Darjeeling Local Customs

october the month of the main festival of nepalese people.
In October Hindus specially Nepali Hindus, have their greatest festival. It's a continuous celebration for fifteen days. This festival starts from Jamare Aunshi (Newmoon, the day barley is sown in temples for Dasain. The shrada (remembrance of the dead ancestors) ceremony is also performed during this period. From the next day starts Durga Puja, Nepalis also call this Shakti (Power) puja, when the goddess Durga (triumph of good over evil) is worshipped for nine days to worship the nine different forms she comes in. Nepalis celebrate this by worshipping weapons like their traditional Khukuri, etc. On the seventh day is Phul Pati (Flowers and petals) when flowers of different kinds are taken round the town in procession and later taken to Goddess Durga in the temple. The eighth day is Maar (the day of sacrifice), this day is celebrated with the ceremonial sacrifice of a buffalo at Dali ground.
The tenth day is Tika day. On this day people go to their elders to get the blessings and the holy food (Prasad) of Shakti puja. This continues till the fullmoon day.
This is how dasai ia celebrated in darjeeling but for full details there are three tips on the whole festival of dasain.

The eighth day is called the Maha Asthami: The fervour of worship and sacrifice to Durga and Kali increases. On this day many orthodox Hindus will be fasting. Sacrifices are held in almost every house through out the day. The night of the eighth day is called 'Kal Ratri', the dark night. Hundreds of goats, sheep and buffaloes are sacrificed at the mother goddess temples. The sacrifice continues till dawn. While the puja is being carried out great feasts are held in the homes of common people where large amount of meat are consumed.
The ninth day is called Nawami: Temples of mother goddess are filled with people from dawn till dusk. Animals mostly black buffaloes are slaughtered to honour Durga the goddess of victory and might and to seek her blessing. On this very day the god Vishwa Karma, the God of creativity is also worshiped. All factories, vehicles, any machinery instruments and anything from which we make a living are worshiped. The tenth day is the Dashami: On this day we take tika and jamara from our elders and receive their blessing. We visit our elders in their home and get tika from them while our younger ones come to our home to receive blessing from us. The importance of Dasain also lies in the fact that on this day family members from far off and distant relatives come for a visit as well as to receive tika from the head of the family. This function continues for four days. After four days of rushing around and meeting your relatives Dashain ends on the full moon day, the fifteenth day. In the last day people stay at home and rest. The full moon day is also called 'Kojagrata' meaning 'who is awake'. The Hindu goddess of wealth Laxmi is worshipped. On this day the goddess Laxmi is given an invitation to visit each and everyone

Of the nine days of Navaratra, the first day of Ghatasthapana, the seventh day of Phulpati, the eight day Maha Astami and the ninth day Maha Nawami are of special significance in the 10 day Nepali Hindu festivals of Dashain. The worshippers do navapatrika puja, also known more popularly as phulpati, on the seventh day to ask the goddess for forgiveness for the sins committed by the family members and put an end to their difficulties and misfortunes and to bless the family with peace and well-being.Preparation for the Phulpati puja begins from the sixth day of the Navaratra. On this day, a pair of bel (wood apple) hanging from the bel tree itself is consecrated. If a tree is not available, then pair of bel is kept in the southern corner of one's household and worshiped. Bel fruit represdents goddess Shree or prosperity, one of the many manifestations of goddess Laxmi. On the seventh day or Phulpati, the above- mentioned pair of bel along with eight other plants is taken inside the Dashain Ghar or the allocated room where the Navaratra Puja is solemnized.The nine plants- banana, dadim, dhanko bala, haledo, manabriksha, kachuki, belpatra, ashok, and jayanti are collective called navapatrika.Each of the plants represents a specific manifestation of Goddess Shakti. Banana plant represents Goddess Brahmande, who bestows peace. Pomegranate (dadim) represents Goddess Rakta Dantika who helps and blesses the worshipper. In rich stalk (dhanko bala) lives Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth. Goddess Durga is supposed to grace the turmeric plant (haledo) and put and end to bighna-s or obstacles. Ginger plant (aduwa) represents Goddess Kalika who blesses the mortals. In bel plant lives shiva, and is the favourite fruit of Lords Bishnu and Shiva. Similarly, in the ashok plant resides Goddess shokaha Jayanti represents Goddess Kartikeya whi is revered by all Gods.In darjeeling you can see a procession which goes thru the town with cultural dances .

