Monday 12 November 2007

Tihar


Tihar, or Deepawali, is Nepal's festival of lights, and also the Newari new year. Deepawali means 'a row of lights' and traditionally, households light ghee (butter) lamps for the festival and place them outside their homes, on balconies and at windows, lighting up the darkness and the coming winter. In the days preceding the festival, the landscape of Kathmandu was slowly transformed with mulicoloured flags being strung across streets and coloured lights being strung across everything. At nightime, there are coloured lights hanging across streets, in cascades from buildings, twinkling from household windows. Firecrackers explode across the city, and the marigold business booms as Nepalis buy garlands of flowers to celebrate the festival. Walking home late one evening, I came upon a crossroads where all of the street railings were covered with thousands of marigold garlands, waiting to be sold the following morning. As with Dashain, Nepalis go home to visit their families, for all, or some of the five day festival. On the first day the crow is worshipped (as the messenger); on day two the dog is worshipped (as an honest and faithful companion)...and dogs across the city are daubed with red tikkas (the mark of blessing placed on the centre of the forehead). On the third day, Laxmi, the goddess of wealth is worshipped, as is the cow (and its sacred gifts of milk, ghee, dung, urine, and curd). Along the streets hawkers sell pictures of the goddess, and cows wander slowly around garlanded with flowers and with tikkas between their eyes. On the fourth day the self is worshipped (and its soul, which is the god inside), and on the fifth day brothers and sisters are honoured with a tikka of seven colours. Leading up to the festival, power cuts pepper the city to compensate for the electricity overload of Tihar. Restaurants provide 'festival menus', with reduced choices at higher prices. Rubbish is left on the streets to pile ever higher. On new year's day, celebrations continue long into the night as elsewhere around the world and Newaris greet one another with "nhu daya bintuna" (happy new year). Late into the night I wandered the illuminated city and came across a small square. In the centre, a Buddhist stupa was adorned with lights. From every building around the square lights hung in cascades of colour. A group of Newari musicans played traditional music on curved horns, thrumming drums, and wild trumpets. Rice beer (chang) was passed from person to person. To the mesmeric rhythm of the night, we danced to welcome the coming year.

Friday 2 November 2007

Kyanjin Gompa


Full Moon at Kyanjin Gompa*
White mountain spectres
Float on drifting cloud

* monastery



The Lamas* have gone to Langtang
The purnima** lamps
Remain unlit

* Buddhist priests

** full moon


Abalone sky at sunrise
Yaks graze
As prayer flags flutter


Langtang Khola* roars
Air suddenly chills
Chorten** is swallowed by mist

* river

** Tibetan Buddhist shrine


Menchamsa
Climber's shrine
Prayer flags give voice to the wind


Only the Khola
Breaks the valley's silence
Crows glide on Langtang breeze


On Kyanjin Ri
Crows perch
Mocking the struggling trekkers


Yaks meander across mountain pastures
Herds of tourists
Come and go

Durga Puja

The sound of drums awoke me at first light. I stepped out onto the streets of the old city. Double lines of devotees file down the street, waiting to enter the multi-tiered pagoda Taleju temple. This is the 9th day of the ten day Durga Puja festival, when the great goddess, in all of her nine forms, is worshipped. The Taleju temple, the largest temple in Kathmandu to the goddess of many forms, is open on this one day of the year. On this day, devotees can get darshan (or viewing) of She who embodies shakti, power, energy and action. Devotees bring flowers, fruit, grains and incense as gifts to the goddess. But on the 8th and 9th days of the festival the principal gift is blood. The goddess has an insatiable thirst which must be satiated through the sacrifice of ducks and chickens; buffalo and goats.

Firecrackers sound and the kukri blade falls upon another animal's neck. Two men drag a headless buffalo away from the killing ground. Blood trails trickle down the streets. Sadhus pose for tourist photos. Guns police the heaving crowd. Much later, in the deep of evening, a small group of people carry the many Kumaris (living goddesses) who live in the Kathmandu valley to the temple. Although not the principal Kumari, who is feted on Indra Jatra, these other living goddesses, who are similarly adorned, are entitled to a private darshan of the great mother goddess. The Taleju temple gates are opened, the small group passes through, and is swallowed by the night.