Culture

Dear Gerllnerji,

Please check it again. On 19th Mangshir 2057 we had told Magars that their religious identity would be Buddhists. I  wish to correct my previous data.

I have copied this messsage to some of the prominent Magar Bandhus in Nepal also.

Thanks namaskar to you.

Bhai K. Rana
Cambridge, USA
____________________________________________

— “B. K. Rana” <bk_rana@yahoo.com> wrote:
Dear Gellnerji,

Yes, we had declared in 1999 that Magars’ religious identity would be Buddhist. That was done on Mangsir 19, 2058 amidst a grand closing session of the three day national training camp in Kirtipur.

We had formed a 9 member task force named as: MAGAR SAMAJ RA RASTRIYA JANAGANA KARYADAL 2058 [Magar Society and National Census Task Force 2001] Ex. Minister Gore B. Khapangi was the Convenor, Ex-minister N. S. Pun was a member and had donated  a handsome amount of money. Among other members were minister Bala Ram Gharti Magar, MP Fatik B. Thapa, ex-Secretary Tek B. Thapa, , Lank M. Roka Magar, Khem Lal Thapa, I. B. Thapa and I was the Member-Secretary.
Yes, we had an impressive national training camps across the country. I had even gone to Libang, Rolpa and conducted a two day training program.
Thanks,
Rana
David Gellner<david.gellner@anthropology.oxford.ac.uk> wrote:
Dear BK – ji,
I have been told that one of the Magar organizations maybe the Nepal
 Magar Sangh? — had a conference in 1997 and passed a resolution that all
Magars should henceforth be Buddhist. Do you know if this is accurate?  And if so, how
can I get a copy of the resolution?
best wishes,
David Gellner

Dear Magarbandhus,

Yesterday I happened to be one of the guests in an international cultural program. The announcer, from Nepal Cultural Corporation, introduced Sorathi dance belonging to Gurung community. I am not expert, but I have been told since early childhood that this dance belongs to Magar community. Whose dance is Sorathi?

Gpthapa, 4 jul 2005

“Dr.Kulesh Thapa” <phosp@healthnet.org.np>  Tue, 5 Jul 2005 07:56:35 +0500

Dear Dai,

This is from the internet.

Maruni
The word ‘maruni ‘ means dancres . This dances symbolises the divine play between the legendary Lord Krishna and Rhada or is reminiscent of goddes Durga ’s expoilts  symbolising  the victory of hte good over evil . It held on the occasions like Dasain ,Diwali and Teej . The dancre is amale in feminie grab.

Ghatu
Ghatu dance is very popular in the Gurung village of the mountain regions , which are situated below the Himalayas . It is staged to please  ,or virgin goddesses    . This dance , which is specialization of the woman folk, has nothing to do with males. Virgin girls participating in the dance  age from ten to twenty five , and are known as other Ghatunis. they specialise in the dance as lon gas other Ghatunis, equally adept in the skill of their dance, do not emerge. They dance in in twos or in fours. interestingly  there ia nightly test of their cooking skills. Ghatu is noted specially for the art of dance since it is marked by great variety and expressiveness in its movement as in a ballet .the whirling of the  Ghatunis ,the movement of their bands, the twirling of their fingers and loins, the bending of their heads , the look of their eyes and the rhythm of their feet exhibit art and beauty .the Ghatunis don’t sing but present the vivid pictures of some event by means of gesticulations. Allthese account for  the categorization of this dance classical instead of folk. Ghatu dance is rife in the Gurung villages of the mountainous region from Shree Panchami to Vaisakh Chandi Poorni.

