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Nine Indigenous Festivals are recognized and declared Public Holidays
-Sangmo Yonjan-Tamang in Kathmandu
काठमाडौं January 2, 2008 - The biggest festival of Tamu community, Tola Lhochhar, was celebrated in various parts of the country including Kathmandu valley with great fanfare and joviality, because this year their Lochhar was recognized as national festival and declared national holiday by the Government of Nepal. It has recognized eight more ethnic festivals fot the first time in Nepal’s history. A chart of National Festivals of Nepal is presented in Table below.
Gurung girls posing for USNepalOnline.Com. Photo: Sangmo Yonjan-Tamang
Bidding goodbye to 'Deer Year' and welcoming new 'Mouse Year' hundreds of Gurung community members gathered at Tundikhel in the heart of Kathmandu on Paush 15th (30th December) to mark the festival exchanging best wishes and warm greetings among friends, family and relatives. Tamu Lhosar is based on the solar calendar.
This year the festival was jointly celebrated by different Tamu organizations for three days but last year due to ideological differences, the Tamu National Liberation Front (TNLF) had celebrated the Lhosar at Tundikhel while other groups had gone to Shankha Park to celebrate it.
The Gurung people appreciated the government decision to give national holidays to celebrate the festivals and at the same time experienced the arrival of Loktantra (democracy) in the true sense.
School children seemed happy to have holiday to celebrate their main festival Lhosar with friends and family. A sixth grade Tamu girl said “unlike previous year’s, we haven’t miss the important classes this time because school is closed.” The Gurungse call themselves Tamu.
The General Secretary of Tamu National Council Narayan Tamu expressed his happiness at the government decision by saying, “It is a positive aspect of the Nepal Government which helps to maintain social as well as cultural harmony between the people living in different communities.” He further said that it is not a complete achievement since the Gurung community has been demanding this change for decades but it can be taken as a sign of change. Tamu stresses the need for psychological and intellectual changes in the formation of new Nepal.
The principal of Einstein Academy, K.P. Gurung alleges that centuries-long feudalistic state structure for the delayed announcement of a public holiday during the main festival of indigenous communities. “Power holders in the government made us (indigenous nationalities) second class citizens for more than two hundred and thirty years as they were not in our favor,” he added. Gurung community members are joyfully dancing in Lhosar at Tudikhel
A resident of Rainas, Lamjung, 71 year old Samasari Gurung, who celebrated Lhosar for the first time in Kathmandu didn’t find it interesting compared to the way people celebrate in her village.
Addressing the main function of the three-day Tamu Lhosar festival organized in Kathmandu, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Civil Aviation, Prithivi Subba Gurung asked the government to determine federal structure on the basis of geography, ethnicity and language.
Another guest of the event, Maoist Chairman Prachanda, said “The Tamu community has given a new message of national unity by organizing the Lhosar celebration together this year. “The new Nepal I had dreamt of 12 years ago based on equality is coming to fruition gradually.”
Although the Janajati leaders have demanded three days public holiday during Lhosar, government has declared a holiday only on the main day of the celebration. Lhosar means 'New Year' (‘Lho’ means year and ‘chhar' or 'sar' means new). Lhosar is celebrated by Tamang, Sherpa and Gurung communities on different dates. The Tamang and Yholmo people will celebrate Sonam Lhochhar on the 8th of February, and Sherpa and other Mountain people will celebrate Gyalpo Lochhar on the 8th of March.
Nepal Government has made official the following national holidays: Tamu Lhochhar for Tamu; Sonam Lhochhar for Tamang, Yholmo and others; Udhauli & Ubhauli for Kiratis (Limbus and Rais); Siruwa Pawani for Rajbansi; Maghi for Tharu; Chhat for Maithili; Eid for Muslims and Christmas for Christians.
However, janajatis are not satisfied with a one day holiday for their
festivals when compared to Hindus who have 27 days of holidays in a calendar year. Non-Hindus have only 9 days starting this year while previously it was only one day holiday for Buddha Jayanti. “It is a great discrimination against the Indigenous Peoples of the Nepal” said Ram Bahadur Thapa Magar, the General Secretary, Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities (NEFIN).
Table : National Holidays in a year
|
|
Hindus |
Day |
Non Hindus |
Day |
National Holidays |
days |
|
1 |
Naya Barsa/New year |
1 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
|
1 |
Udhauli & Ubhauli |
1 |
World Labor Day |
1 |
|
3 |
|
1 |
Christmas |
1 |
Civil Servant Day |
1 |
|
4 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
Martyr Day |
1 |
|
5 |
Mahashivaratri |
1 |
|
1 |
National Democracy Day |
1 |
|
6 |
|
1 |
Maghi |
1 |
International Women’s Day |
1 |
|
7 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
1 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
10 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
11 |
Indra Jatra |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
12 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
13 |
Ghatasthapana |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
14 |
Daisai |
9 |
|
|
|
|
|
15 |
Tihar |
3 |
|
|
|
|
|
16 |
|
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
17 |
Ramnawami |
1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total Days |
27 |
|
8 |
|
6 |
If the government upholds the interests of indigenous nationalities in a proper manner and no discrimination is made on the basis of caste, religion, race and culture, then there is no doubt that there would be strong unity among the peoples.
It is high time for national unity, to put an end to the existing centric and unitary state structure, and to increase the participation of indigenous nationalities at all levels of government.
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