The festivals of Nepal

Description

When Mary Anderson began her five-year residence in Kathmandu as the wife of a diplomat, she attended the frequent Nepalese festivals up and down the Valley because they were mysterious, colourful and great fun. But soon she became more deeply absorbed in the meaning of these ancient activities as she grew quickly aware that to the Nepalis themselves the ancient processions and rituals were of great importance and not merely entertainment. She came to see that for these people the continuous flow of interrelated festivals throughout the year is literally a way of life, reflecting their joys and fears, dreams and sorrows. They form a calendar, marking the changing of seasons and the revolving of years and ages, giving continuity and meaning to their lives, and cementing the vital bonds between individual members within each family as well as within castes, clans and classes. Somewhere, almost every day, there seems to be in Nepal a festival of some kind, but now that this hitherto secret land has been opened up to tourists and foreign influences, much of this historic pageantry may well be lost. Modernization of Nepalese society is certain to have its effects, but when these artless celebrations become the goal of spectators from outside they will also lose this spontaneity. So Mary Anderson determined to record as many of them as she could, explaining their mythological, religious and historical backgrounds, and relating some of the wealth of legends and folk tales that surround them. The festivals of Nepal are too many for any writer to produce a complete record, but this book describes the most important of them, which have been arranged according to the ancient Nepalese calendar, beginning with the New Year in mid-April. The author provides, moreover, a brief introductory sketch of Nepalese geography, history, religion and culture, to give background to what follow. Contents Illustrations Author's Note Foreword Introduction APRIL-MAY 1. Nawabarsa and Bisket 2. Mata Tirtha Puja 3. Rato Machhendranath Rath Jatra 4. Buddha Jayanti Purnima MAY-JUNE 5. Sithinakha or Kumar Sasthi JULY-AUGUST 6. Ghanta Karna 7. Gunla 8. Naga Panchami 9. Janai Purni or Raksha Bandhan AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 10. Gai Jatra 11. Krishna Jayanti 12. Gokarna Aunsi 13. Tij Brata 14. Ganesh Chata 15. Indra Jatra and Kumari Jatra SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 16. Sorah Sraddha 17. Dasain or Durga Puja triumphs over Evil 18. Pachali Bhairab Jatra OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 19. Tihar or Diwali 20. Haribodhini Ekadasi 21. Mahalaxmi Village Puja NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 22. Gujeswari Jatra 23. Indriani Puja and Nhaya Gaya Jatra 24. Bala Chaturdasi 25. Sita Bibaha Panchami 26. Yomarhi Punhi or Dhanya Purnima DECEMBER-JANUARY 27. Seto Machhendranath Snan 28. The Holy Month of Magh 29. Bhimsen Puja 30. A Thousand and One Lights FEBRUARY-MARCH 31. Shiva Ratri 32. Holi MARCH-APRIL 33. Chakandeo Jatra 34. Pisach Chaturdasi 35. Balaju Jatra or Lhuti Punhi 36. Sapana Tirtha Mela Bibliography Index