ppguk.org

The Festival of Gunhipunhi

Introduction

As we know, almost each lunar month in Nepal contains one or another festival (nakhahcakhah). All year round, numerous festivals are celebrated, processions of deities are carried out and worship is performed. Although all major and minor feasts and festivals are celebrated in every place in many ways similar the celebration of these feasts and festival in each place may vary. Moreover, there are many feasts and processions of gods and goddesses in each place, which can e called original to that place. One of the most common features of all Newar cities, towns and villages is that each of them has its specific annual festival and procession (jatra) of the most important deity of that particular place.

Among others, Gunhipunhi is one of the important festivals of the Newars. The festival of Gumpunhi derived its name from the month of Gumla (August) because it is celebrated in the middle of this month. This festival is also called "Gunhipunhi' or "Nine full-moon days" because it is a festival of nine days. The festival begins on the full-moon day and ends on the ninth day after celebrating the birthday of Lord risna. This day is known as Krsna janmastami as it occurs on the eighth of the dark half of Gumla.

In all the Newar cities and towns the festival of Gunhiphuni is celebrated with big fan fare. However, the way of celebrating the festival is different in each place. In this article a general feature of the festival is presented, but its main focus is on the major activities of this festival in the town of Sankhu. This article aims to provide peculiarities in celebrating the festival in the town Sankhu.

First day Gunhipunhi (full-moon of Gumla)

Around the day of the full-moon, people make pilgrimages to important shrines and lakes dedicated to Siva. Among them, Silu or Gosainkunda and Pamcapokari are very famous. These lakes are located above the altitude of five thousand metres and require walking along arduous paths for a couple of days. People in Sankhu make the pilgrimage to these places reaching them in four days before the full-moon day on Ekadasi, or on the day of the full-moon day. Those who are unable to make such long journey, may make a day's pilgrimage to Manicuda pond and Manilingesvar and both located on the Manicuda Mountain north of the town of Sankhu People include these places in the ritual realm of Sankhu because they lie just above the Vajrayogini temple. On this day, not only people from Sankhu but also people from all over the Valley make pilgrimages to both these places. They do so to take a holy bath in the Manicuda pond. For both Hindus and Buddhists, the Manicuda pond is an important pilgrimage site. The Hindus believe that Siva made a stopover at the pond of Manicuda on his way to Gosainkunda, while the Buddhists believe that it received its name from the Buddha who was reborn as Manicuda. People also make day's pilgrimage to Mahadev Pokari (Ticha daha) on the hill of Nagarkot. On this day, people crowd into Kumbheswor in Patan for they believe holy water from Gosainkunda flow there on this day.

Among the Parvates, this day is known as Janaipurne or the full-moon day of Janai, the protective thread that are worn by Brahmins and Ksetris. Once a year they change Janai after taking a holy bath and worship Siva. Many Brahmins and Ksetris visit Vajrayogini to change their janai threads. That day, in the sanctuary of Vajrayogini they are seen as offering the threads to the shrine of Vasukinaga before they apply it around their bodies. It is also notable that for Hindus the enshrined caitya in the temple of Jogesvar is also that of Siva. They believe that the Buddhists covered the shrine of Siva's phallus with the caitya. On this day, many Brahmins also tie sacred threads (raksa vandhan) around people's arms, going from door to door. Raksa vandhan is a sacred thread worn around the arms and is believed to protect people from diseases and evil spirits.

For the people of Sankhu, it is also a day to visit the temple of Jotirlingesvar Mahadeva (Siva) in the Salkha Mahadev Square. This day, the shrine is decorated with its processional statue. In the morning, those who go to worship Jotirlimgesvar in Sankhu receive raksa vandhan from a Rajopadhyay priest. Many Parvate Brahmins from surrounding villages also visit homes in Sankhu to distribute the raksa vandhan on this day. In return, they receive money (daksina) and food for a meal (sira) from each household they visit.

This day is also known as Kvatipunhi or the fullmoon day of kvati from the name of the special soup that is drunk on this day. Every household in Sankhu drinks this special soup made of nine kinds of beans (kvati) as the main dish of the festival. Married daughters and sisters are invited to their parental home on this occasion. In the afternoon the Sanake guthi feeds a cow during a ceremony in the centre of the Salkha quarter. On the same afternoon, the procession of Jotirlimgesvar is carried out in the town.