Dashain is celebrated with great rejoice, and goddess Durga is worshiped throughout.In preparation for Dashain every home is cleansed and beautifully decorated, painted as an invitation to the mother goddess, so that she may visit and bless the house with good fortune. During this time the reunion of distant and nearby relatives occur in every household. The market is filled with shoppers seeking new clothing, gifts, luxuries and enormous supplies of temple offering for the gods, as well as foodstuffs for the family feasting.
The first day of Dashain is called Ghatasthapana, which literally means pot establishing
On this day the kalash, (holy water vessel) symbolising goddess Durga often with her image embossed on the side is placed in the prayer room. The kalash is filled with holy water and covered with cowdung on to which seeds are sown. A small rectangular sand block is made and the kalash is put in the centre. The surrounding bed of sand is also seeded with grains. The ghatasthapana ritual is performed at a certain auspicious moment determined by the astrologers. At that particular moment the priest intones a welcome, requesting goddess Durga to bless the vessel with her presence.

The kalash and the sand are sprinkled with holy water everyday and it is shielded from direct sunlight. By the tenth day, the seed will have grown to five or six inches long yellow grass. The sacred yellow grass is called 'Jamara'. It is bestowed by the elders atop the heads of those younger to them during the last five days when tika is put on. The jamara is taken as a token of Goddess Durga as well as the elders blessing.

October Hindus specially Nepali Hindus celebrate the most important festival of dasai or dashara or Durga puja.Goddess durgs is the presiding diety. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country .The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon.This festaval is the one where you find all nepalies from all nooks and corner flying back home to be with their family.Its a kind of family get together where we go to meet all our relatives and obtain blessings fron elders.when we were kids this festivel was the best coz you get a new set of clothing and good food on Dashami or 10 th day,people dress in the finest ,dasara also starts the cleaning of houses, repainting houses ,limewashing so this time is the most hectic .In darjeeling schools and colleges are closed for the 9-10 days of festivities.

Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a big struggle slaughtered Ravana, the fiendish king of demons. It is said that lord Ram was successful in the battle only when goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who terrorised the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo.The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when Mahisasur was slain and the last five days symbolise the celebration of the victory with the blessing of the goddess.

In October Hindus specially Nepali Hindus celebrate the most important festival of dasai or dashara or Durga puja.Goddess durgs is the presiding diety. Dashain is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout the country .The fifteen days of celebration occurs during the bright lunar fortnight ending on the day of the full moon.This festaval is the one where you find all nepalies from all nooks and corner flying back home to be with their family.Its a kind of family get together where we go to meet all our relatives and obtain blessings fron elders.when we were kids this festivel was the best coz you get a new set of clothing and good food on Dashami or 10 th day,people dress in the finest ,dasara also starts the cleaning of houses, repainting houses ,limewashing so this time is the most hectic .In darjeeling schools and colleges are closed for the 9-10 days of festivities.

Dashain commemorates a great victory of the gods over the wicked demons. One of the victory stories told is the Ramayan, where the lord Ram after a big struggle slaughtered Ravana, the fiendish king of demons. It is said that lord Ram was successful in the battle only when goddess Durga was evoked. The main celebration glorifies the triumph of good over evil and is symbolized by goddess Durga slaying the terrible demon Mahisasur, who terrorised the earth in the guise of a brutal water buffalo.The first nine days signify the nine days of ferrous battle between goddess Durga and the demon Mahisasur. The tenth day is the day when

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Limbus, in general, marry within their own community. Boys are at liberty to choose a girl and girls are equally free to decide whether to spend life with the boy in question or not . Cross-cousin marriage is not allowed in Limbu culture. Marriage between a man and the widow of his elder brother can take place if they mutually agree. Marriage between a man and a woman outside family relations and having different thars (clans) is also possible either by arrangement or by mutual consent of the boy and the girl in question. It is conventionally said that the customs and traditions of Limbus were established in the distant past by Sawa Yethang (council of eight kings/leaders). The marriages are mostly arranged by parents or result when a boy elopes with a girl. Asking for a girl's hand, that is the most important ceremony. In that system, the girl can ask for anything and an unlimited amount of gold, silver, etc. This confirms to the girl's family that the boy is financially secure enough to keep their daughter happy. Few days after the wedding, the boy's family members have to visit the girl's house with a piglet and some alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks depending upon the financial standard of his house. The key ceremonies of a Limbu wedding take place in the groom's house rather than that of the bride's because girl has to stay with her husband. There are two special dances in this ceremony, one is called dhan nach (wheat harvested rice dance) and Chyabrung. Dhan nach is characterized by men and women dancing in a slow circle, whereas Chyabrung consist of complex footwork that goes with the beat of the drums. Anyone can join the dance and they can go for long hours. Dhan naach also celebrates the harvest season in addition to being a feature of social occasions including weddings.

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It is Limboo's traditional musical instrument. The dancers hang the 'Chyap-brungs' around their necks and beat the drum with an open palm on one side and with a stick on the other side. This maneuvers produces two different sounds. In this fashion, groups of Limboos or Subba men dance executing delicate and complicated footwork son the hypnotic beats of the Chyap-Brung. It is song less dance, which is only rhythmic music. In this age-old fold dance the Limboo dancers depict graceful movements of wild animals and birds.