old rituals,
festivals and cultures. From celebrating rituals to marriage, the valley has seen drastic
and dramatic transformation. Traditional systems are fading away and new system is
gradually replacing the older one. As usual, Kathmandu valley is embracing change keeping
intact its tradition of harmony and accommodation By KESHAB
POUDEL "Kathmandu
was always changing, ever the same, inevitable fascinating," said Desmond Doig, one
of the prominent writer and adventurist, who has written a number of articles on
Kathmandu's temples, festivals and lifestyle. Although Desmond Doig died about two decades
ago, his observations are still valid. Valley's three
main river systems - which were the part and parcel of the valley's rituals and festivals
- are polluted and the banks are covered by new buildings and crowded market. Many spaces
and places - which used to be a part of the festival cycles - have already disappeared.
Despite
the change in the physical landscape, people continue to perform the rituals for symbolic
value. There have been certain modifications in the traditional lifestyles but it still
preserves some of its core values and symbols. "Of
course, communities are gradually giving up the habit of practicing rituals and festivals,
individuals are still performing them as a symbolic value. This is a part of
transformation," said professor Dr. Rishikeshab Raj Regmi. When Kathmandu
valley, which was isolated from the rest of the world, was opened in 1950, only a few
could imagine that the situation would change to what it is today. Covered by green and
fertile land and sporadically isolated settlements, the valleys' population was
homogenous. Festivals
Add Color One of the
important aspects of life of the valley was that it was colorful as there were many
festivals in the annual calendar. "The entire year is a series of festival in Nepal.
The celebration mark religious events, life-cycle ceremonies, and the marking of
historical events and seasons. Time is divided between work and worship, and hardly a week
passes without some festival being celebrated somewhere in the country," said Dr.
Regmi. "As
diverse as the ethnic make-up of the population, the festivals of Nepal reflect the
cultural mosaic that is the Kingdom." Even Daniel
Wright, British resident representative to Nepal wrote "As the shrines in Nepal are
estimated at the modest number of 2,733, it may naturally be supposed that the religious
festivals are somewhat numerous. To the stranger indeed they seem never ending, and marvel
is when people find time to earn their livelihood."
With the
growth of population and the expansion of new settlements, the valley's green rice fields
- which are the sources of valley's festivals - have turned into the concrete jungle.
There is reduction in the festivities. Three decades ago, it was subsistence-based society
with a very little integration with the rest of the Kingdom. The opening up the roads and
urbanization of the valley paved the way for integration with the rest of the Kingdom.
This integration increased the economic values of the land. After the
restoration of democracy in 1990 and opening up of the shortest route to Kathmandu through
Mugling-Narayanghat, the distance of the capital has shortened. As the country is
integrated with the rest of the capital, the marriage and family structures have also
transformed. Not only the inter-caste marriage - though it is still insignificant among
different castes and ethnic groups - but also the exposure of Nepalese citizens to the
outside world has resulted in increasing number of Nepalese families that have
international relations. Today, many
families in the valley have international connections. From a family of major
industrialist to a commoner and from royalty to others, the families have become
internationalized. Many families have marriages relations with Chinese, Japanese,
European, Thai, American and other international community. Sanubhai's
Story Sanubhai
Maharjan, 58, a resident of Handigaun, has four daughters and a son. Maharjan's son is now
in Canada married to a girl from a Caribbean country. His younger daughter is married to a
Sherpa, older to a Brahmin of Biratnagar and other two daughters married to Maharjan
community.
Sanubhai
still celebrates the festivals regularly although there has been marked change in Sanubhai and
his wife - who have not yet met with their only daughter-in-law - are Gone are the
days when Sanubhai, when younger, had to walk to his land near Dhobikhola carrying rice,
beans and bread for frogs. "During those days, these were the very things we ate at
home." Maharjan is not
alone to have such a heterogeneous family representing different race and caste. There are
thousands of people like Maharjan whose family structures have already transformed pushing
forth reforms in the traditional festivals. "Nepal's
traditional culture has been transforming since it was exposed to the western and other
culture. We inherited many things from outside. You can see this change in the
festivals," said anthropologist Padma Lal Devkota. "Whether in Gaijatra or Janai
Purnima or Ghantakarna, youths celebrate the festival carrying many western taste."
