Ethnic THARU wear

Nepal is a diverse country with varied landscapes and indigenous communities. Among the indigenous group the THARU community has its own traditional costumes and jewels. Lets see what their communities like to wear on a day to day basis.

The major costumes of a THARU man consists of a Mardani (dhoti) and Phad (Kachhad- a piece of cloth worn to cover the lower part of the body as in the picture). THARU people are generally engaged in agriculture and live in the Terai (plains) regions of the country. It is due to the nature of their occupations and climate that THARU people prefer wearing short and thin cloths, as they are light and comfortable. While working in the field, the THARU men generally carry their hats made up from bamboo and dried leaves, "Kodalo" (spade) to plough the field, tobacco and a sickle fixed at their waist with a string. THARU men are laborious and appear tough and fit.

However the costumes and ornaments worn by THARU women are completely unique compared to other tribes. Cholia (Choli) is worn as a top, Nahagi is a white cloth dress and Uporona is the cloth worn around the chest area are the mojor attires worn by the THARU community women. During special occassions and festival different jewels made from gold and silver are worn on various parts of the body. The different kinds of ornaments worn by THARU women are "Nathiya" on the nose, "Kanphul" in the ear, "Hansuli" and "Kanthi" on the neck, "Matha" on the wrist, "Tadia" on the elbow,"Tikuli" on the forehead and "Upairi" on their feet. THARU women also love to have Godana- a tattoo art made on various parts of their body.

Hope this is helpful for you all. 

Info courtesy: THARU MESUEM, CHITWAN.

CHAITRA

The Ghode Jatra, festival of horse parade falls on this month. It is celebrated in joint venture from Nepal army and police with different horse shows, bicycles show and acrobatics. Culturally all the idols of Lumadi, Bhadrakali, Kankeshwori and Bhairav are brought to Ason chowk during the daytime and taken to Tundikhel during the evening. This is also the day when all these deities meet (as they are usually scattered around the different areas). Newar communities celebrate Paanchare a 3 day celebration where guests are invited to their homes for celebrations and get-together.  On the first day people clean their surroundings as a tribute to lord Lukumahadev, Khats (chariots ) are dashed among each other as to mark the meeting of the sisters near the Annapurna temple. The second day is the real Ghode Jatra and people have guests coming together at home on this day and this is also a public holiday where the event gathers huge crowd all over from Nepal to watch the spectacle (Not to forget the picture in MX paper Australia). This continues till the third day which also includes cleaning of the sewage to keep oneself free from any upcoming summer diseases. 

Now the main story behind Ghode Jatra is that it is celebrated to mark the win on demon Tundi, who had distressed the people living in Kathmandu. When he died people danced on his body with horses. Hence it is believed that the tapping of the horses keeps the spirits of the demon well below the ground. 

Chite Dashin is also celebrated on this month. It is usually celebrated as a two day event first being the Ramnawami where people fast and visit temples and the second being the dashami. It has same importance as the Dashin festival as it also marks the win of good over evil (in this case being win of lord Ram over Ravan). People get-together, have delicacies, foods and have fun.

Seto Machindranath Rath Yatra also falls in this month. Setomachindranath idol is kept in a chariot and is pulled by people to various locations. The idol is also taken to its mother's place in Gabahal where it circles the temple three times. People come to worship the Mother and Son at this yearly event and lite 108 diyos (lamps).

FALGUN

Falgun the festival month and the month with loads of holidays and with special meaning behind them. At the start of the month falls the Rastrya Prajatantra Diwas, marking the National Democracy Day. We than have our holy Maha Shivaratri, which attracts devotees not only from all parts of Nepal but also India and other nations which have huge following of hinduism. One of the popular story of the reason behind Shiva Ratri is that, on a cold night a person was sitting under a tree and shivering with cold. This then made the person make noise which sounded like "SHIV SHIV SHIV", and  with this pain and suffering he was going through the lord somehow created a fire and he was able to fight the cold winter. Hence, this day people light fire and enjoy the heat to fight the winter. Children collect money, rice, wood and chocolates from public for fun.

Then falls the Gyalpo Lhosar (I did not keep pics as I did not have one and the ones from the internet were confusing..). This is the new year celebration of the Tibetan New Year and is celebrated for three consecutive days. On the first day people make beverage called CHANGKOL, a tibetan version of beer. The second day is the Losar, the main event day and the third day people and families come together for celebration. Huge celebration is done by performing traditional dances, chanting mantras and ceremonial dances. One of the interesting thing done is the serving of dumplings with bizzare fillings like stone, wood, paper, chillies etc and people define the findings with the character of the person (Imagine finding a chilli inside.... what is that suppose to mean...) but its all done for fun.

