September 30, 2017 at 10:46AM

Day 1935: मोहनीया भिन्तुना!

September 29, 2017 at 10:48AM

Day 1933: Kuchi Bhwoye

कुछी भ्वोये

आकाशमा जून सित तारा छ

यो बेला म सित तिमीहरू छौ।

जे हुनु भैरहोस यो दुनिया

हामी त कुछी-भ्वोये खांदै छौं।।

September 28, 2017 at 10:49AM

Day 1932: कांतिपुरको जन्म

गुणकाम देव - १५ बर्ष• कलिगत बर्ष ३८२४

इन राजाले श्रीमहालक्ष्मीका व्रत गरी लक्ष्मीका सेवा गरिरहंदा राजाकन स्वप्नामा लक्ष्मीदेवीको आज्ञा भयो || हे राजन् तिमीले एक १ पुरी बनाउ कहाँ भन्या • पुरापूर्वकालमा • नेमुनि ऋषिले तपष्या गरी ग|याका स्थान वाग्मतीको र विष्णुमतीको संगम मध्यस्थानबिषये • कांटेश्वर देवता बस्याका छन • तेस ठाउमा नि|त्य इन्द्रादि देवता लाइ श्री लोकेश्वर भेटि अनेक पुराण सुनी जान्छन त्यो बडो उत्तम जग्गा हो तेहि स्थानमा कान्तिपू|र नाम गरी देविका खड्गाकारले संयुक्त गरी सहर बनाउ र • तेस सहरमा आवत जावत रुपैया १००००० दिन दिन| जमा हुन्याछं • भनी लक्ष्मीको आज्ञा भयो र तेहि बमोजिम गरी राजाले सुलग्न बेला पाई सहर बसाया र यसै सहरमा| बसौं भनी पाटन सहर छाडि सोही आफुले बसायाका कांतिपुरमा बस्नगया || ||

कलिगत बर्ष ३८२४ जादा १८| हजारको सहर बसायाको हो || लक्ष्मीले लाख रुपैया ज्मा लीनदिन भया सम्म • म ताहि सहरमा बसौंला भनी क|बोली थिया || फेरी लक्ष्मीदेविका प्रभावले • सुवर्णप्रणाली सुवर्ण धारा बनाई सुवर्णप्रणाली कांतिपुर नाम गर्या|

साभार: नेपालीकभुपवंशावली

'Hill & chaitya of Swayambhu Nath in the Valley of Nepal', in Pencil 'Svayabhu' by Rajman Singh, 1844. Courtesy: Royal Asiatic Society, London

#HistoryOfKathmandu

#HistoryOfNepal

September 16, 2017 at 10:56AM

September 11, 2017 at 10:59AM

योसीं क्वोथुलेगु

Yosin kwothulegu

Yosin, the Indra's pole that was erected eight days ago is finally lowered on the eight day of the Yenya on the fourth of the dark fortnight of Aswin, at the auspicious time, SAIT fixed by the royal astrologer, usually between 10 and 11PM. This year the SAIT was at 10.25PM. The stones which maintain Yosin is removed and the Yosin is pushed by the poles and it falls on the straw-covered ground. The moment it comes to rest upon the ground, hundreds of worshippers rush forward to touch it with their forehead. Some young people also hurl down and throw bundles of straws to each other making it like a straw fight.

Yosin is then dragged by the army recruits towards the lower part of the city, through Jaisidewal, Hyumat and Teku and immersed at the confluence of the Vishnumati and the Bagmati river.

#Yenyaa #Yosin

September 10, 2017 at 11:05AM

Ojesh Singh was live.

September 9, 2017 at 11:09AM

Day 1914 -Yenyā Diaries

येंया दैनिकि

न्हि ७ - दश अवतार क्यनेगु

Dash Avatar Kyenegu

Dash Avatar Kyenegu is performed on the nearest daboo(Platforms) to Kumari Chhen (House) of Kathmandu Darwar Square for whole of 8 days of Yenyā. This is the show of ten incarnations or avatārs of Vishnu, the Hindu god of preservation, who is said to descend to earth(mrtyalok) in form of an avatar to restore cosmic order.