Cow Feeding (sa nake): In the afternoon on the day of Gunhiphuni a guthi organise feeding of a cow every year in the Salkha quarter. Before the guthi starts feeding the cow, a worship is carried out in a Krisna temple also known as Ram Jhopadi (ramjapuli), where a stone image of lord Krisna is placed. The worship is carried out in the bhajan house. A Brahmin and his assistant Josi priest perform priestly tasks for the ritual, while the pahla of the guthi acts as yajamana. Varieties of food and fruits are offered on the floor where a mandala is drawn in the name of the cow. The cow itself cannot enter the temple but it is worshipped from the western window with red and yellow powders (tika), flowers, sweets, fruits, wicks and incenses. Then the cow is served a pathi (about three kilograms) of boiled wheat from the same window. It is put on a stone, located on the top of a wall. As soon as the cow eats the wheat local people rush to grab the wheat, later to give it to their domesticated animals and birds. People believe that the wheat touched by that holy cow has medicinal qualities for their animals and birds. The guthi hires Nay and Jogi musicians to play their music on this occasion. The Duim trumpet blowers stopped coming for the occasion a decade ago. Usually, a cow from a Rajopadhyay Brahmin's house is fed on the occasion.

The Procession of Mahadev (Mahadev jatra): The temple of Mahadev is located in a sacred complex situated right outside the northeastern gate of Sankhu. In this complex, many important images and shrines are placed, which are important for religious Hindu people. The two-roofed temple of Mahadev is one of the most important sites for them. Every year on the day of Gunhipunhi, the procession of Mahadev takes place sometime in the afternoon. Previously the procession used to be organised by an association called Mahadev jatra guthi (the Association of the Mahadev Procession), but its members abandoned the guthi as soon as it lost its source of income. At present, only one of them, who is believed to be a descendant of the founder of the guthi, is taking care of the processional statue. At present, the Vajrayogini VDC is taking care of the procession by providing financial assistance to hire Jogi and Nay musicians as well as porters to carry the palanquin around town. A bhajan group that regularly meets in Salkha quarter bhajan house, has taken the initiative to join the procession of Mahadev singing devotional songs voluntarily because they belong to same quarter from where the procession is carried out.

The day after Gumpunhi, Saparu (first of the dark fortnight)

After Gumpunhi, the festival of Saparu or Sayah, the day of the cow procession is celebrated. It is one of the ancient traditions of the Nepal Valley celebrated mainly by the Newars. In Sankhu, apart from the processions of the cow that are held in the afternoon, there is another important religious activity. In the morning, people visit the nine taps, nine caves, nine former monasteries (bahah) and the nine ponds around the town. People visit there individually or in groups. The Newar consider it auspicious to carry out nine different activities during the Gunhipunhi festival. Besides visiting such religious places, people also believe it is the day to do things 9 times: bathe 9 times, change dress 9 times, dine 9 times, look out of the windows 9 times, etc.

The major ritual event of the Day of Saparu is the procession of cows (sayah), decorated bamboo structures (tahasa) and bamboo baskets (dhakaca) with colourful cloths representing cows. The procession is carried around the town by the relatives of the recently deceased people. Sa means cow and paru means the "first day of a fortnight" in the Newar language. Therefore, Saparu means "the first day of the fortnight" of the cow. Quoting an unpublished ritual text, Naghabhani (1993: 76-7) declares that people began to celebrate the procession of Cows to substitute the Brisotsargah ritual, a ritual on which an ox is set free in the name of their deceased relatives. He assumes that in the long run people may have forgotten its origin and begun to celebrate sayah, or the procession of cows. Throughout the kingdom of Nepal the Newars celebrate this day as the "procession day of cows" (sayah). For example, in Kathmandu, the relatives of a deceased contribute a cow or one or more children dressed as hermits (sadhu) (see Hoek 2004: 29-36). These children dressed as hermit go with cow paints (sakhvah) on their heads to participate in the procession. Each family joins the procession separately. In Patan, the procession is organised by one of the families of the deceased; so four days before the procession all the participants are asked to gather in a certain place. Those leading the procession are children dressed up with cow paint on their foreheads, followed by real cows and then by a group of girls. A boy walks behind them dressed as a devotee (bhakta) of Krisna while a Rajopadhyay Brahmin dressed as Krisna, with Radha and Rukmini on his right and left is last in the procession. In Bhaktapur, each of the families of the deceased either sends a palanquin with a bull made of clay ora bamboo basket (dhakaca) or a bamboo structure (tahasa) decorated with colourful cloths to the children (basah) in the procession. It is also a tradition for the bereaved families in Bhaktapur to send Ghimtamkisi, a group of dancers with sticks, together with a tahasa. The Sayah celebration in Sankhu is similar to that of Bhaktapur but has a lot of local characteristics (see Levy 1992: 442-52).

