आज www.onlinekhabar.com मा मैले मेरो रूचि को फेरि एउटा लेख भेंटेBeing a tribal priest in Kot and Devi Thanas in Nepal is a matter of curiosity, a tradition that has been going on for generations. In this regard, this article has made a good analysis especially in the context of Dashain.
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Source: www.onlinekhabar.com
By: Binu Pokharel
"Dashain is one of the biggest festivals in Nepal. It is one of the most celebrated festivals in the country. It is one of the most celebrated festivals in the country.
In the Terai too, Devidurga (Shailaputri, Brahmacharini, Chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandamata, Katyayani, Kalratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri) is worshiped for nine days throughout Navratra.
In the past, children used to get new clothes, but now that migration and the structure of the developed society has changed that belief. To come to Dashain now is to go to the village.
If those in the city do not go to the village, neither the city dweller nor those waiting in the village will come. The children have been cheating for a year, going to the village in Dashain. So it seems like Larko is going to the village from the city in the decade.
Not only those who work in the city, those who study, but also those who have built houses in the city go to the village in the decade to visit relatives, celebrate holidays and seek the blessings of the elders. At that time, the streets of Kathmandu are mostly empty and indigenous children are found playing cricket in the empty streets. Then Kathmandu is really worth seeing and living. Quiet, secluded and noiseless.
This means that Dashain is the only festival that every Nepali feels that his festival has come.
Whose festival is Dashain?
It has been heard that some people have boycotted Dashain for the last few years. And now we are witnessing and experiencing a movement of spitting on someone, burning someone's photo etc.
So did Dashain start oppressing and inciting anyone? Let's talk about how Dashain started.
The goddess is worshiped in Dashain. The practice of worshiping nine goddesses throughout Nauratha is not only in Nepal, but also in India. Nava Durga, also known as Shaktiswarupa, is worshiped throughout Navratri. These nine forms of Nava Durga are worshiped one by one for nine days from the day of Ashwin Shuklapaksha Pratipada to the day of Mahanavami.
However, the practice of worshiping the goddess is different in Nepal. The goddess is worshiped for nine days. In Nepal, it is customary to receive blessings from the hands of the elders.
It is believed that one does not have to visit the site even if one goes to war to use the weapons kept during Durga Puja. Books on praise and worship of Goddess while digging theological texts on Durga Puja and Vijayadashami of Navratra include Durgotsav Vivek, Durga Puja Prayogattattva, Durgotsav Paddhati, Markandeya Purana (Devi Mahatmya i.e. text of Durgasaptashati), etc.
As far as Nepali scholars are concerned, there are nineteenth century Vanivilas Pandey's Durgakritya Kaumudi and Laxmipati Pandey's Dargotsavakalpata.
Durga Puja and animal sacrifice are the characteristics of Dashain. Wherever there is a community, there are priests of the same caste in the temple. In 99 percent of the temples in our society, there are tribal priests. What these facts show is that it is not only the festival of tens of Brahmins but also the festival of the native tribes.
As Dashain is approaching, let's take a moment to look at where most of the temples across the country are priests of which caste.
Manakamana is a famous Shakti Peetha or Devi Mandir that we worship as a goddess who fulfills every desire of our heart. Manakamana temple is worshiped by offering sacrifices on the eighth day of Dashain.
Thapa Magar is a native priest of Manakamana Mandir from the very beginning. The current priests are also descendants of Lakhan Thapa's seventeenth generation. It is mentioned in the inscription that after Prithvinarayan Shah's Magar and Khas army defeated the army of Limbuwan, Lakhan Thapa came here and laid down his sword and from that time his generation became priests here.
The seven-year-old Chandithan temple in Syangja is another famous temple. There is a fair during Dashain. The priest of the 7th Chandithan temple is Thapa Magar. When this lineman reached there in Pohor Dashain, priest Prem Thapa Magar had said, ‘This is our ancestral profession. How many generations the priests of this temple were Magars, I can't say the exact date. However, our ancestors were priests in this temple from the very beginning. Where women (goddesses) are worshiped, women are not allowed to enter.
Similarly, the Gadhimai temple in Bara attracts crowds of devotees not only from Nepal but also from India, Bangladesh and Bhutan. Gadhimai is the largest sacrificial temple not only in Nepal but also in South Asia. During the fair, 10,000 goats, calves, pigs and chickens are sacrificed here. Special worship is performed in this temple on the eighth day of Dashain. The most famous priest of this temple is Tharu. It has been his profession for generations.
Pathibhara in East Taplejung is another famous temple. This temple is under the protection of local Limbu people. Although the priests here were Kshatriyas, they were the first to protect and maintain the temple here. They used to call Pathibhara Mumtuwung in the native Limbu language. Mumtuwung is made up of two words. Mumtu means strength and Vung means plant. Putting it in one place is called a power plant or a symbol of power.
In this way, as time passed in this path, which was worshiped by the Limbus as a symbol of power, everyone started worshiping it and in time, it was worshiped as the goddess of holiness. It was later called Pathibhara because it was like a hill filled with pathis. The Brahmins who came from below became a dense settlement of Kshatriyas and the priests of the temple also became Kshatriyas. But, the goddess of the native Limbus is Pathibhara Devi.