During Dasavatar kyanegu the actors presenting themselves as various characters from different yuga or era pose motionlessly to describe a significant part of a story of each incarnation. The most standard ten incarnations are Matsya(Fish), Kurma(Amphibian), Varaha(Boar), Narasimha(Half Man- Half Animal), Vamana(Sapient Being), Parashurama( Warrior with an axe), Rama(Prince/King of Ayodhya), Krishna( Son of devaki/Bashudeva), Buddha(Gautama Buddha), and Kalki(White horse). Out of these ten incarnations over 130 stories can be told through Dashavatar Kyanegu. However, only 10 stories are selected to be performed each day during Yenyā. The 10 stories that are selected to perform on the first day (Yosim Thanigu) is repeated on the last day( NānchāYā) too.

‘During Dashavtar Kyenegu, we used to perform dances of these stories, but due to the lack of trainers and trainees we can only manage to show a motionless scenes’, says Dipak Shrestha, Nayo Dash Avatar Naach Guthi, 2016. He adds, ‘this is still performed as dances in Yala (Patan) during Kartik and is called Kartik Nach’ He also shares that all the original masks, ornaments, clothes and all the weapons were buried under the rubble when the building where these were stored collapsed during the earthquake in 2015, over two years ago, just before the Yenyā that year. So, he had to hastily fly to India to buy all the missing ornaments, clothes, and weapons. He is working hard to replicate the ornaments that were lost but might take some time.

#Yenyā #DashAvatar

September 9, 2017 at 9:15AM

Indrajatra Diaries

येंया दैनिकि

न्हि ६ - येंया या इंद्रजात्रा?

Day 6 - Yenyā or Indrajatra

Many people from Kathmandu (and Wikipedia) claim that Yenyā means festival of Kathmandu because ‘Yen’ means ‘Kathmandu’ and ‘yā’ means procession/festival in Nepalbhasha. But prominent Nepalese culture expert Satya Mohan Joshi stated that this festival was started in the name of god Indra (also called as Yemnyāhdyah in Nepalbhasha)(Toffin, 1992). Even the name of Kathmandu in Nepalbhasha was derived from Indra(Yemnyāhdyah) that later got corrupted to Yen( Linking Heritage: Monalisa 2016).

Also, this festival falls on Yanlā (ञला), the eleventh month in the lunar Nepal Samvat calendar. This is also the month of Indra.(Tulsi lal Singh, 2016).

Indrajatra was started by the Thakuri King Gunakama Dev as the birthday of the town he founded called Kantipur, the modern Kathmandu; during the time he ruled from 949 to 994 CE.(More on this later)

(Similar celebrations of Indra take place in several other parts of South Asia, mainly India which I shall write about later)

Yenyā or Indrajatra that is celebrated now is just not one celebration but the amalgamation of various festivals and celebrations. There have been several additions,inventions and innovations to the way it is celebrated today. The question of ritual accretion is especially pertinent with regard to Indrajatra. Numerous authors have tried to tackle this question but few or none have addressed how the process of ritual accretion actually works in Yenyā.

Other than only celebrating Indra, Various masked dances from different part of the city, distinct dances and musicians, akash Bhairava, DashAwatar, Majipa Lakhe, SavaBhakku with the procession of Kumari and her two divine brothers Ganesh and Bhairav also take place.

For now, let's rest the case that Yenyā or Indrajatra, both mean the same; the biggest street festival of Kathmandu.

September 8, 2017 at 11:18AM

Day 1913: Obligatory Update

When you are in Nepal and lots of people don't know where you are.

September 8, 2017 at 7:21AM

Day 1912 - Indrajatra Diaries

येंया दैनिकि

न्हि ५ - ख्वापा प्याखं

Masked dances

Savābhakhu:

Various dances are performed all over Kathmandu throughout Yenyā. According to the stories (that I shall share later) three protagonists, Bhairava, Caņdi and Kumāri come from outside the city to beat the enemy within. It is a fearsome group of dancers who are together called Savābhakhu (Van Den Hoek 2014). This dance is also called Dhiṃ-Nāle-Siṃtāṃg. The masked dancers are from Halchok, northwest Kathmandu. This Guthi for this dance is also a Siguthi, which is in charge of funerals of caste members of Halchok. These dancers come out every night during the 8 days of Yenyā and dance their way around kathmandu. These dancers are also thought to be thirsty for the sacrifice of Buffaloes of which they drink the blood. They have an opponent in the figure of Lākhe, the demon dancer from Majipā in Kathmandu Kwane.