In Sankhu, high caste Newars send a live cow, a tahasa, or dhakaca to the procession, while the Nay, the Jogi, the Dom and the Dyola send either a dhakaca or a boy with a painted cow face on his forehead. Nay families who can afford to send palanquins with clay images of different deities in the procession do so. Tahasa are sent mainly by high-caste Newars when an important family member has died.

On the day preceding the procession, a bereaved family begins the preparation for Sayah by purifying the house. Each family needs to distribute sweet breads (svari and malpa) and fruit like an apple to all the participants of the sayah procession. Especially to those who carry tahasa, dhakaca, cow and palanquins and the boys with the cow paints on their foreheads.

Usually the people from the same quarter or people from neighbouring quarters assist bereaved families with constructing the tahasa. If the deceased was male, only white cloth is used to cover the bamboo structure, but if female, colourful cloths are used. In the afternoon a cow is prepared in front of the bereaved family's house. A paper with painted cow face (sakhvah) must be attached to the tahasa, the dhakaca or the cow, which is later removed and is offered to the Ganesa temple of the quarter where the bereaved families live. Before they are carried to the centre of the quarter, a Brahmin priest is invited to consecrate it. The chief mourner also makes a symbolic gift of a cow (gau dana) to the priest. The chief mourner and his wife must fast on this day until the procession is completed.

Each of the eight quarters in Sankhu (except for the Imla quarter, which joins with the procession of the Pukhulachi quarter) organises separate gatherings for the procession. Members of the bereaved families gather first in the centre of their respective quarters. Each of these quarters has a set of two sided drum (khim) and cymbals (ta) that are played during the procession. Those families, who send tahasa, usually hire a pair of Jogi musicians. Members of the bereaving family join the procession holding incense. Many young and old men of the quarter voluntarily join the procession in pairs brandishing sticks in their hands; some of them dress up as women performing stick-fighting dances in the procession. In Sankhu, this dance is called Tamtamghisim; it looks like an imitation of Bhaktapur Ghimtamkisi but it is performed in a different way. The procession route of the Sayah is a little different from the procession of the Vajrayogini procession in the town. Some of the members of the bereaved families distribute sweetbreads and apples to all those participants. After the completion of the procession they return home. If tahasa or dhakaca participated in the procession, they are dismantled as soon as they reach home. If a cow is sent, it is handed over to the Rajopadhyay priest. The cow's faces are offered to the Ganesa temple located in the quarters of the mourning families. The chief mourners can take their meal only after the completion of the procession. Those who send tahasa also feed the musicians, friends and neighbours after the completion of the procession.

People believe that, on the day of Saparu, the god of death, Yama, keeps open the gate of heaven for those relatives who have sent a cow in the procession that day. They also believe that those who die on this day go straight to heaven, because Yama also keeps open the gate of heaven for them. Buddhist priestly castes, Vajracarya and Sakya, however, do not participate in the procession of cows. In Patan, people, especially Buddhists participate in the procession called matayah in the following day.

The day after Saparu Tamtamghisim: the processions of stick fighters

A day after Saparu, Tamtamghisim or the procession of stick fighters is launched from all the quarters of the town. It is a more grandiose procession than the previous day's Tamtamghisim because many children, young and old men from each quarter participate in it. As on the previous day, each procession is accompanied by drums (khim) and cymbals (ta), which produce the rhythmical tune representing the word tamtamghisim. A separate day dedicated to the procession of Tamtamghisim is peculiar to Sankhu.

