Traditional Udhauli Festivities Mark Harvest Season in Nepal

Kathmandu, 4 December: Today, on the day of Margashirsha Shukla Purnima, the Kirant community is celebrating the Udhauli Festival as a mark of respect for ancestors and nature.

The various Kirant sub-groups observe Udhauli under different names: the Yakha celebrate it as Chasuwa, the Sunuwar as Pholsyadar, the Rai as Udhauli Sakela, and the Limbu as Chasok Tangnam.

The Limbus had already started celebrating their Chasok Tangnam three days prior. Today, however, all communities jointly celebrate the Udhauli Sakela or Udhauli festival in a grand manner. Kirtikumar Dumi Rai, a researcher on Kirant culture, states that although the sub-groups within the Kirant community have given this festival different names, it is collectively known as Udhauli.

The Kirant community observes this day as a festival after their crops have ripened, offering the harvest to their deities, seeking permission to consume the new food, and remembering their ancestors. In contrast, the Kirant people celebrate the Yawa or Ubhauli festival during the planting season.

For the land worship (Bhumi Puja), Kirant men and women, adorned in their traditional ethnic attire, arrive at the festival venue in the morning, performing the Dhan Nach (rice dance) to the rhythm of the Chyabrung drum. Although the festival and rituals are the same, they address or call the festival by names specific to their respective languages.

Sano Hattiban in Lalitpur is considered a historic religious pilgrimage site dating back to the Kirant era, and the festival is celebrated there with special significance today. 

The Limbus consider Yumasamang and Thewasamang as their revered deities, while the Kirants worship Tagera Ningwafumang as their deity. It is believed that Tagera Ningwafumang is considered a formless, invisible power, and thus there are no idols or statues.

Following the worship, people enjoy themselves by performing dances such as the Chandi Nach, Chyabrung Nach, and Dhol Nach, according to their respective traditions. The Kirant people gathered there also maintain the tradition of organizing cultural programs and various sports competitions.

The Kirant people, who performed Ubhauli Puja on Baishakh Shukla Purnima, perform Udhauli Puja today, after which they descend from the higher altitudes. 

Researcher Rai states that this is also seen as a practice aligned with environmental adaptation. The Udhauli and Ubhauli festivals are also understood as the time for descending to the lowlands in winter and ascending to the high pastures in summer, respectively.

There is also a belief among the Kirant community that Ubhauli involves worshipping for a good harvest, while Udhauli is celebrated as a festival to thank Sakela (the spirit of the land) for the bountiful yield. The Kirant community celebrates both festivals with great fervor.

The underlying sentiment of the Dhanya Purnima celebrated by the Khas Arya, the Yomari Punhi celebrated by the Newar community, and the Udhauli festival celebrated by the Kirant community is the same: the tradition of offering the new harvest to their respective gods and goddesses before consumption. 

The government has reinstated the public holiday for this occasion, which had been previously canceled. A nationwide public holiday has been declared today for this occasion.