Dashain is the 15-day national (religious)
festival of Nepal, It is the longest and the most auspicious
festival in the Nepalese annual calendar, celebrated with
great rejoice by Nepalese of all caste and creed throughout
the globe. It is not only the longest festival of the
country but is also the one which is most anticipated.
The festival falls around September–October, starting
from the bright lunar fortnight and ending on the day
of full moon. Dasain is also popularly referred to as
Bada Dasain, Dashera, Vijaya Dashami etc.Dashain is the
most important festival on the Nepal calendar and is a
most interesting event to witness. Every year during late
September to early October, the people of Nepal get ready
to enjoy Dashain, the greatest festival of the year. This
is the biggest and longest festival on the Nepali calendar
and it is celebrated by virtually every person in Nepal,
regardless of their social caste. The entire festival
lasts approximately fifteen days and is a riot of color,
festivity and religious rites.
The festival is said to be held in honor of the gods'
victory over wicked demons. Legend has it that the god
Ramayan was only able to kill Ravana, the king of the
demons, when the goddess Durga was evoked. Thus the goddess
Durga plays a pivotal role in the celebrations and the
entire event is seen as a celebration of good over evil.
The festival starts on a lunar fortnight
which ends on the day of the full moon. All homes in Nepal
are cleaned, painted and decorated to encourage the mother
goddess to visit and bless the household. Relatives from
distant towns are reunited and the markets come alive
with those looking for items they may use during the festival,
such as clothes, food, gifts and animals for sacrifice.
Thousands of animals such as goats, chickens, ducks, sheep
and water buffalo are prepared for the sacrificial slaughter.
During the course of the festival the blood of all these
animals will be poured out for a ritual holy bathing that
glorifies the goddess Durga. During the first nine days
of the festival - the period during which Durga supposedly
fought the demon Mahisasur - is a period of worship.
During this part of festival the tantric
rites are conducted and the people pay their homage to
the goddess by visiting her image in the temples around
the country. Each day follows a pattern set thousands
of years ago and is different from the next. On the ninth
day, the Taleju temple at Hanuman Dhoka is opened to the
public - the only time during the year that this occurs.
Thousands of people visit the temple on this day and thousands
of animals are sacrificed to honor Durga and seek her
blessing.
On the tenth day the festivities settle a bit and the
focus turns towards family. Elders visit each home and
bless the family members - some of which have come from
far away to receive this blessing. Even the king receives
this blessing and the entire process takes about four
days.
On the fifteenth day, the last day -
the people of Nepal settle down to rest. The very next
day the shops are open once again and life in Nepal returns
to normal. Some travelers will likely find the animal
sacrifices offered at Dashain to be somewhat offensive
but should remember that these are an integral part of
a festival which has been held for: hundreds of years.
Dashain Festival Tour Itinerary
October
11th 2012 / Day 01:
Arrival
day at Tribhuban Internatioonal Airport
and transfer to the Hotel
October
12th 2012 / Day 02:
Full day guided
sightseeing in Pashupatinath, Boudhanath
and Patan Durbar Square (B)
October
13th-19th 2012 / Day 03-09:
Ghatasthapana
Ghatasthapana marks the beginning of
Dasain. It literally means installing
a pot which symbolizes Goddess Shakti.
It falls on Aswin Shukla Pratipada,
the first day of the bright half of
the lunar calendar in the month of Ashvin.
On this day the kalasha is filled with
holy water which is then covered with
cow dung and sewn with barley seeds.
Then, the kalasha is put in the center
of a rectangular sand block. The remaining
bed of sand is also seeded with grains.
The priest then starts the puja by calling
goddess Durga to bless the vessel with
her presence. This ritual is performed
at a certain auspicious time which is
determined by the astrologers. Goddess
Shakti is believed to reside in the
Kalash vessel during the Navratri period.
The room where all this is done is known
as the ‘Dasain Ghar’. Generally,
outsiders and women are not allowed
to enter the Dasain Ghar. A male family
member worships the Kalasha twice every
day, once in the morning and then in
the evening. It is kept from direct
sunlight[8], and holy water is offered
to it every day, so that by the tenth
day of the festival the seed will have
grown to five or six inches long yellow
grass. This sacred grass is known as
‘Jamara’. These rituals
continue till the seventh day. (B)
October
20th 2012 / Day 10:
Fulpati
Fulpati is a major celebration occurring
on the seventh day of Dasain. On this
day the jamara to be used by the royal
family is brought from Gorkha palace,
their ancestral house. The Fulpati (jamara
and the other items that is necessary
for tika) is brought after a three day
walk from Gorkha district which is about
hundred and sixty nine kilometers away
from the valley of Kathmandu. A parade
is held in the Tundikhel ground in Kathmandu.
The royal Kalasha, banana stalks, jamara
and the sugar cane tied with red cloth
is brought by the Brahmans from Gorkha
which is led by the royal priest's military
platoon. Hundreds of government officials
gather together in the Tundikhel grounds
in conventional formal dress to witness
the event. The king observes the ceremony
in Tundikhel while the fulpati parade
is headed towards the Hanuman Dhoka
royal palace. Then there is a majestic
display of the Nepalese Army along with
a celebratory firing of weapons that
continues for ten to fifteen minutes
honoring Fulpati. The Fulpati is taken
to the Hanuman Dhoka Royal palace by
the time the occasion ends in Tundikhel.
