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| Swet Bhairab mask |
Indra Jatra is one the biggest religious street festival
that is being held today. Celebrated for eight days, this festival is dedicated
to the deity Indra - the king of the gods and the ruler of heaven.
As Indra’s mother: Dagini prepares for a ritual prayer, she
realizes that she still needs a white flower, parijat, to offer during the
worship and she asks her son to run quickly to get her the flower. Lord Indra
himself takes his vahan (the white elephant, Pulukishi) and sprints down to
Kilagal. There he leaves his elephant behind and disguises himself as a
farmer to sneak into Maru tole which was a beautiful green garden.
After finding the flowers, he then tries to return back to his
elephant but is captured by the gardener. No matter how much he pleads, he is
tied and taken as a captive. His mother begins to get worried after his long
absence and searches for him. In finding her son, Dagini reveals his identity and
the people, realizing who they had captured, announce that they will send Indra
back home with a huge celebration. And to witness it, they invite their Living
Gods, Kumari, Ganesh, and Bhairav to bid him farewell. In return for his
release, Dagini promises to spread dew over the crops for the coming months and
to take back with her to heaven all those who had died in the past year. Hence,
family members deceased in the past year are also remembered during the
festival.
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| Onlookers watching the procession at the Durbar Square |
Known as Yenyā in Nepal Bhasa meaning "Kathmandu
festival", the celebrations consist of two events. Indra Jatra is
marked by masked dances of deities and demons, displays of sacred images and
tableau in honor of the deity Indra, the king of heaven. The other event
is Kumari Jatra, the chariot procession of the living goddess Kumari.
The Indra Jatra festival thus honours the recently deceased
and pays homage to Indra and Dagini for the coming harvests. It begins when a long,
wooden pole is placed outside the Hanuman Dhoka in Kathmandu. At
the same time images and representations of Indra, usually as a captive, are
displayed; the screened doors obscuring the horrific face of Seto (White)
Bhairab are also opened for the next three days.
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| Kumari - the Living Goddess |
On the third day of the festival of Indra Jatra, the living
goddess Kumari ventures out in a chariot in the procession. Kumari, is said to
be an incarnation of the goddess Taleju. Chariots of Kumari, Ganesha and
Bhairav move around the city for three days. According to the Hindu faith,
Ganesha is the son of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati who has the head of an
elephant. Bhairav is one of the forms of Lord Shiva.
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| Depicting as Lord Ganesha |
It is on this day that president of Nepal including all high
level officer of Nepal government attends the festivities to greet the Living
Goddess. The procession then continues towards Hanuman Dhoka where it stops in
front of the huge seto Bhairab mask. The Kumari greets the image of Bhairab and
then, with loud musical accompaniment, beer starts to pour from Bhairab’s
mouth! Getting a sip of this beer is guaranteed to bring good fortune.
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| Lakhe dance |
Throughout the festival, intriguing masked dances like Pulu
Kishi (elephant dance), Lakhe, Sawa Bhakhu and Mahakali dance are staged in
Kathmandu Durbar Square, in the neighborhood of the Kumari Temple. 'Dasha
Avataras' are also enacted by the artists. The 'Dasha Avataras' refer to the
ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu - the Supreme God. History
records that it was on this day that Nepal was unified. Numerous other
processions also take place around the town until the final day when the great
pole is lowered and carried down to the river.
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