In
traditional society, the festivals used to be modes for entertainment as there were only
limited ways to entertain. The situation has changed now and there are various forms of
entertainment available these days. The
introduction of satellite cable television channel has already offered a new vista of
entertainment. Nobody needs to go outside to watch festivals. Some festivals
are related to the political life of the people. The Gaijatra - a cow festival to honor
the dead - is also known as a festival to pass satires at any political issue. During
Panchayat days when all political activities were banned, artistes used to expose the
political and other matters through this festival. Following the restoration of democracy,
however, the situation has changed. Now the artistes, newspapers and humorists do not have
to wait for Gaijatra to poke fun at politics and political leaders. Season
of Festivals Nepal's major
festival season begins from the end of June. From the beginning of Ghantakarna, residents
of valley begin to celebrate. The festival cycle ends after the festival of light
"Tihar" or the beginning of harvesting time. "During
the festivals, the people of Nepal pay the debts of their gods and teachers. There are
chariot processions of deities, religious masked dances, musical fetes, and colorful
rituals. These centuries- old traditions are both a display of religious devotion and
expression of the joy of life. As diverse as the ethnic make-up of the population, the
festivals of Nepal reflect the cultural mosaic that is the kingdom," said Dr. Regmi. Festivals
of Life Most of the
festivals in Nepal are related to the monsoon, harvesting and farming. Be it a Nagpanchami
or Gunapuni (Janai Purnima), Frog feeding, all are related to the farming cycle. At the
end of July or beginning of August, the festival of Nag Panchami is observed to
honor Nagas (serpents). Nagas are known as God with all sorts of magical powers including
special powers over the monsoon. On that occasion, pictures of serpents are hung over the
doorways of houses with a belief that this will keep at bay the snakes and all other
things harmful. Although the
festival of feeding and worshiping the frog is an important one widely celebrated by the
farmer community, it is overshadowed by other events that fall on the same day. On the
same day, men from Brahmin and Chhetri caste change their Janai (scared thread), which
they wear looped over the shoulder. Likewise, people also wear a scared yellow thread on
the wrist to mark the festival. Gu(n)lathwa,
Gunhi or Guni Punhi, is also one of the important festivals that are observed by major
religious sects of the valley. Gone are the
days when most farmers used to visit their paddy fields to feed and worship The
modernization have brought in the physical and economic prosperity among the farmer
community in the valley. However, the economic prosperity was achieved at the cost of
centuries old practices. Astaman
Tandukar, 87, a resident of Koteswor, has already sold his paddy land to construct a
concrete building. Standing at the balcony of his new building, Tandukar looks worried
when he sees his sons, daughter-in-laws and grandsons, granddaughters celebrating the Guna
Puni by watching M.TV and Bollywood films. MTV, cable channels and Bollywood have
overtaken the ancient tradition of feeding and worshiping the frogs. The four lunar
fortnights with the last day of Gu(n)latha in August and ending with day of the elaborate
autumn harvest festival, Mohani, on the tenth day of Kachalathwa (September/October)
contain thirty-one days of the year's densest season of such events. This is also the
quietest segment as far as the agricultural farming cycle is concerned. The rice planting
is completed by mid-July and harvesting will be done only in November after the festival
season ends. "There are
special ceremonies among farmers in Bhaktapur, including the worship of frogs ( whom
farmers inadvertently kill while working in the fields), who help protect those fields
from malevolent spirits," writes Robert I. Levy, professor of anthropology at the
University of California, San Diego, in his book Microcosm, Hinduism and the Organization
of a Traditional Newar City in Nepal. The entire year
is a series of festivals and the celebrations mark religious events, life cycle.
"From dogs, cows and bulls, crow, snakes, Nepalese worship all kinds of animals.
Worshiping the frogs is also related to rainfall," said Dr. Regmi, an anthropologist.
"The people of valley also give importance to Nagas or serpent in both Hindu and the
Buddhist context as it is a primary symbol of water and rain." "Feeding
frog seems to be an insignificant event but it has greater importance in the farmer family
whose livelihood relies on good harvest of the paddy as it is one of the main crops needed
to sustain the family. Frog - a small animal that lives in or near water - is a farmer's
friend in the sense that the paddy requires much water to make good harvest. The life of
frogs depend on water just like the farmer's livelihood," said Dr. Safalya Amatya, a
renowned archeologist. "We pay
respect to different kinds of animals, insects and plants in accordance to their
characters. From frogs to the Himalayas, our culture suggests the harmonization to appease
all insects and animals. Since the frogs generally appear during the rainy season so the
farmers feed them," said Dr. Amatya. "There is also a widely accepted belief
that the croaking of frog brings rainfall." Bean of
Nine Varieties Along with
other foods, the farmers also offer frogs a special kind of soup prepared from nine
varieties of beans. According to the farmers, the soup will protect them from intestinal
ailments. The soup is known as Kawanti, which the farmers put in the different corners of
their own field. "We don't
have any paddy fields now but I still practice the ritual of feeding the frogs," said
Tandukar, 87. " My sons and daughter- in-law, daughters and grandsons don't know what
the feeding of the frog is all about," said Tandukar. Farmers believe
that the frogs will protect their rice till the time of harvesting. "My grand father
and father often said that more the frogs in the paddy field better the harvesting would
be," said Tandukar. "When I was child, my parents taught me how to carry out
traditional practices passed out by earlier generation. I might be the last generation in
my family to carry out the frog feeding ceremony." Reforms
In Festivals As society gets
more complicated, rituals and festivals are gradually transforming. Thanks to the
commercialization of activities, people hardly find time to perform the festivals like in
the past. Earlier cow
dung - which was used in pasting the poster of snakes during Nagapanchami - has become a
rare commodity and people now apply gum instead. This modification helps to make the
festival more hygienic. As most of the rivers in the valley are polluted, high class
Brahmin and Chettris change their sacred thread Janai at home instead of following the
age-old practice of doing so at the riverbanks. Similarly,
Narkat - stalk of the grass - are not available in abundance these days forcing the
farmers to make the effigies by using other things like pipes and plastics to make
scarecrow in their fields. The food habit
also has seen drastic changes in urban areas. Almost all Brahmin and Chettri community -
which did not use to touch meat - are now consuming it. "At a time
when structures and nature of families are changing from just localized to international,
reform is required to accommodate all," said a cultural expert. Although the
culture is changing in core urban areas, it continues to be the same even at the periphery
of the Kathmandu (Kantha). They still retain a number of festivals and rituals. The reform
entering in the urban areas might need time to travel to the periphery. |
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