Bhaktapur, August 1

Gathemangal festival was celebrated with the great enthusiasm by the Newar community of Bhaktapur today.

This is festival which is celebrated by the Newars on the occasion of Shrawan Krishna Chaturdarshi.

“Gathemangal, a demon who also goes by the name of Ghantakarna is a representative of Lord Shiva,” said culture expert Om Dhaubadel. “People of Bhaktapur celebrate this festival by burning an effigy of Gathemangal in a specific place away from the community.”

The effigy of the demon is made of straw and reeds, The effigy is given the shape of a giant elephant.

Straw and reed are used to make the body parts while the nanglo ( a bamboo-matted round plate used in Nepali kitchens for sifting rice) as well as taro leaves are used for making ears.

According to Myth, a demon named Ghantakarna terrorised villagers by stealing children and women. He used to demand money and other gifts from villagers.

His body was painted red, blue and black and he wore a pair of bells on his ears. He looked very scary and every time he moved, the bells jingled. He got his name from the bells on his ears, i.e. ghanta meaning ‘bell’ and karna meaning ‘ears’.

The demon was drowned in water with the help of a frog during the planting season. After that people began to celebrate the victory over Ghantakarna.

“People celebrate the festival by playing traditional musical instruments and they return home only after burning the demon,” said Dhaubadel. “When the devil is about to be taken away from the community, females clean all the houses and burn incense for purification.”

People collect money from the community to make the effigy of Ghantakarna and drink traditional drinks and celebrate their victory.

“The festival tries to focus on cleanliness of the house and community and leaves the message that waste should be disposed outside the community.

This is the underlying meaning while the story of victory over the demon contains the surface meaning,” Dhaubadel said.