Mero Dhangadhi

Could you explain the religious significance of Dashian to me and what some of the cultural traditions surrounding the holiday are? Thank you in advance!!! By the way, beautiful, AMAZING, blog. :D

Thank you! And absolutely, I’ll tell you what I know/remember. Keep in mind that I don’t live in Nepal and I’ve only fully celebrated Dashain as a little kid in Kathmandu. Also, I’m from the “baun” caste and I think each caste celebrates it a bit differently (I’m not sure).

Dashain in Nepal is celebrated to mark the occasion of Goddess Durga defeating a demon (victory of good over evil). It lasts about 15 days in the fall. The first day is called “ghatasthapana” (gha-tas-tha-pa-na). This is when you do Puja to start off the festival and plant your “jamara” (barley sprouts/ leaves) which is used on the main Tika day (10th day of Dashain). On Tika day, people go to their elder relative’s houses (gotta travel around the whole city) and have Tika put on and receive blessings and dakshina (you get money.. well most people do..it’s complicated). The Tika starts on the 10th day and goes on until the end of the festival. In between Tika day and Ghatasthapana (the 1st day), there is Fulpati. The only thing I know about Fulpati is that they have this huge parade/party in Tudikhel (open space for parades in the middle of Kathmandu) and they bring in horses and fire guns and stuff, it’s pretty awesome.

My family used to spend the days in between shopping for new clothes (it’s traditional to wear new clothes on Tika day, but the stores in Kathmandu get ridiculously crowded. I suggest you avoid the shops during this time, unless you want to get trampled on). We also gamble (a lot), eat loads of lamb and goat meat and most people make animal sacrifices to Goddess Durga (my family isn’t too fond of animal sacrifices, so I don’t remember us doing it), and we drink! It’s a huge party. Everyone gets drunk. We also fly kites (changa chet!) ; I think the main purpose is to have fun (obviously) and also to take down all the neighborhood kites. Whoever has taken down the most kites in the neighborhood gets to carry around the title of “badass” until the next Dashain. They also have these HUGE swings all over the place. It’s a lot of fun.         

Sorry, this is so long, but Dashain is a very big deal and I wanted to give you all the info. I’ve also linked pictures so be sure to check that out. Please feel free to correct me if I’ve made any mistakes. :)