FESTIVALS OF BANDIPUR

Since most of the Newars of Bandipur have their roots in Bhaktapur, many festivals celebrated in Bhaktapur are also observed here. Following are festivals celebrated in Bandipur according to Nepali month.

Baishakh (April-May)

Bisket Jatra
Bisket Jatra is the most important festival celebrated in Bandipur. On the main day, the idol of Goddess Bindhabasini is put on a chariot and paraded through the bazaar. Animal sacrifices are offered to the deity before the start of the procession. The festival ends with the throwing of coins from the top of her temple, which sets off a scramble among the kids to get at the money.

Baishakh Purnima
On the full moon day of Baishakh Purnima, the Magars of Bandipur put on a show of their traditional dance known as Ghatu. A religious ceremony is also performed at Chandithan with two girls leading the rituals. This is followed by dancing and merry making by the local youths.

Putali Choy
Putali Choy is held on New Year's Day of the Nepali calendar. Prior to the festival, two dolls are put on show and a feast is organized. The preparations are made by the unmarried girls of the village. On New Year's Day, the dolls are placed on a plate made of leaves and carried in procession by the village boys. The girls, dressed in new clothes, follow them singing songs. The boys add to the fun by not letting the girls pass until they have paid some money. The pageant represents the dolls' wedding procession. When they reach the river, the dolls are ceremoniously placed on the water. The revelers return singing more songs to hold a feast.

Jestha (May-June)

Sithi Nakha
This festival is celebrated by eating various goodies like chatanmari, gojamari and mayemari. It is also the day for the annual cleaning and maintenance of water sources.

Aashar (June-July)

Ashaar Pandhra
Participants enjoy the festival by eating curd and beaten rice besides other delicacies.

Ropai
The rice planting festival is celebrated by playing different musical instruments and making merry by splashing mud on each other. The instruments that accompany the singing include the narsingh, jhyali, kalaat, dhalki and damaha. The farmers enjoy a feast in the landowner's house after the hard day's work in the fields.

Shrawan (July-August)

Shrawan Sankranti
Shrawan Sankranti is the first day of the month of Shrawan. Revelers have fun by feasting on a variety of festival food.

Ghantakarna
On this day, an effigy of the demon Ghantakarna is set up near the Bindhabasini Temple to which the households in the town square offer money and rice. The act is believed to prevent evil spirits and diseases from entering their homes. After the ceremony, the dummy is thrown off the edge of Tundikhel.

Bhadra (August-September)

Janai Purnima
Janai Purnima is celebrated by tying a sacred thread around the wrist. Participants play music in the evenings from fifteen days before the festival. A dance called Ghintanghin is also performed during these occasions. On the day of the festival, an ensemble of musicians plays the jhyali at the house of those who have died in the past year.

Gai Jatra
On this day, an effigy of a cow is made out of a bamboo basket by decorating it with a picture of a cow's head and other embellishments. A man carries it and leads a parade of performers doing a stick dance called Taktuke and musicians playing instruments like the jhyali and dhalki. Other participants follow the procession which is known as Sapra.

Bagh Jatra
The name of this celebration means tiger festival, and likewise, groups of participants impersonating tigers, hunters, clowns and a king and queen parade around town. They put on a show in which the tiger that has entered the town is killed by the townspeople.

Dahi Jatra
During this festival, youngsters dressed in deerskin to look like hermits visit the temples in the area to offer worship by ringing their bells. In the evening, a statue of Balgopal is drawn in a chariot through the bazaar.

Asoj (September-October)

Dashain (Khadga Jatra)
Dashain is the greatest festival in Nepal, and it is celebrated in Bandipur with equal zest and vigor. The revelry is spread over several days. A magnificent service is organized near the Khadga Devi Temple. During Phulpati, a sheep is sacrificed to the goddess.

The Magars and Kamis carry the sacred sword in a parade through the town to be worshipped by the devotees. This is followed by a procession of the military band. On the day of Nawami, a buffalo is sacrificed at Purano Kot and later the carcass is pushed off the cliff. The final day is marked by putting a ritual red dab on the forehead and partaking of a feast.

