MAGH

Bathin in the Bagmati

माघ

On my desk is a calendar opened at the month of Magh according to the Nepalese Vikram Sambat (विक्रम सम्वत्) date. The calendar is compiled according to lunar phases and named after Vikramaditya, a king of Ujjain around 56 BCE.

The first day, Maghe Sankranti, begins the tenth month of the year. Sankranti means the transmigration of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to the other, in this case from Aquarius to Pisces.

Because most homes in Nepal these days are very cold, being made of concrete and without any form of heating, people look forward to a change in the weather with the longest days having come to an end and the sun on it's way to the northern hemisphere.  This is also the time of year when soon after you get up in the morning you go outside and hope there is sunshine to warm yourself with a cup of tea in hand as the sun is the only source of heat at this time of year.

Despite the cold, people bathe at the confluences of the sacred rivers and streams.  The Bagmati River below Patan is one of the holiest and most popular bathing spots in Kathmandu and this is accompanied by holy bhajans played by musicians and singers all wrapped up in scarves and shawls.

Musicians playing madal and sarongi

Particular foods are a vital part of keeping healthy at this time of year.  The following are considered auspicious:  sesame seeds, sweet potatoes, mustard leaf and a mixture of rice and lentils called khichari.  Home brewed spirit called raksi made from millet and chhang or rice beer as well as tongba, a kind of millet beer fermented in a wooden container and drunk warm through a bamboo straw is also popular.

Tongba jar

Legend also has it that one should fast on the full moon day and that Shiva as Mahadev and Vishnu as Narayan performed miraculous feats on this day which resulted in peace, prosperity and enlightenment.

Our neighbour, Laxmi from Nepal, has decided to fast.  Having a desire for a healthy child, she is hoping that this sacrifice during the month will help her to fulfil her heart's desire.

The fifth day after the waxing moon is Basant Panchami  or the advent of spring with the buds and blossoms beginning to appear.

It is believed that Saraswati, the goddess of learning, visits Kathmandu on this day and puja is performed by students, scholars and writers as well as poets, artists and musicians.  Her brother, Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, receives animal sacrifices, a rather unpleasant side of a lot of Nepalese festivals.

THE LIVING GODDESS

THE LIVING GODDESS OF PATAN पाटनको  कुमारी देवी 

ललितपुर (Lalitpur)

Many years ago - about 35 - I watched a documentary about the Living  Goddess of Nepal.  That people should worship a little Newar girl as a living manifestation of a deity seemed to lock in with an uninformed beginning of an interest in Hinduism.  That, and the footage of skinny hippies carrying a five-kilo block of black charas back to their quarters in Kathmandu bucked me on to find a way to visit the country and perhaps work there.

The Living Goddess is believed to be a reincarnation of Taleju (तालेजु ) the Nepali name for Durga and serves as the goddess till her first sign of menstruation.  She is chosen from the community according to certain criteria:  she must have what is considered to be perfect features - straight nose, wide eyes and unblemished skin amongst other benchmarks:

• A neck like a conch shell
• A body like a banyan tree
• Eyelashes like a cow
• Thighs like a deer
• Chest like a lion
• Voice soft and clear as a duck's

Well-recessed sexual organs and a set of twenty-teeth are also prerequisites.

She must also show fearlessness on the night of Desai (देसैं )  or Kaalraatri (काल्रात्री  - black night) when she is taken into the courtyard of Taleju Temple where the severed heads of cattle and other animals are on the ground lit by candles while masked men with painted bodies dance around.  Should any fear be evident, another candidate is chosen and the process repeated.

BUFFALO HEAD SACRIFICE

On this visit of Nepal, I've discovered that there's more than one Living Goddess and she is found in Patan or Lalitpur, the third ancient capital of Nepal.  When I arrived there was a festival with tens of thousands of people milling around and visiting the various attractions.  And there she was! - the Living Goddess in the Kumari House, sitting and revealed in the courtyard.

Kumari seeming a bit distracted

Gave her some money but she didn't seem impress with me or the others who posed with her, in fact she seemed rather stressed.  I don't think anything will rub off on me but somehow I feel I have made another circle after 35-years.