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Maoist leader Prachanda and Badal dancing at the Bhumya Puja festival in Kathmandu. Photos: Smita
Kathmandu, June 17, 2008- Magars started their three day celebration of Bhumya festival in Khulamanch, Kathmandu on Sunday after first worshipping “Bhumi” (soil/land) in traditional rituals conducted by a Magar priest.
This Bhumi or Bhumya Puja, also widely known as “Bal Puja” among Magars, is principally celebrated every year in the northern area of Rolpa and in the eastern area of Rukum at the start of monsoon, on 1st of Asar in the Nepali calendar.
Celebrating this year’s Bhumya festival were Maoist leaders Puspa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda, Ram Bahadur Thapa Magar (Badal), Barsaman Pun Magar (Ananta) and Nanda Kishor Pun 'Pasang' along with other Magar CA members and hundreds of Magars.
Addressing the gathering, Maoist Chairperson Prachanda thanked the Magar community for playing the most vital role in ‘People’s War’ to ensure equality among different ethnic communities, classes, language and culture in the country. “Magars have played the most significant role from top to bottom in the decade of People’s War to create the New Nepal,” he said.
Prachanda announced that the new government will be formed within three days. But, he warned, nothing work out if there are attempts to reverse the agreement made with the People’s Liberation Army between Maoists and the then Government.
Magar men and women dancing at the festival.
The senior Maoist leader, Badal expressed his happiness at the successful removal of the monarchy. “However, we are not yet free because there is continuing interference from international forces that are creating challenges and placing obstacles in the way of a New Nepal, but through our unity and strong determination we will overcome these challenges,” he said.
“We vow that as a Constituent Assembly (CA) member, until and unless our Magar indigenous nationalities and oppressed classes get their rights, an autonomous state with the right to self determination, our campaign, our struggle and fight for freedom will not stop,” he promised.
Magar men dancing at the Bhumya Puja festival in Kathmandu.
In spite of heavy rain, these top Maoist leaders did not miss shaking their legs in the Bal puja music from madal, murali (flute), narsinga, jhyali and drums (dama).
As local people of Rukum informed us online, the celebration in villages such as Sima, Kanda, Kinsi, Taka-sera and many others where the majority of Magars live started Bal Puja on Saturday.
In Rolpa, the celebration begun on Sunday will go on for 3 to 5 days.
Bal Puja is celebrated in different ways from place to place. Some places sacrifice a pig, in other places sheep or rams are sacrificed. In Gamkhola village of Rolpa, people sacrifice deer. “Young lads from village go to the jungle, hunt down a deer and then sacrifice it in Bal Puja,” said Bom Kumari Budha Magar, President of Athara Magar Bhasa tatha Saskriti Pratisthan (18 Magarat Magar Language, Culture Development Academy).
“In most places people sacrifice hens and roosters, however, in certain places we have interesting ways of celebrating and sacrificing animals for land,” she added.
Magar women in Bhumya Puja. Photos: Smita
“In Taka-Sera on the first day of Bal Puja, we clean our houses and surroundings. After people wash the sheep, they worship it with flowers and colours. Next youths drag the sheep through the village, finally taking it to Bisauna (chautari, sacred place where people worship) where they sacrifice it in the name of “bhumi” (land),” said Maya Buddha Magar, a local of Taka.
While worshipping, villagers offer little bits of every new grain, fruits, and flowers produced in their field to mother earth.
Whole villages celebrate the festival by gathering in the big recreational area to dance, sing and have fun. The special dance known as jhimkari or balku shyne in local Magar language is only danced during this festival. Men dance balpuja chala along with Paicharu/paisaru which has 22 different forms of dancing.
Along with huge celebrations throughout this entire festival, villagers do not plough the field or touch the tools used for farming. Neither do they take grains to the grinding mill or water mill (pani ghatta or chakhi).
Bhumi puja is celebrated to please mother earth by sacrificing animals in exchange for the human lives that are lost every year due to natural calamities, especially during rainy season. “From the ancient time when Gods and deities were not yet created, and when natural calamities occurred, our ancestors did not understand why tragedy took the lives of many human beings. The Magars, as indigenous community, responded by worshipping mother earth with sacrifice of animals to please her and not let her be angry with them. This is the story of how the Bhumi puja started,” said President of Magar National Liberation Front Nepal (MNLFN) Santosh Budha Magar.
This festival is not only celebrated in Asar 1st but in many other different occasions such as in Baisakhe punni, Jeth Punni, Shrawon 1st, Bhadra 1st , Bhadra 12th and on Mangsire Punni according to times and situations favorable to the people. “Bhumi festival celebrated before monsoon is to pray to mother earth for good omen, and celebrated after Bhadra is like a ‘vote of thanks’ to her for protecting and looking after us,” said Bom Kumari Budha.
In Syaulibang of Pyuthan district “Bhumi” festival is celebrated to thank mother earth for good crops and for protecting them and their livestock from natural calamities.
“This festival demonstrates indigenous characteristics of the Magars while it also increases the significance of communal feelings and signifies the co-existence between humans and the natural environment.” Bom Kumari Budha said, emphasizing the need for its celebration.
“During the People’s War our cultural identity suffered, so now we are initiating our practices to preserve and promote them,” said Santosh Budha. He told people that they will be deploying their cadres in different parts of the Magar region to revive the Bumya puja starting next year.
The program was organized by Magar National Liberation Front Nepal (MNLFN). They organized the Bhumi Puja celebration last year at the same venue.
-Smita Magar in Kathmandu
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