Kathmandu, Dec 30 : On the day of Margashirsha Shukla Purnima, Chasuwa of Yakkha, Folsyadar of Sunuwar, Udhauli Sakela of Rai and Chasok of Limbu are being celebrated with pomp and joy.

On the first day of the festival, which started three days ago, the Limbu people celebrated the Chasok Tangnam festival. Kirti Kumar Dumi Rai, who is doing research on Kirat culture, says that even though Kirat people give different names to this festival, it is commonly known as Udhauli.

Yakkha people calls it as ‘Chasuwa’, Sunuwar people calls it as ‘Folsyadar’, Rai people calls it as ‘Udhauli Sakela’, and the Limbu people call it ‘Chasok Tangnam’. At the season of plantation, the Kirat people celebrate Ubhauli festival. Even though the festivals and rituals are the same, it is customary to call the festivals according to one’s own language.

For Bhumi Puja, Kirat men and women, dressed in ethnic costumes, arrive at the festival site in the morning to dance to the rhythm of the Chabrang Baja. They entertain themselves by dancing dances like Chandinach, Chabrangnach, Dholnachal etc.

Hattiban in Lalitpur is considered as a historical and religious pilgrimage site for the Kirats from the ancient Kirat period. Kirants, who gather there to celebrate the festival, have a tradition of organizing their own traditional cultural programs and various sports competitions.

The Limbus worship Yumasamang and Thevasamang as their deities, while Kirant Tagera worships Ningwafumang as their deity. Since Tagera Ningwafumang is considered to be an invisible force without a shape, it is said that there is no idol or statue.

The Kirat people also believe in worshiping Sakela (land) and to thank sakela for good farming and agricultural produce. Kirati people celebrate both Udhauli and Ubhauli festivals in honor of the ancestors and nature. RSS