Nari Diwas, Womens Day also falls in this month in celebration of womanhood. Various events, fashion shows, educational information and awards are presented throughout the nation to celebrate the achievements of women. Then comes the best celebration of this month, HOLI which is equally enjoyed by young and old generations. People throw colours, water filled balloons and plain water to each other and celebrate HOLI. (P.S. I kept my recent HOLI celebration pic here with my school buddies back home. Aww I love you all...). According to the story behind the celebration, HOLI is celebrated with the death of HOLIKA the sister of Hiranyakashyap who wanted to kill his own son Prahlad for chanting lord Bishnu's name every time. Nevertheless it also marks the coming of spring the colourful season.

MAGH

Magh is the moth of devotion, festivals and get together. The first day of the month is celebrated as MAGHE SANKRANTI or MAKAR SANKRANTI. The word SANKRANTI means change of sun position between the Zodiac signs. It signifies the start of spring and harvest season and halfway through to winter. This is also the festival of worshipping the sun. This is celebrated by taking a dip in holy rivers preferably the junction of three rivers "TRIVENIES" like Sankhamol, Dolalghat, Ridi, Dev Ghat etc are famous sites and have fairs to mark the day. People prepare special feast for the day which includes Til ko Laddu (Brown and white sesame seed fudge), Yam,  Clarified butter, sweet potatoes and Spinach curry. All these delicasies are considered to have a warm effect to the body.

People from Newar community go to their elders for family gatherings and the elder person of the family keep(massage) sesame oil in the rest of the family head and body. In the Tharu community this day marks as the new year, and is the biggest festival and is called MAGHI in local languages. They celebrate it as a mark of end of winter and beginning of summer and is celebrated for a week. This festival is also named as KHOJINI and BHOJINI. This is mainly because they select a Bhalmansa, the person who takes decision an any case of disputes, Guruwa, the person who is responsible to treat people from different diseases and Chiragi, the guard. The tenure of the position is for one year and people discuss their problems and discussions of the whole year in the ceremony.

This month is also the fasting month of Shree Swosthani. This is the story which is told by Lord Kartika to Agastha Muni, the saint. Lord Kartika tells Agastha Muni about the formation of universe.The women usually take the fasting and read the book early morning or evening before meal. There is belief that Goddess Swasthani will fulfil all the good wishes and bless us as a result of the fasting. Every-time before the start of the story a worship is made to the Swosthani book with the offerings of Aabir (red colour), Kesari, flowers, lights and fruits. The end of the recitation of the whole book is performed by making a "OM" sigh in a copper plate and a Shiva Linga on the top and worshiping the Lord Shiva. The tradition also holds that all the family members come together to listen the story and worship the book and goddess at the end and having the offerings of the goddess as Prasad.

Also this month is the celebration of SONAM (TAMANG) Lochar, meaning new year. Tamang community celebrates the new year in the new moon day of the month Magh. This year is the 2848th year of Tamangs celebration. It is celebrated by cleaning the house, colouring the doors and windows, wearing new cloths and visiting the monastries, stupas and chaitras. The houses are cleaned thoroughly and all the bad luck are swept out in order to make space for good fortune and luck. People now-a-days gather in big get-together and celebrate by doing puja, cultural programs, wearing ethnic costumes, playing their ethics instrument Damfu and making music and having a feast. So what are you excited about this month!!!!???

POUSH

This is the month of YOMARI PUNHI, the authentic newari bread, which literally means the favourite bread, and PUNHI meaning the full moon. It falls on the Marga Sukla Purnima every year which is also the birthday of Guru Dattatyaya. Celebrated during the winter there is a greater belief that eating YOMARI takes the cold away and the tail of the YOMARI signifies the length of the coming cold winter. It is also believed that the celebration brings wealth, health and prosperity to the household.YOMARI is also prepared in the forms of gods and goddesses like KUMAR, LAXMI, GANESH and KUBER. The festival is said to have started from Panauti also previously known as Pancha nagar. A couple in the village came up with the idea to make the bread and then distributed it to the people in villages and they loved it thoroughly giving it its name as the favourite bread. God KUBER was also walking throughout the same village in a human form and offered the bread which he liked and blessed the couple with wealth.

It is also the worship of Goddess Annapurna and is celebrated for four days at the end of harvesting season, when farmers are resting and happy with their yields. Sacred mask dances are performed in the villages of HAri Siddhi and Thecho. A bg celebration is also carried out in the Dhaneshwor Mahadev Temple.On the second day the god idols made up of Yomari is placed in the rice silo (Bhakari) and worshipped. On the fourth day people eat the parsad and worship goddess LAXMI in the form of Dhanyalaxmi or Annapurna.

 Also this is the month of Losar for TAMU (Gurungs). This is the time when all the family members come together and have a feast and be merry. It is celebrated on poush 15 and also marks the end of winter and the start of spring. Traditionally celebrated in the house courtyard, it is now celebrated in a mass gathering where people enjoy food, cultural programs and family company. There also used to be a tradition of 3 day picnic (banbhoj) during the celebration of the Losar. Losar also marks the change in year of 12 animal cycles that determines the horoscopes of the people. The 12 animals are drawn in a circle in a single paper, it is also similar to the Tibetan calendar. 