In this Based on a study by Nktikar, let's look at some temples and temples with different types of ancestral priests.
There are Vajracharya priests in Dakshinkali Bhagwati of Kathmandu, Vajracharya in Navdurga Bhagwati of Bhaktapur, Rai in Chhintang Devi temple of Dhankuta, Tharu in Rajarajeshwari of Saptari, Budhasubba of Dharan and Wali Ranamagar in Bishnupaduka.
Limbu in Bhedetar's Devi Mandir, Bajracharya in Palanchok Bhagwati in Kavre, Vajracharya in Bhairavi in Nuwakot, Gharti Magar in Varahi temple in Barhakune Lake of Dang, Vajracharya and Karmacharya in Shobhabhagwati and Bhadrakali in Kathmandu, Rana Magar in Salyankot Mai temple in Dhading Live. From which most of the Brahmin devotees who reach the temple give Dakshina and Dhog by taking Tika. However, slaughter is not allowed in the Devi temple of Ilam.
Thus 99 percent of Nepal (Kshatriyas are also found in some temples) have tribal priests in the temples. The newly built temple, which has no historical background, seems to have been inhabited only by Brahmin priests.
However, the worship of the goddess was adopted by the Brahmin community in such a way that general research was not enough to find out whose festival it was. However, in certain parts of western Nepal, Brahmins are also found worshiping Must and Bhavani and temple priests.
Looking at it in this way, it can be said with certainty that this festival of worshiping Nava Durga and various goddesses is not a festival of Dashain Brahmins but starts from the local indigenous tribes and then spreads indiscriminately among Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya Shudras.
Later, after the establishment of the Gurkha kingdom, the Gurkha king extended the practice of giving leave at this time.
In the Bhavishya Purana, it is mentioned that Mlechcha, Dasyu and Anga, people of Wang Kalinga and Kinnar, Barbar and Saka worship Durga in one place. This shows that the people of Varnashrama had hatred towards Durga Puja till much later and opposed it even after Durga Puja.
Another thing that can be understood from this is that the culture of Durga Puja was developed in South Asia by accepting the indigenous tendency and antiquity. The Brahmins, who have the virtue of being social by easily accepting the good culture and language of others, have started to accept such customs of the natives by adapting them to their own standards. This indicates that Durga Puja was Hinduized much later.
Due to their war skills, the tribes were the main rulers in many states and they used to worship and offer sacrifices before going to war. There was also the belief of winning in this way.
Others later became heads of state. Although they were the chiefs of other tribes, the chief warriors of their armies were the indigenous tribes. Because they were strong, aggressive, and fearless, the kings gave them the battle front to win the war. For the same reason, the practice of worshiping the goddess spread easily among the kings of other communities.
Here Licchavi, Malla and all the kings fully adopted it. There were also Brahmins who adopted this culture by sacrificing in Dashain. Historian Mahesh Raj Pant has mentioned in his writings in the Middle Ages that the festivals of the indigenous tribes were thus fully adopted by the Shah kings.
The truth of our Hindu civilization is that we do not differentiate between the gods of one caste and the gods of another. Instead, we adopt them as our own, so that we don't know each other's culture. We worship Goddess in one room, Vishnu in another room and Buddha and Shiva in another room in the same house.
You don't have to win the war to keep another country under your control as before. It is enough to attack the culture of that country. It is enough to break the culture that is tied to each other's culture. Nepal is trying to do the same. Our culture is falling prey to the provocative campaign of the West to break the beautiful culture of social unity. In Chepuwa, there is also a sacrificial ritual in the temple.
Sacrifice is not only mentioned in the Vedas. In ancient times, Jews, Christians and Muslims also had and still have sacrifices. However, it seems that there has been a planned protest centering on the issue of not killing animals and not sacrificing animals. Even the priest of the temple was told that Dashain is a Brahmin festival, we should boycott it. But, ironically, many incidents make it clear that Dashain is the culture of the indigenous tribes and has since been easily adopted by all castes from Brahmins onwards.
In this way, they should be proud when everyone accepted and adopted the Dashain, which is worshiped by the Barnetar (different from the four Varnas) caste. However, this fact seems to have been forgotten by the Janajatis themselves.
The goddess was called Mumtuwung as the source of power by the Limbus of the East, and the kings made it the center of Tantra power. The kings seem to have developed Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Kathmandu in the midst of the goddess.
Mahakali was established near Kamal Binayak in Bhaktapur, Mahalaxmi in Lalitpur and Mahasaraswati in Lazimpat in Kathmandu. Guhyeshwari is built in the middle of the triangle. The half-angle is a symbol of vagina, that is, fertility. In other words, divine power. And the responsibility of running such a state (center of the system) was and still is the responsibility of the natives. This can be taken as an example of how much the kings believed in them.
There is also another narrative and writing. That also confirms that Dashain started from Barnetar.