Dances and dramas during the week

Bammanu or bushman: During the day after Tamtamghisim, many lively activities take place in Sankhu to entertain people. Among these are the processions of bushman (bammanu) that are carried out with participants from almost all the quarters of the town. In a procession of Bammanu, one or many men are painted with black colours on their faces and bodies and have small pieces of cotton attached on their bodies with honey to give them a fierce appearance. Drums and cymbals accompany these processions. The bushmen are bound with ropes around their waists and controlled by other men. The bushman are teased and they are set free to let them chase people.

Pyakham va Khyalah, (dances, dramas and comics): On the days following the Tamtamghisim processions in Sankhu, people are free to stage street dances and dramas in any way they want. Pyakham is a Newar word for dance and drama. Staging street dances and dramas during the Gunhipunhi festival is an old tradition among the Newars. In Sankhu, many dances and dramas are staged during this festival. Some of them are repeated every year and some are presented after intervals of number of years. Simgavira pyakham, Sattalasimga pyakham, Byadha pyakham, Dumga pyakham, Nayca pyakham, Lakhe pyakham are among them. Such pyakham are staged on the street in the centre of every quarter of the town. Some plays are quarter bound or caste-bound. For example, the Simgavira pyakham is staged by people living in the Calakhu quarter, Sattalasimha pyakham by the Sumtol quarter, while Nayca pyakham is staged by the butcher caste.

Many also began to imitate modern Hindi movies in Newar dramas in the past several decades; in Sankhu these have become known as "drama with curtains" (parda pyakham) in Sankhu. Many people also stage Jhyaure pyakham, which are musical parodies. In all these pyakham, only men are the actors. They dress as women to play women's parts. Since the mid 1980s with the introduction of modern media, these pyakham are losing ground. The introduction of television has proved a great setback for all traditional dances and dramas in Nepal. In the past years, the above-mentioned pyakham were only sporadically staged in Sankhu.

The Procession of the god Narasimha

Narasimha is one of the incarnations of the Lord Visnu in his half-man and half-lion form. People worship Narasimha as the fourth incarnation of Visnu who killed the demon king Hiranyaksap and whose son Pralhad was a great devotee of the god. The procession of Narasimha in Sankhu is not a very old tradition. A Rajopadhyay priest told me, it was copied from Patan only in the 1940s. Usually on the seventh day of Gunhipunhi, the procession of Narasimha is carried out in Sankhu. For this procession a Rajopadhyay priest wears a mask of Narasimha which is borrowed every year from Patan a few days before the procession. Except for a person who acts as Pralhad, the Rajopadhyay priest who acts as Narasimha, all other participants of this procession are girls. Narasimha walks together with two girls on his right and left who are considered to be Laksmi and Sarasvati. All other girls who walk in front of him, either with brooms and who clean his path or throw popped rice, rice, milk pots or jala are considered his devotees. Bhajan singers and several musical bands like dha, naykhim follow the procession.

The procession starts in the Balampu courtyard where the Rajopadhyay priests live. Some time in the afternoon, the procession travels through the same route as does the Vajrayogini procession. It takes about three hours because it proceeds very slowly. During the procession, people offer rice, fruit and money (kibhu). At the end of the procession, when Narasimha turns back to the Balampu courtyard, the eldest lady of the Rajopadhyay family in Sankhu receives him by offering lasakusa worship. All the participants fast until the procession is completed.

Most activities during the Gunhipunhi are carried out to entertain people, but the procession of Narasimha is a purely religious one, which highlights the divine power of Visnu.

Vapijya pyakham: mock rice transplantation in dance and drama

On the eighth day of the festival, Vapijya pyakham is celebrated. The rice transplantation is in a dance and drama. It can be considered the last in the sequence of performance that are staged to entertain people. This pyakham is organised every year by the people of the Ipatol quarter in Sankhu. Those who are interested in participating in the Vapijya pyakham gather in the centre of the quarter in the afternoon at about four o'clock. The Bhajan guthi of Ipatol arranges a musical band, while all the participants join the pyakham with their own dance pieces, parodies and dramatic performances. As soon as all the expected participants are assembled, the Vapijya proceeds through the town. Usually the procession of Vapijya pyakham turns out to be very long because of the numerous participants from all over the town. It ends in the same place as where it began. Vapijya pyakham also ends all the performances of the Gunhipunhi festival.

