When I first arrived in Nepal, it was the beginning of the Dasain festival. Now, back in the Kathmandu area towards the end of October, it is the Tihar festival (Diwali in India). I think it's a New Years celebration in the Nepali Lunar calender, and there are days of paying respect to certain animals, yourself, your brothers, your sisters, etc. This seems to be the highlight of the year, and with buildings all lit up, people preparing for meals in anticipation, fireworks, etc, it has a real 'Christmas and New Year' feel to it.
The next day in Patan, we woke up before 4:30 am, and Sarita took several of us from the house on a tour of the old town to see the early morning festivities. People prepare elaborate designs in colour on the ground outside their doors, lit with oil lamps.
She also took us inside the Golden Temple, where there was a full ceremony going on. There was a group of older men in the center singing, and a steady stream of people came in to make the rounds worshiping at the altars. The climax seemed to be when a boy serving as the novice for the month appeared, and performed a ritual at the main altar. Everyone gathered round and there was a lot of excitement. Everyone, including us, got the red mark on the forehead, or tikka.
What was interesting was that this was a Buddhist temple, and certainly the symbols were mainly from the Tibetan Buddhist style. But the cermonies seemed to have a distinctly Hindu flavour. Another example of the blending of the religions here.
Afterward, Sarita took us on a tour of little side-streets, showing us courtyards of Buddhist houses that contained a little stuppa, for example. We never would have found that on our own.
On the streets, vendors were selling all kinds of treats that were special for the festival.
We also went to a temple that has the Kumari for Patan. This is the girl who lives there and is thought to be the embodiment of a goddess. I mentioned it before because there is one for Kathmandu, as well, in Kathmandu's Durbar square. In Kathmandu, the girl only appears in a window once in a while, and photos are forbidden. In Patan however, she came into a room with us and pictures were allowed. As another example of blending of religions, the Kumari is chosen from a Buddhist family, but is then treated as a living Hindu goddess. Go figure. You have to wonder about the life of a little girl kept hidden away like that, but I guess it's impossible to judge.
After everything was done, it was about 10 am, and we went back to the house to rest. I slept for a few hours, and then just hung around for a while. At night, several of us walked into town again to take in the festivities. Things were really lively. All the lights were on, and groups of little kids would go from shop to shop, singing and dancing to get a treat.
Durbar square was turned into major party zone, with a stage and DJ and tons of young people dancing. What was interesting was that there was no alcohol, and there was actually a soldier presence around the perimeter. It looked like everyone had fun, but there was no way it was going to get out of hand.
The next day in Patan, we woke up before 4:30 am, and Sarita took several of us from the house on a tour of the old town to see the early morning festivities. People prepare elaborate designs in colour on the ground outside their doors, lit with oil lamps.
She also took us inside the Golden Temple, where there was a full ceremony going on. There was a group of older men in the center singing, and a steady stream of people came in to make the rounds worshiping at the altars. The climax seemed to be when a boy serving as the novice for the month appeared, and performed a ritual at the main altar. Everyone gathered round and there was a lot of excitement. Everyone, including us, got the red mark on the forehead, or tikka.
What was interesting was that this was a Buddhist temple, and certainly the symbols were mainly from the Tibetan Buddhist style. But the cermonies seemed to have a distinctly Hindu flavour. Another example of the blending of the religions here.
Afterward, Sarita took us on a tour of little side-streets, showing us courtyards of Buddhist houses that contained a little stuppa, for example. We never would have found that on our own.
On the streets, vendors were selling all kinds of treats that were special for the festival.
We also went to a temple that has the Kumari for Patan. This is the girl who lives there and is thought to be the embodiment of a goddess. I mentioned it before because there is one for Kathmandu, as well, in Kathmandu's Durbar square. In Kathmandu, the girl only appears in a window once in a while, and photos are forbidden. In Patan however, she came into a room with us and pictures were allowed. As another example of blending of religions, the Kumari is chosen from a Buddhist family, but is then treated as a living Hindu goddess. Go figure. You have to wonder about the life of a little girl kept hidden away like that, but I guess it's impossible to judge.
After everything was done, it was about 10 am, and we went back to the house to rest. I slept for a few hours, and then just hung around for a while. At night, several of us walked into town again to take in the festivities. Things were really lively. All the lights were on, and groups of little kids would go from shop to shop, singing and dancing to get a treat.
Durbar square was turned into major party zone, with a stage and DJ and tons of young people dancing. What was interesting was that there was no alcohol, and there was actually a soldier presence around the perimeter. It looked like everyone had fun, but there was no way it was going to get out of hand.
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