Kauda dance
Famous in Annapurna region , the Kaudha dance is a typical Gurung dance . It is also popular among the Magars  of Lumbini, Dhaulagiri, and Gandaki zones in the west . It is specially performs in Maghe Sakranti. The whole night performance of Kauda, starting from 5 P .M .and expending up to 7:00in the morning ,is delighfully gratifying to the audience . the boys sing songs playing Khaijadi, Manjura and Chap.  and the girls dance wearing attractive ethnic costume. the whole dance is highly rhythmic and sets one’s legs  tapping  while the eyes remain engrossed in the shift movement of the dancer

Bhairava dance
The Bhairava dance, which is consists of Bhairava , Mahakali , Barai, Kumari Gnomes and ghosts , is perfomed during Indra Yatra .  These character are neither offered worship or they put on masks. This dance lasts up to one and one group of tile -bakers In Pokhara, Newar Community performs this dance in every 6 years celebrating the big festival. Basically, Bhairav Dance  is performed in Bhairav tole, Bandhyabasini, Bhimsen Sthan, Ganesh Sthan, Narayan sthan of Pokhara.The Bhairava dance , which is consists of Bhairava , Mahakali , Barai, Kumari Gnomes and ghosts , is perfomed during Indra Yatra.  These character are neither offered worship or they put on masks. This dance lasts up to one and one group of tile -bakers In Pokhara, Newar Community performs this dance in every 6 years celebrating the big festival. Basically, Bhairav Dance  is performed in Bhairav tole, Bandhyabasini, Bhimsen Sthan, Ganesh Sthan, Narayan sthan of Pokhara.

Rodighar
Rodighar serves the Purpose of nightclubs. Rodighars are widely visited by the young flok of both sexes among  the Gurungs and the Magars in western hill sides of Nepal. Enveloped in the romantic atmosphere pervading such club-house, the simple village folk exchange  their warm unsophisticated feeling which sophisticated well out of the depth of their herds for the medium of dialogue folk songs versed in musical pattern impromptu. The Rodighars  which can be identify as the forums of the love affairs, constitute of the center trysts where the lovers try to fit in with their hearts before their union takes place. In this way Rodighar have become conventional institution where couples met, fall in love and then elope or tie the nuptial bondage all incited by the folk songs without the necessity of any go-between and at times even to the exclusion of the ritual marriage system.

Chutka
In some villages, especially in the Magar villages, this very Chutku dance is displayed in a developed form. Well-decorated and in their best attires, young women dance making double pairs, four-fold pairs or even six-fold pairs in accompaniment with Madal (a kind of drum) while there is one man to start the and a group to catch it in a choral voice. Such dances, often with artistic performances, are generally sentimental and performed on special occasions. These can be said as the ballet dance of Nepal.

Major festivals celebrated in the Kathmandu valley

Nepal is known for its continuous festivals. Nepalese are said to observe more festival then there are days in the year. Some of the major and interesting festival are listed below:

Navavarsha
It is Nepalese New Year ’s Day . It usually falls in the second week of April. The  day observe as  a national holiday . People celebrate it with great pomp and show.

Baisakh Poornima(april- may )
As Nepal is a birth place of Lord Buddha , the light of Asia , the triple anniversary of the Buddha’s birth enlightment and death is observed with many colorful ceremonies on this day. People celebrate the occasion with great veneration paying homage to Buddha.

Nagapanchami
This festival fall every year on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Shrawan (july). This day is celebrated with great feeling and faith. On this particular day the serpant worship begin with the posting of colorful portraits of nags (srepants) on the wall above the main doorways.sweets, cereals, and cow’s milk are offered to nagas and prayed for peace and prosperity.

Janai Purnima
It is a Nepalese festival which unfailingly appears in the scene on full moon day after Shrawan (July) . This is one of the most widely celebrated common festivals of the Buddhists and the Hindus. On this day one can see several Hindus going to Buddhist temples and the Buddhist to  the Hindus temples. One of the main feature of this festival is the binding of Rakshya Bandhan (a sort  of safety -band ) round one’s wrist and  the changing of the Janai (sacred threads ) which  the Brahmins and the chhetris wear round their neck .

Gaijatra (cow festival) (July -August )
It is an carnival- type of festival lasting eight days . Dancing ,singing , comic performance and anything that cause mirth and laughter are its main feature. those people which family members have died during the years send out persons dressed up as a cow to parade the main thoroughfares of the city on the first day of the festival

Krishnastami
it marks the birthday of lord Krishna , one of the incarnations of lord Vishnu and epic hero of the Mahabharata folk dances and songs are usual on occasion.