Lākhe: (More on this and other masked dances to follow)

Enjoy the video of this dance that was performed in front of the President of Nepal, Bidya Bhandari during Kvane Yā.

#Yenyaa #DhiṃNāleSiṃtāṃg #SavaBhaku

September 6, 2017 at 11:21AM

Day 1911 - Indrajatra Diaries

येंया दैनिकि

न्हि ४- थने या

ThaneYā - The fourth day of YenYā

The three-tiered chariot of Kumāri is taken in procession with her attendants, Ganesha and Bhairava on the fourth day of the Indrajatra. On this day, the three living deities on their respective chariot travel to the northern part of the old Kathmandu, Thane and back to Layakuli in the evening. Thane-Kvane divide can be seen in the map attached here (A.W. van den Hoek:2012)(I promise to draw a more elaborative map soon). Performing Lakhe, Pulu kishi, and Sava-bhaku lead the way of the three chariots.

The reasons to pull these chariots has been asked several times. I have always wondered what could be the need for this. One of the answers that I received from the student of architecture was to maintain the road regulations, hence people didn’t build houses on the path of these gods and goddess neglecting the space required for their chariots.

The most convincing answer that I have come across, however, is that pulling of the chariots means that gods and goddess visiting to those worshipers, who are children, too ill and/or too old who cannot visit the temples themselves. Also, in the olden days (even now, sometimes) people of certain castes were not allowed to enter into the temples, so they didn’t have the opportunity of darshan of these gods and goddess. But when the gods and goddess themselves go around the city, everybody gets an opportunity

[It is believed that ThaneYaa was the last day of the four-day-Indrajatra before Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered Nepal. The four-day Indrajatra has become an eight-day festival since the Shah rule. Gorkha King Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded to take the power from the unfortunate last Malla King Jaya Prakash Malla on the fourth day of Indrajatra, but the people did not accept him as their king, and did not permit him to receive the blessing from the Living goddess Kumāri that was mandatory for any ruler. The negotiations went on for four days and at the end of the fourth day, Prithvi Narayan Shah received the “Tika” from the Living Goddess Kumāri and became the legitimate king. (I shall update on the reference of this as I need to make my findings for my research more concrete)]

September 5, 2017 at 11:26AM

Day 1910: Indra Jatra Diaries

येंन्या दैनिकी

न्हि: ३ - कुमारी या/ क्वने या

Kumari Yatra / Kvane yā: - Third day of YenYaa (IndraJatra)

The start of the Kumāri Yātrā takes place on the fourteenth of the bright half of the month of Bhadra, on the third day of the Indrajatra. On this day, Kumāri on her three chariot is accompanied by the two other living gods as her attendants: two young boys embodying Ganesha and Bhairava precede her chariot in their own one-tiered chariots. Ganesh and Bhairava are the common attendants of the Gana, the group of eight or nine martikas across the valley.

Kathmandu is ritually divided in between the Thane(Upper), the northern part of the town and the Kvane(Lower)m the southern part of the town. The dividing line is most often seen as the diagonal leading from the northern place gate in a north-eastern direction towards Asan Square; all areas above it belongs to Thane and the areas below it too Kvane. (Van Den Hoek: 2012)

Kvane yā is the day when the three Chariaots of Kumāri, Bhairava and Ganesha are taken in procession around Thane. Chariot of Ganesh leads the chariot of Batuk Bhairava, and then of the Kumari to the south-side of old Kathmandu, and then back to Layakuli. Performers of Lakhe, Pulu kishi, and Sawa-bhaku dances go ahead of the chariots performing dances on the way. (More on Ganesha, Bhairava, Lakhe, Pulu kisi, sawa-bhakhu to follow)

In the night, Dāgī (Indra’s mother) goes around looking for her son Indra that had come to earth to pick a flower called ‘pārijāt’ for his mother Dāgī. Sons and spouses of the deceased during the year follow Dāgī hoping to go to the heaven with Dāgī to meet their loved ones.

