Kirat community celebrates Udhauli in Kathmandu (Pictures)

Setopati

Kathmandu, Dec 15

People from the Kirat community celebrated the Udhauli festival in Gokarneshwar of Kathmandu on Sunday.

The festival is celebrated for 15 days during the winter season every year.

Udhauli has different names among the Kirati people. It is called Chasuwa by the Yakkhas, Pholsyadar by the Sunuwars, Udhauli Sakela by the Rais, and Chasok Tangnam by the Limbus.

Kirti Kumar Dumi Rai, who has been conducting a research on Kirat culture, says that although people within the Kirati community have given the festival different names, it is generally known as Udhauli.

Udhauli is celebrated in honor of ancestors and nature. During the festival, the Kirati people worship and thank nature for a good harvest. They offer newly harvested crops to their deities and seek permission to consume the new harvest, and also remember their ancestors.

On this day, Kirati men and women dressed in ethnic costumes perform Bhumi Puja. They then perform the Sakela Sili or Chyabrung dance according to their tradition.