Teej
the third day of the bright fortnight of Bhadra ( August -September) is popularly known as Teej or Haritalika ,which is a big day of celebration for the Nepalese woman. This is the day ,Parvati ,the daughter of the Pimalayas is said  have won the heart of lord Shiva by dint of her deep devotion and made him accept her as his wife great pleasure . One of the very important aspects of this festival is the fasting in the name of Lord Shiva . It is said that girls who follow the Shastric advice are sure to secure the husbands they wished for. Another interesting aspect of this festival  is feeding of oneself with piecemeal on the proceding day for fasting . It is quit remarkable that  on the following day the fasting  women spend most of their time  singing and going round the temple without any noticeable sign of fatigue.

Dasain  or Durga Puja (September- October)
The Dashain festival is the most  important and the biggest festival of the Nepalese. It lasts for 15 days . It celebrates the triumph of goddess Durga over Mahishasur , a demon who terrorized  the people .  It includes plenty of rituals , animal sacrifices ,feasting and dressing up in one ’s finest  to call on friends and relatives. People go to the temples of Vindyavasini and Bhadrakali as both these goddesses are consider form of Durga. Buffaloes , goats and chicken are sacrificial animals. Animal sacrifice is offered on the ninth day of the festival. The seventh day is celebrated as Fulpati procession , in which a vessel of flowers from Gorkha is paraded around town ,accompanied by local official in the fine clothes, as well as the Gaines, soldiers and priests. On the following full moon , there is a Mela (fair) at island temple of Tal Varahi.

Tihar (Deepawali) (Octobar- November)
It is known as festival of lights. It comes fortnight after Dasain . It is celebrated for days . This festival is held in honour of both Yama, the Goddes of Death, and Laxmi, Lord Vishnu’s wife and the Goddes of Fortune . On this occasion ,houses are illuminated at night and special sweets of various kinds are prepared . The first two days are dedicated to crow and the dog respectively . While the third and fourth days are dedicated to cow and ox respectively. The last day is dedicated to brothers and is called  ‘Bhai Puja’, when sisters honour their brothers with a special, multi- colored tika on the forehead.

Maghe Sakranti (January )
On this day people of Pokhara hold a fair at Dhungesangu, site site of the natural stone bridge. Some people go north beyond  Burjung Khola to the natural hot spring besides the Sati Gandaki. Others go to Tatopani on the kali Gandaki River to its  hot spring to take a dip.

Lhosar
This festival is most impressively observed in the month of February by all the Tibetan speaking and Buddhism professing ethnic population . They organize folk song and dances on this occasion and celebrate the entry on the New Year with great pomp and revelry.

Maha Shivaratri (February – March )
Shivaratri or the night of Lord Shiva is observed in February – March . It is celebrated in the honour of lord Shiva. Many devotees journey to Karputar, on the Madi River east of bagnas Lake for a holy bath and all night meal (fair). People build bonfires for Shiva and join the company of sadhus and other mendicants here for the occasion.

Fagu Purnima (Holi)
Jan -Feb : It is a festival of “playing with color “. One this day one throws the red powder over everyone in sight.In the mountain   villages, Magars and   Gurungs feature various  of Radha Krishna  dances on Holi full- moon night , with young men playing both the parts , in long gown  , wings, tinsel and costume jewellery. Lonal thakalis begin their spring archery tournament at this time .

Ram Nawami
Ram Nawami (also called Chaitra Dasain ) is a graet hindus festival which falls generally on on the 8th and 9th day of the bright fortnight of Chaitra (March 30- April 1 ). this is the day when Devi (Shakti) manifested Herself in her most  celestial – form and so this day observed as Chaitra  Dasain -an auspicios day to worship Davi with great devotion and faith. Rama, an ideal Hindu king is believed to have to obtain  all the merits by dint of his sincere devotion to Davi which enable him to defeat his enemy , Ravan .Pokhara people on this day go to the Vindhyavasini and Bhadrakali temples as well s the military camps to worship and sacrifice animals.