All performances during the Gunhipunhi festival in Sankhu maintain their separate identity in each individual quarter, but on the final day people join from all the quarters into single Ipatol, for the Vapijya pyakham. Here they try to show their mutual cooperation and solidarity. It shows that people in Sankhu are not only keen in maintaining the separate identity of each quarter by competing with each other, but they are also capable of maintaining unity among each other.

Celebration of Krisna's birthday, and the processions of Lord Krisna in town

Krisna's birthday and his procession can be considered their last activities of the Gunhipunhi festival in Sankhu. The Krisna cult which was adopted from North India, has a long tradition in Nepal. People consider Krisna to be born on the night preceding his procession. Almost all the locations where people sing devotional songs (bhajanchem) to Krisna are decorated with an image of the god.

There are five such Krisna temples in Sankhu of which only two had processional statues. One statue was stolen in 1994. As for the present, only the guthi belonging to Ipatol quarter organises the procession of Krisna every year. For this purpose a bronze statue of Krisna is kept at the house of one of the members of the guthi. A day before the procession, the guthi members bring out the processional statue from its house for display in a local restplace (phalca) in the Ipatol quarter. They keep it there until the next afternoon, when the statue is transferred to its palanquin to be carried out in the procession. The members have to spend a night in the rest place singing devotional songs, as Krisna is believed to be born that mid-night. During this night the pahla has to feed the guthi members only with curd and beaten rice (dhau baji). On the following late afternoon, the procession of Krisna takes place. Bhajan groups belonging to the Ipatol quarter and to the Saymi caste also join the procession with their dha and khim music. During the procession, salt and imu, a kind of medicinal herb (ligusticum ajowan) is distributed to the people as a blessing from Krisna. After the completion of the procession, the statue is taken back to the same member's house from where it was carried out a day before. The lady head (thakali nakim) of the house receives the god with lasakusa puja at the door.

References
Anderson, Mary M. 1971 (1988). The Festivals of Nepal. Calcutta: Rupa & co.

Gellner, David N. 1996 (1992). Monk, Householder, and Tantric Priest: Newar Buddhism and its Hierarchy of Ritual. New Delhi: Cambridge University Press.

Hoek, A.W. (Bert) Van den 2004. Caturmasa: Celebrations of Death in Kathmandu, Nepal. Leiden: Research School CNWS Publications.

Levy, Robert I. 1992 (1990). Mesocosm Hinduism and the Organization of a Traditional Newar City of Nepal. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Naghabhani (Rajbhandari), Tirthalal 1993. "Sayah (Gaijatra)." (In Nepali). [The Procession of Cows]. Abhilekha 11: 72-83. Nepali, Gopal Singh 1965. The Newars. Bombay: United Asian Publications.

Pradhan, Rajendra P. 1986. Domestic and Cosmic Rituals Among
the Hindu Newars of Kathmandu, Nepal. PhD thesis University of
Delhi.

Shrestha, Bal Gopal 2002 The Ritual Composition of Sankhu. The
Socio-Religious Anthropology of a Newar Town in Nepal. PhD
thesis, University of Leiden.

Toffin, Gérard 1984. Société et Religion Chez les Néwar du Népal.
Paris: CNRS.

Vajracarya, Ashakaji (Ganeshraj) 1987. Nepalvarsa Kriya
Nakhahcakhah Pustakam (a Manual of Nepalese Festivals).
Patan: Privately Published.

*Dr. Bal Gopal Shrestha, presently working on Newar diaspora in Sikkim as a postdoc fellow at the Centro Incontri Umani, Ascona, Switzerland, is a lecturer at the Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS), Kathmandu. His PhD dissertation The Ritual Composition of Sankhu: The Socio-Religious Anthropology of a Newar Town in Nepal (Leiden, 2002) deals with Newar culture and rituals. His current research focuses on culture, ritual, religion, ethnicity, and nationalism in South Asia, particularly in Nepal and India.