Day to worship water in Kathmandu

Taking advantage of the time of the year when the ground water table is at its lowest, Kathmandu Valley residents have for millennia set aside a day just before the monsoon to clean wells, ponds, public taps and other water sources.

Water is regarded as a divine element rather than just an essential utility for the indigenous Newa people of Kathmandu. Kumar, the rain child represented by water drops, is believed to fall onto the earth after many months of gestation in the cloud mother goddess.

To this day, the Newa people celebrate Sithi Nakha (originally called Kumar Shasthi) to celebrate the sixth day of rain baby Kumar’s arrival on earth. Sithi Nakha is celebrated with vigor on the sixth day of the waxing moon in the month of Jestha in the lunar calendar, which usually falls in late May.

Later on, as Hinduism took root in the valley, Kumar was assimilated into the Hindu pantheon as the youthful spear-bearing warrior god, son of Shiva and Parvati.

Sanskritist and art historian Professor Gautama Vajracharya says Shasthi is also a goddess symbolising the sixth day – the number of days after which a newly born child overcomes the risk of neonatal death. To mark this milestone, Newa families traditionally mark it with the Byenkegu ceremony ta six days after the birth of a child.

Siddhi Laxmi, the tantric form of goddess Shasthi, is venerated in the Bhaktapur’s imposing Nyatapola temple in Bhaktapur. No one except the designated priests are allowed to see the image of this esoteric deity.

The Newa have always believed that children are gods, and Kumar literally means young man, or prince. The wooden image of Kumar housed in its Dyo Chhen in the old part of Kathmandu is painted red. In Newa language, a young baby is known as Hyaun Macha (hyaun = red, macha = child).

Child god Kumar, also known as Sithi Dyo is offered ritual worship by devotees on Sithi Nakha. The next day, a Kumar Jatra procession is held in which he is carried around the neighborhood with much fanfare.

Kumar rides the peacock, a bird that remains dormant in the previous months during aestivation, but comes out in the open as pre-monsoon showers lash the Valley. Its master, Kumar, is the harbinger of monsoon rains.

Sithi Nakha is the last day for the Newa people to perform their annual Depuja, the communal worship of their clan deity. The annual cleaning day of public structures like roadside shelters, temple roofs and water sources (wells, ponds, Hiti water conduits, etc.) also fall on this day (pictured above).

“On Sithi Nakha, the entire community gathers to clean the water sources, especially their inlet and outlet system to ensure proper water flow to prevent clogging and urban flooding during the monsoon,” explains heritage architect Anatta Shresthacharya, “this is the time is when the ground water table is at its lowest, so it is easier to clean the deep wells and other water sources.”

For the traditionally agrarian population of the valley, the arrival of Kumar also marks a break from all festivals to concentrate fully on preparing for paddy planting when the monsoon arrives. In keeping with ancient tradition, this schedule is strictly followed by the valley denizens so that they can devote all their time and energy to farm work.

By the time the rains arrive, therefore, the fields are ready, paddy seedlings have been planted, allowing the people to resume their religious and cultural activities. And that happens in a colorful manner with Gathanmuga (exactly seven weeks from Sithi Nakha), which is considered the beginning of the festival cycle that lasts the next ten months. The annual calendar of the Newa people, once an agrarian society, is designed around the seasons, particularly the monsoon.

Integral to most Newa festivals is the seasonal cuisine that accompany them. In the Sithi Nakha feast, generous quantities of woh pancakes made with a variety of lentils, are served as mandatory items. Together with red meat and other high-protein delicacies on the menu, the dietary intake of the season builds up one’s strength to work hard in the fields the next several weeks for the physically taxing plantation season.

In the Sithi Nakha feast, generous quantities of woh pancakes made with a variety of lentils, are served as mandatory items. Video clips: ALOK SIDDI TULADHAR

It is also the practice to build a handheld pinwheel, almost like a toy, and place it on the window sill on Sithi Nakha. This paper ‘toy’ is closely monitored for wind speed and direction as a means to forecast weather conditions which are of vital importance for a good harvest.

Together with the rain child Kumar, the mother goddess Dharati Mata is also worshiped on Sithi Nakha by Kathmandu Valley residents, showing how the Newa people revered their ancestors and nature before Hinduism and Buddhism gained popularity in the Valley.

Today, we ponder our the high regard our forebears had for the cycle of nature and the environment, and learn valuable lessons for a balanced and sustainable future of the planet.

The author makes documentary films that deal with Nepal’s cultural heritage.

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