However, since 2008 when the monarchy
system was removed from the country,
the two-century old tradition is changed
so that the holy offering of fulpati
goes to the residence of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister has taken over the
king's social and religious roles after
the fall of the royal government, as
he is believed to be ruling the nation
and not the king (B)
October
21st 2012 / Day 05:
Maha Asthami
The eighth day is called the 'Maha
Asthami'. This is the day when the most
demonic of Goddess Durga’s manifestations,
the blood-thirsty Kali, is appeased
through the sacrifice of hundreds of
thousands of buffaloes, goats, pigeons
and ducks in temples throughout the
nation. Blood, symbolic for its fertility,
is offered to the Goddesses. Appropriately
enough, the night of this day is called
Kal Ratri (Black Night). It is also
the norm for buffaloes to be sacrificed
in the courtyards of all the land revenue
offices in the country on this day.
The old palace in Basantapur Hanuman
Dhoka, is active throughout the night
with worships and sacrifices in almost
every courtyard. On the midnight of
the very day the Dasain Ghar, a total
of 54 buffaloes and 54 goats are sacrificed
in observance of the rites. After the
offering of the blood, the meat is taken
home and cooked as "prasad",
or food blessed by divinity. This food
is offered, in tiny leaf plates, to
the household Gods, then distributed
amongst the family. Eating this food
is thought to be auspicious. While the
puja is being carried out great feasts
are held in the homes of common people.
(B)
October
22nd 2012 / Day 06:
Maha Navami
People standing in queue to visit the
Taleju Bhawani Mandir
The ninth day is called Maha-navami
which literally means the great ninth
day. This day is the last day of Navarati.
Ceremonies and rituals reach the peak
on this day. On this day, official military
ritual killings are held in one of the
Hanuman Dhoka royal palace called the
Kot courtyard. On this occasion, the
state offers the sacrifices of buffaloes
under the gunfire salutes. This day
is also known as the demon-hunting day
because members of the defeated demon
army try to save themselves by hiding
in the bodies of animals and fowls.
On this day the Vishwakarma, the god
of creativeness is also worshiped as
it believed that all the things which
help is in making a living should be
kept happy. Artisans, craftsmen, traders,
and mechanics worship and offer animal
and fowl blood to their tools, equipment,
and vehicles. Moreover, since it is
believed that worshipping the vehicles
on this day avoids accidents for the
year all the vehicles from bikes, cars
to trucks are worshiped on this day.
The Taleju Temple gates are opened for
the general public on only this day
of the year. Thousands of devotees go
and pay respect to the goddess this
day. The temple is filled with devotees
all day long (B)
October
23rd 2012 / Day 07:
Dashami
An elder member of the family putting
Tika to the younger one.
The tenth day of the festival is the
'Dashami'. On this day, a mixture of
rice, yogurt and vermilion is prepared
by the women. This preparation is known
as "tika". Elders put this
tika and jamara which is sewn in the
ghatasthapana on the forehead of younger
relatives to bless them with abundance
in the upcoming years. The red also
symbolizes the blood that ties the family
together. Elders give "Dakshina",
or a small amount of money, to younger
relatives at this time along with the
blessings. This continues to be observed
for five days till the full moon during
which period families and relatives
visit each other to exchange gifts and
greetings. This ritual of taking tika
from all the elder relatives (even the
distant relatives)helps in the renewal
of the community ties greatly. This
is one reason why the festival is celebrated
with so much of vigor and enthusiasm.
Before the collapse of the monarchy
system in Nepal, thousands of people
ranging from the ministers, diplomats
and general public used to gather in
the old royal palace to take the tika
and blessing from the king who is considered
to be the incarnation of Lord Vishnu.
However after the collapse of the monarchy
system the president of the country
who is considered the head of the state
has been continuing the trend by offering
the tika to the general public and ministers.
The last day of the festival which lies
on the full moon day is called 'Kojagrata'
Purnima. The literal meaning of Kojagrata
is 'who is awake'. On this day Goddess
Laxmi who is believed to be the goddess
of wealth is worshiped as it believed
that goddess Laxmi descends on earth
and showers whoever is awake all night
with wealth and prosperity.
Animal sacrifices are often the norms
during this time, as the festival commemorates
the mythical bloody battles between
the "divine" and "demonic"
powers. The proponents of animal sacrifice
interpret that this sacrificial act
as the symbolic sacrifice of our animal
qualities, but those who are compassionate
to the sacrificed victims think otherwise
stressing that the sacrificial act is
nothing but an excuse to fulfill the
appetite for food/meat (B)
October
24th-26th 2012 / Day 08-12:
Ekadashi-Purnima and finish the festival
(B)
October
27th 2012 / Day 12:
Free day for shopping (B)
October
28th 2012 / Day 13:
Final departure to the Airport (B)
Cost
includes:
11 night hotel in Kathmandu,
airport arrival/departure transport services all
necessary land and air transportation as per itinerary,
fluent english speaking license holder sightseeing
tour guide, sightseeing entrance fees, Sightseeing
tour guide fees.
Cost
does not includes:
Nepal entry
visa fees, Kathmandu hotel Lunch and Dinner (L,
D), Personal spending money and all bar bills.
