SWANTI NAKHA, the festival of lights and Nepal’s own New Year NEPAL SAMBAT 1126 are just a few days away. If we keep aside who started it and when, and how and why it is related to a religion, we see an immense social value of this great festival, including a great tradition to honor even animals and birds in recognition of their services to human society.

1. The five-day Swanti Nakha starts with Kwo Puja. Kwo in Nepal Bhasa is crow. Kwo Puja is therefore worship of crows. This day falls on October 30 this year. We consider crows as messenger birds. Crows also eat up decomposed, rotten leftover food, human waste and little dead animals. They thus help us keep our area clean. We worship them once a year in recognition of their service to mankind. Other ethnic communities Nepal are also gradually adopting this great tradition.

2. The second day of the festival is Khicha Puja. Khicha in Nepal Bhasa is dog. Khicha Puja is therefore worship of dogs. The usefulness and faithfulness of dogs does not need much explanation. They guard us against burglars and encroachers day and night. They also eat up leftover food and human waste and help us keep our area clean. We worship them once a year in recognition of their service to mankind. Other ethnic communities Nepal are also gradually adopting this great tradition.

3. The third day of the festival is Laxmi Puja, or the worship of goddess of wealth. This day is also the last day of a year of Nepal’s own calendar, Nepal Sambat. Probably our ancestors used to observe this day as the annual closing day. We live in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society. We are also influenced by the cultures and traditions of other ethnic communities. So quite a number of Hindu Newars worship cows as the representative of Laxmi, the goddess of wealth.

4. The fourth day of the festival is Mha Puja. Mha in Nepal Bhasa is body. So Mha Puja is the worship own body. This Puja falls on the New Year Day of Nepal’s own calendar. We worship ourselves wishing good health, success, peace, happiness and prosperity throughout the year. Other enthic communities, specially Khas Hindus, celebrate this day by worshiping bulls and cow dung. It is to be noted that interchange of Mha Puja and Bull Puja have not taken place yet.

5. The fifth and the last day of the festival is Kija Puja. Kija in Nepal Bhasa is younger brother. So Kija Puja is brother’s day where sisters, with selfless love and utmost care, worship and bless their younger brothers. But these days all sisters worship all their brothers, elder and younger alike, blessing and wishing them good health, long life, success, peace, happiness and prosperity throughout the new year. Kija Puja is observed or celebrated by most ethnic communities of Nepal.

It is worthy to note that Kwo Puja and Khicha Puja are of purely Newar origin. We don’t know if any human group in the world, other than Newars, has such a tradition of worshiping crows and dogs. Although Hindus consider dogs as vehicle of God Bhairav, we don’t know if dogs are given such recognition and worshipped with festivity even in Hindustan, the mainland/homeland of the Hindus. We also don’t know whether considering dogs as the vehicle of God Bhairav is an honor to or humiliation of God Bhairav.

Kija Puja is a unique Newar tradition. The Hindus in their mainland/homeland India have Rakhsya Bandhan, somewhat similar to Kija Puja. Rakhsya Bandhan falls on August/September full moon day where brothers receive from sisters the sacred thread Rakhi to put around the wrist. Rakshya Bandhan is also observed/celebrated by quite a number of Hindus of Nepal in its southern Terai belt. But the Khas Hindus of Nepal in the mountains observe this day in a different way and sense as Janai Purnima. They (both males and females) receive short Janai (sacred thread to put around wrist) and males receive long Janai (sacred thread to put around body) from their family priests or some other bramhans, not from sisters. Hindu Newars (both males and females) also receive short Janai from their priests or other bramhans. Newars in general do not have long Janai. They have their unique festival of Gunhu Punhi or Kwati Punhi on the same day.

NESOCA Nepal wishes all its contact and viewers good health, happiness, peace, success and prosperity on the auspicious occasion of Swanti Nakha and New Year Nepal Sambat 1126.