MANGSHIR

On this month falls the Chhath Parva, mainly celebrated by the natives of Mithila region of Nepal and India. it is the celebration dedicated to the god SUN and is based on the thanksgiving the god for sustaining life and to worship him to provide continuous blessing to mankind. it is believed in hindu culture that the rays of sun has powerful radiations that help cure various diseases and illness. It is a four day long celebration and is also celebrated in Chaitra but it is not as popular as the Mangshir chhath pooja.  Below is the brief description of the four day celebration;

Day 1: (Naha Kha) the literal meaning is to bath and eat. People take a dip in holy rivers, bring holy water home, clean their houses and eat only one meal in a day.

Day 2: (Kharna/Lohanda) People end their fasting this day in the evening after sunset. Offerings of Kheer (Rice Pudding), fruits and foods are distributed among family and getting ready for a 36 hour fasting starting from the next day.

Day 3: (Chhath) This day the offerings are made in the evening and is called Sanjhiya Arghya. People prepare offerings during the day and whole family go to river banks to make offerings to the setting sun. In Kathmandu this is done in Rani Pokhari and in Janakpur this is done in Ganga Sagar. People come together during the evenings and perform many cultural activities together that reflects the vitality, culture, social structure metrology and history of Mithila.

            (Koshi) During the night, the lights are lit after the sunset and the argha to the sun. The lamp are kept in a canopy of five sugarcane sticks which symbolises the five elements that make the human body.The lamp then signifies the solar energy that sustains the human body. This is also a compulsory performance in families which have recent marriage and child birth.

Day 4: (Paran) This is the final day of the Chhath Parva. People make morning offerings to sun before sunrise known as Bihaniya Argha. All the family go to the river and pray to the rising son and end their fasting by having the prasad.

This is also the month when Bala Chaturdashi is celebrated. It is celebrated in honour of Lord Shiva by receiving mantras and lighting the lamps through out the night in the Pashupatinath temple. The next day people go to Bagmati River for a holy bath for purification. After the bath people visit all the god idols around the premises of the temple. While travelling around the temple devotees drop SAPTABIJ, the mixture of seven sacred seeds. The route passes through kailash forest and return back to the pashupati temple. At the end a special act is carried out, people shout, shake and talk loudly to the Ganesh idol near Bishwaroop temple as it is believed to be deaf.

It is believed that by celebrating this ritual we can secure better place in heaven for our dead relatives, it also helps to settle restless soul. Because this is performed in a mass by thousands of devotees it is believed to have true effect.

KARTIK

Well now we have reached the month of another big festival of our country, Tihar. It is the festival of light where we worship our beloved god and goddess, our lovely animals and also ourselves. There are many stories linked to the celebration of the festival and below are few of the reasons why it is celebrated the way it is.

First is the CROW(Kaag) TIHAR. It falls on the Kartik Triodashi and crows are worshipped as the messengers of Yamaraj (The god of death) and are also regarded as god. Another story associated with crow is that in Treta Yug, Lord Krishna had befriended crow and it is for celebrating their friendship together. On this day birthday of God Dhanuwanta also falls, who is also the founder of famous Ayurvedic Medicine around the world. 

Then comes YAMA DEEP DAAN. This has an interesting story associated behind it. The story is that there was a kingdom and the prince had recently got married. Lord Yamaraj had ordered his messengers to get the soul of the prince who had just been married for 4 days. The messengers got the soul and while coming back to Lord Yamaraaj they felt very guilty of putting the family in sorrow and were disgusted by their job. They discussed with the lord and then to minimise such incidents he had ordered people to buy new utensils and to do puja in them and to give them DAAN (charity) facing in south direction. It is believed that doing this will eliminate the risk of sudden and accidental death.

It is then KUKUR (dog) TIHAR. Dogs are worshipped as a form of Lord BHAIRAV, and this day is also celebrated to be thankful of the friendship we share with the best friend of humans "DOG". Another story that can be added in here is that when PANDAVS went to heaven their dog had also followed them. This in turn proves the dogs loyalty toward people, hence we worship dogs and feed them good food.

It is then turn of GOVARDHAN Pooja. The most popular story of this day is that in Dwapar Yug Lord Krishna had saved the whole village from heavy continuous rain by lifting a govardhan hill. This also comprises of worshipping our holy animal Cow. Cow provides many sources of income by giving milk and milk products and its dung is used to fertilise soil for harvesting, hence they are regarded as Goddess Laxmi the lord of wealth. Another interesting story which surrounds this is that when Pandavs had to go heaven, they used the tail of a cow to reach there, and this is why people still tie their holy strings of JANAI PURNIMA in the tail of cows in hope of being helped to heaven after death.

Finally, its the BHAI TIKA, where sisters do puja to their brothers for their good health, better future and their life. It is strongly believed that even Lord Yamaraaj will be powerless in front of the power of sisters praying for their brothers and will not be able to take their life. So wish you all a happy Tihar and may this festival bring prosperity to everyone.