Kartik (October-November)

Tihar
The festival of Tihar lasts for three days with the participants celebrating Laxmi Puja, Mha Puja and Bhai Tika consecutively with much enthusiasm. Groups of revelers walk through the streets singing Deusi songs and dancing. People also illuminate their homes with oil lamps.

Asobote
During this festival, women string flowers, mirrors, beads and bangles into garlands and offer them to the local deities with a religious ceremony. The next day, participants worship the Indian gooseberry tree and end the festival with a feast of local delicacies.

Bhapuni
The women of Bandipur celebrate this festival by fasting and singing devotional songs. Their husbands, meanwhile, collect rice from the village and prepare sel, a kind of sweet doughnut. The sels are displayed in a flower pattern on the floor before being distributed among the participants when the singing ends.

Nasa Puja
On this day, an animal sacrifice is made to the local deity and devotional songs are sung. The festival ends with a feast in which the meat of the sacrificed animal is served.

Mangsir (November-December)

Yomari Purnima
This day is marked by venerating Goddess Annapurna. The ceremony coincides with the harvest season, and so people also worship their granaries.

Poush (December-January)

Poush Pandhra
On this day, people rejoice by eating a local delicacy made of Anadi rice grains.

Magh (January-February)

Maghe Sankranti
This festival is observed by worshipping a girl and eating goodies like selroti, yam, cassava, tuber and mayamari.

Sri Panchami
People celebrate this occasion by worshipping Saraswati, the goddess of learning, and the plow.

Fagun (February-March)

Fagu Purnima
Revelers make merry by splashing water and throwing red powder at each other during Fagu Purnima.

Shivaratri
People gather at Chandeni, Mahadevsthan, Bindhabasini Temple Square and Teendhara Mahadevsthan to light bonfires and celebrate the birthday of Lord Shiva.

Chaitra (March-April)

Chaitra Dashain and Ram Nawami
The Magars of Bandipur celebrate this festival with great gusto. An animal is sacrificed at the temple of Khadga Devi, and a fete is held at Patalidwar where participants gather to sing and dance and have fun.

DANCES OF BANDIPUR

Balun Dance
This dance is performed by the Brahmins. The performers clap and step to the beat of the song. One of the dancers plays the part of the mythical figure Hanuman who acts like a jester and sends the crowd rolling with laughter with his antics. In spite of its humorous element, the basic theme of the dance, which is based on sacred texts like the Krishna Charitra, Ramayana and others, is religious.

Ghatu Dance
This dance is performed especially by the Magars and Gurungs. It is a ritual dance celebrating the festival of Baishakh Purnima (April-May). The performer, who wears different floral ornaments, takes a purification bath and then sits with his eyes closed as he waits for the singing to begin. When the Guruaama starts singing religious songs invoking the gods, the dancer becomes possessed. His body trembling, he begins to dance. As the show progresses, his movements become more and more vigorous. Finally, people move in to get hold of him and make him swallow grass in order to settle him down.

Pangduri Dance
This dance follows the Ghatu Dance. The young males of the village dress up in female attire and put on the show, as women are not allowed to take part in it. The dancers move in rhythm to the beat of the madal, a traditional small drum popular in Nepal's villages. One of the actors plays the part of a comic.

Sorathi Dance
This dance is especially performed in the Magar and Gurung communities. The presentation includes religious acts and humorous interludes.

Chutka
People dance the Chutka from the start of Holi, the festival of colors. A group of participants visits a neighboring village and dances with another group on the opposite side. If one team consists of males, the other has to comprise females. It is also forbidden for relatives to dance with each other. The men play instruments like the madal and khajadi while the women dance.

Lakhe Dance
This dance is performed nightly in the village square for a month during July-August. In this presentation, the lakhe, a lone performer wearing a terrifying demon mask, dances with energetic movements to the accompaniment of crashing cymbals and booming drums.

Doko Dance
This dance provides participants a pleasant respite after a season of hard work in the fields. Bamboo baskets are made up like male and female effigies, and the performers put them over their heads and dance. The celebration is held around August.