A series of oil lamps set on bamboos called ‘Bau-mata’ is taken around the town following the route of Dāgī apparently for giving the light to Dāgī on her way. (Story of Dāgī to follow)

#Yenyā

September 4, 2017 at 11:30AM

Day 1909: Indra Jatra Diaries

येंन्या दैनिकी

न्हि: २ - आकाश भैरव / हाथु द्यो

Hāthudyo/ Âkāśa Bhairava:

The display of bodyless heads of Bhairava in his manifestation as Hāthudyo, god of spouting alcohol (Thvaṃ, the local rice beer) is another attraction of YenYā. Like the erection of the Yaḥsiṃ, the display of Hāthudyo is also not limited to Yenyā. On a more limited scale it also occurs in Pachali Bhairava Yātrā and Pāhāṃ Charhe. The foremost Hāthudyo is Âkāśa Bhairava of Vaṃgaḥ, on the same square where also one of the four Indradyos is situated.

Âkāśa Bhairava has his own story, in which he is also on the losing side, albeit by this own choice. His is identified with the mythical kirata king yalambar (Yambādyo), who joined mahabharat battle of Kuruksetra on the losing side that of Kauravs. For that unfortunate choice, he was punished by lord Krishna, who cut off his head with such force that it flew all the way back to Kathmandu.

Âkāśa Bhairava has something to give to its devotees. As a Hāthudyo, he gets at set times a tube in his mouth, from which rice-beer spouts for the comfort of the crowd. According to the Guthi members some ghee, milk, yoghurt and honey are mixed in the beer to turn it into pancāmṛta, the mixture of five holy ingredients.

The Hāthu hayekegu (the spouting of beer) is at certain times preceded by a sheep or a goat sacrifice in front of the platform and is accompanied by the jyapu dhime music and the distribution of samay baji, a mixture of beaten rice, roast meat, soyabeans and ginger, which is customarily taken with alcohol.

#Yenyā #AakashBhairav #Haathu #Indrajatra

September 4, 2017 at 7:34AM

Indra Jatra Diaries

येंन्या दैनिकी

न्हि: १ - उपाकु वनेगु/ उपाऊ वने

Upaku Wonigu/ Upau Wone

On the first evening of the indrajatra, one’s family member who have died during the previous year is explicitly remembered, when citizens of Kathmandu observe upaku wonigu ‘walking the boundaries’ of the old city. In the procession of thousands of people walk through the city’s streets, walking the parameter of the old city in the clockwise direction, visiting the set of well decorated goddess shrines, often with local Jyapu drummers playing near their entrances and with large pile of samaybaji prominently displayed. Most participants carry lit incense, and many of the attending females place hundreds of clay lamps (Mata: ) along the side of the path, marking their progress (Cf Gutschow; 1982)

While Gai Yātrā is one celebration of death of Hindus of Kathmandu valley, Upaku wonegu is considered the buddhists counterpart of Gai Yātrā like matayāh in pātan, but it is celebrated by both buddhists and hindus.

#YanYaa #Indrajatra #Upaku

September 3, 2017 at 11:35AM

Day 1908: Yenyaa Diaries

न्हि: १- योशिं थनीगु

Yahsim Thanigu:

A sacrificial pole from the Nala Forest, east of Bhaktapur is freshly acquired every year with the eight-day ritual of selecting, cutting the tree and its transmission into Kathmandu. From the eight day of the Saait the 50-60-foot-long pole is erected at Kathmandu’s Durwar Square at an auspicious moment in the morning of the twelfth day of the bright half of Bhadra. (Van Den Hoek: 2014). The erection of this pole indicates the official of Indra Jatra. Even though Michael Baltutis: 2008 goes in depth to show why the festival actually starts from the day people start the ritual of selection of the tree. (Which I am not yet so certain about)

The South Asian festival of Indra, first mentioned in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata some 2000 years ago as indradhwojarahan; Indra’s banner was created by indra with the help of Vishnu during the churning of the primeval ocean of milk to defend the gods from attack of asura. Raised on the ceremonial chariot of India the banner frightened the demons and gave victory to the god. (Toffin 1992) The relation between the Indradhwajarahan and yasim thanigu is yet to be differentiated clearly.

September 2, 2017 at 11:37AM

Day 1906: Ultimate Medication

I don't need therapy, I just need to go to Nepal!