Kathmandu:

In the pot pourri of culture and tradition that Kathmandu has become, almost everyone celebrates Dashain in identical ways. You ask anyone and they’ll tell you: “Oh, we put tika, visit family, gamble, drink and eat more, fly kites...”

We know Dashain celebrates the victory of good over evil and all communities are celebrating this. Yet even in such similarities you find a number differences — some subtle, some stark — in the way different communities celebrate Dashain. For some red tika is ominous, while for some anything red is auspicious.

The Newars, native residents of Kathmandu Valley, celebrate Dashain or moni nakha for nine days offering puja at home and at various temples of devis. On Vijaya Dashami, the eldest member of the family gives tika to the rest of the family. Unlike other communities where people go on their own initiative to receive tika and blessings from senior relatives, Newars do not visit their relatives unless invited. “For us, Vijaya Dashami is a family affair, when the eldest member gives mohini tika (a black tika), kokha (white and red shreds/pieces of cotton) and a special prasad as their blessing. The red tika is mandatory. Married dau-ghters are invited the next day only,” says academician Dr Milan Ratna Shakya.

During Dashain Newars eat special beaten rice instead of the regular rice for three days.

“Dashain for us is the Malashree compositions, the sheep and billy goat meat and the flower of jamara,” says Shakya.

Among Buddhist Newars, only Bajrayana followers observe Dashain.

“In the Marwari community, the devi is worshipped as Shakti, the better half of lord Shiva. And women, the symbol of matrishakti, have the major role to play in this festival,” says Kishor Kumar Agrawal, general secretary, Agrawal Sewa Kendra. They observe fasting, celibacy, and (try to) discard all ill habits. On the eighth day, they prepare special halwa and puri to offer to the goddess. Nine girls representing the Navaduraga, are offered the food and clothes.

To celebrate Dashain in a communal manner, Agrawal Sewa Kendra in Kathmandu has been organising Nawaratra Mahotsav every year from the day of Phulpati. Five-hundred-and-one women carrying kalasha go around the city in a procession accompanied by an elephant. They sing bhajans and dance the dandia then.

Being a vegetarian community, they do not make animal sacrifices. They enjoy the feast of Chhapanna Bhog, 56 varities of vegetarian food items. “There is no tradition of receiving tika from elders in our community, but we are also imbibing this,” says Agrawal.

The other face of the coin of culture is just that — imbibing, evolving.

Over the years the festival has seen a lot of changes. Such changes are evident in the way some indigenous communities celebrate Dashain. Though these communities have been celebrating Dashain for hundreds of years now, they have recently started dissenting the Hindu philosophy and rejecting it.

Litterateur Til Bikram Nembang popularly known as Bairagi Kainla says, “It is celebrated as a national festival but it has no religious significance among the Limbu community.” He, however, believes it helps foster harmonious ties among a number of communities in the country. “Khane, piune, manoranjan garne and meeting family members and relatives” is how he describes Dashain.

Delving into history, he says, “The Land Reforms Act of 1964 was imposed on us by the state and it snatched all authority from us. The takeover infuriated the eastern ‘Matwalis’ and two dissenters were killed in the agitation that followed.”

Before the ‘64 Act, the state had granted them Kipat or lands over which they could govern. During Kipat days, on Navami the Subbas or heads of villages, used to sacrifice an animal at the maula, a pillar for worship.

Today in the east, Dashain is celebrated by receiving ti-ka from the elders. White tika is preferred in indigenous communities. Campus chief of Saraswati Multiple College, Narayan Lhege Tamu (Gurung) says, “Red tika is believed to be a bad omen on auspicious occasions.”

According to Tamu, the ancient Gurungs worshipped the land. “When they moved from a nomadic life to an agricultural life, the early Gurungs installed a pillar (thyo in Gurung language, maula in Nepali) at the centre of their settlement,” he says. “Pajiu, the chief priest, used to worship the deity Phaiylu. Phaiylu was offered sacrifices of creatures belonging to the air, land and sea, to worship the land they cultivated.”

“With time,” he says, “this ritual was integrated to the Dashain celebrations.”

For years now, the Gurung community has been celebrating Dashain receiving tika from their elders and relatives. They partake of various different dishes prepared especially for the occasion. Children get new clothes and enjoy themselves no end on the swings.

“Since the Mukhiya exists only in history today, receiving tika from mawalis, maternal home, is compulsory,” he says.

Happy Dashain to all!