There was a kingdom called Durgala under the Himalayas. Which was led by Durga. The Shumbha and Nishumbha brothers also ruled other small kingdoms. Who were occupying the village by killing the residents of the surrounding villages. The people of those villages took refuge in Durga to escape his attack. Then Durga defeated the demon in three months.
It was autumn. By protecting those who had taken refuge in the war, Durga returned their kingdom. However, a lot of money was lost in this long war. So after the war famine and epidemic began. In memory of the relatives who died in the war, it was said that one would eat a meal and pay homage for sixteen days. Also, sixteen days later, she smeared rice on the blood of all those who came to congratulate them on their victory. Later, a similar celebration was held on the same day.
After Durga's death, we still celebrate Baradshah in her honor. The festival of worshiping the same goddess is our main festival. According to an article in a book on culture, the practice of paying homage to Bada Dashain and Sohra Shraddha at the same time started from that time. (Dharanidhar Dahal, Sanskriti Ek Hami Anek, 2053, Nirman Prakashan, Namchi South Sikkim)
The description in Chandi of how Dashain and Devi Puja were celebrated together is the most authentic. An example of this is the description of Shumbhanishumbha in the book Durgasaptashati which is recited in Dashain. Which we have been reading in Chandi i.e. Durgasaptashati. (Chandi i.e. Durgasaptashati chapters 9-10.)
It is said in the scriptures that the gods who came to Durgako to take refuge in Durgako after killing Shumbha Nishumbha, congratulated Durga.
Similarly, Chandika, Katyayani and Ambika are mentioned in literature from the 7th century. Also, there is a statement of a young man of Shabar caste living in the forest that his hand was stiffened when he put pine in a sharp weapon to sacrifice blood.
Mahesh Raj Pant has mentioned in his book that there is a statement of Ambika's trident, which was sacrificed somewhere in Mahanavami, and soaked in Ranga's blood.
It is difficult to know exactly when the worship of Goddess started. The book of ‘Durgasaptashati’ i.e. ‘Chandi’ which is recited in Dashain is published here in B.Sc. Since it has been available since 1200, the reputation of Dashain was well established by that time. In the history of Nepal Bhagwati is mentioned in an inscription from the time of King Mandev in 560 AD. N.S. A look at the book and old records of Chandi, which was moved to the Saptakutumbaj ruler of Lalitpur during the reign of King Narendra Dev in 264 BCE, reveals a reference to Dashain in Nepal up to 1432 BC
Even yesterday, the Janajati community was matriarchal. Even today, mother power is highly respected. The women fighters who killed Shumbh Nishumbh were also fearless women of the same indigenous tribe. Because it is unbelievable that women within the caste system (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras) who are fighting for freedom today worked as fighters yesterday. They had saved many other villages by killing two brothers, Shumbh Nishumbh, who had been causing havoc in the villages.
The Markandeya Purana shows that Durga is located on the banks of the Koshi River in the Himalayas. Other Puranas also mention that Durga was in the Himalayan subcontinent after the demise of Siddhartha Gautama.
When it comes to the Himalayan region, it is clear that Durga was represented by the Mongols, a tribe living in the Himalayas, and Durga was worshiped from there.
The villagers who took refuge in Durga, a powerful woman, started worshiping Durga, Kali, Chandi, etc. after her death. Later, blood was offered to make them happy. On the same day, they began to gather and bless. The same practice has gradually spread among those who belong to the caste system.
However, later, under the influence of Buddhists and Vaishnavism, Brahmins began to cut and offer Kubindo, Louka, Ghiraunla, instead of animal violence. Later, in order to kill the Brahmins, it was forbidden to eat meat. Eating was done to reduce the caste.
But, now there is no such thing as Samish (eating meat) and Ko Niramish (not eating meat). However, Brahmins still worship the goddess on Ashtami day, some offering sacrifices but others are forced to cut. Some cut fruit and offer sacrifices, while the east also offers live fish.
We have been hearing from our ancestors that old people used to wear white incapacity until the color of incapacity came. Later, it spread among the Varnashrams, as if the festival had begun with the Varnashrams, not with the Adivasi tribes.
When kings came to power, they became devotees of goddesses. Devi temples were established in various places. Its influence spread throughout India.
The inscriptions and our legends make it clear that this tradition, which began thousands of years ago, has been added to and changed today, and that the practice of receiving blessings by worshiping goddesses and commenting is still going on today.
After all, Janaipurni is considered as a festival celebrated by Shudras as it is celebrated by Brahmins, Dashain is slaughtered by Kshatriyas, Tihar is celebrated by traders, gambling is practiced by Vaishyas i.e. traders and Phagu is also free from obscenity.
Therefore, whether it is a festival started by tens of indigenous tribes knowingly or unknowingly, their movement against it is their own culture.
It is a blow to the head. It is a common festival of every caste and community in Nepal started by tens of tribes and indigenous peoples based on the findings of the study of culture. It is not only wrong to label this festival as anti-tribal, but also an insult to the culture of the tribes themselves. "
I would like to thank Binu Pokharel Jew for writing such an informative article.
