With the monsoon gradually disappearing and approaching the autumn season in the horizons, it is also the beginning of the most popular traveling season in Nepal. On the whole, you may say the autumn is a season of festivals too. During this time of the year, four most important festivals are celebrated such as Teej, Dashain, Tihar, and Chhat. Following Teej, the people of Kathmandu Valley observe lots of street festivals. Kushe Aunshi, no moon which Babuko much herne literally meaning of father’s day in Nepal is to dedicated to father to show gratitude. In the beginning, Indra Jatra used to be celebrated in the Kathmandu Valley by the Newa People, but it has spread all over the world wherever Newa people go they take their rituals and festivals with them. Upcoming Saturday, September 14, 2017, on the occasion of Indra Jatra celebration,a chariot will be pulled with virgin girls in it depicting of the Living Goddess of Nepal. The Newa Organization will hold this festival at Black Hill Park in Montgomery County of Maryland, USA. Chariot procession is being planned on the parking lot, as it will be drawn by the youth from the community.
This festival, most commonly known as Yenya (Nepal Bhasa) येँयाःis the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. Ye means “Kathmandu “and yameans,” together it means “celebration inside Kathmandu” in Nepal Bhasa or Newa language. But now wherever Newa people go, they brought their festivals with them, which is a wonderful opportunity for the observers in a foreign country. According to Newa leaders, the celebration consists of two events; Indra Jatra and Kumari Jatra. Indra Jatra is marked by masked dances of deities and demons, displays of sacred images and tableaus in honor of the deity Indra the King of heaven. Kumari Jatra is the chariot procession of the living goddess of Kumari who is living virgin goddess Kumar. Family members of the deceased in the past year are also remembered during the festival. Although the main venue of the festivities is Kathmandu Durbar Square, now it is celebrated everywhere in the cities around the globe where Newa people reside. In Nepal, these festivals are being celebrated for eight days from the 12th day of the brighcommt ??? Fortnight to the 4th day of the dark fortnight of Yanla ञला the eleventh month in the lunar Nepal era calendar.
According to the history of Nepal, This festival was started during the reign of King Gunakamadeva गुणकामदेव)to commemorate the founding of the Kathmandu city in the 10th century. Kumari Jatra began in the mid of 18th century. The celebration is held according to the lunar calendar but it is changeable.
The festival starts with Yosin Thangegu योसिं थनेगु), which is mean the installation of it rituals where the wooden pole will “Linga literally meaning “erect in the City with the banner of Indra is unfurled at the Kathmandu Durbar Square. The pole, a tree whorn?Of its branches and stripped of its bark it obtained from the forest near Nala a small town 29 KM to the east of Kathmandu Valley, it is dragged in stages to Durbar square by men pulling on ropes particularly Guthiyar of Trustees.
Another event on the first day is Upaku Wangegu उपाकु वनेगु) when participants visit to the shrine by holding lighted incense to honor deceased family members and they also placed small butter lamps inside of shrine. According to the history of Nepal, Kumari Jatra means the chariot festival of Kumari, coincide with Indra Jatra; it was started in 1756 AD during the reign Jaya Prakash Malla. During this festival, three chariots carrying human representations of the deities, Ganesh, Bhairava and Kumari, accompanied by musical bands are pulled along the festival route through Kathmandu on three days. The precession starts at around 3 PM prior 2012 only men were allowed to pull chariots and after women are also allowed to pull with their female counterpart.
Another interesting story of Indra Jatra is very fascinated one, that is, according to a legend, Indra, Hindu god King of Heaven, disguised as a farmer and descended to earth in search of Parijat flower (night jasmine) a white flower for his mother Basundhara to perform a ritual. While Indra was plucking the flowers at Maruhiti, a sunken water sprout at Maruhiti, he was caught and treated like a common thief. He was then put on display in the town square of Maruhiti in Kathmandu. In a reenactment of this event, an image of Indra with his hand bound is pulled on display Maru and other places during the festival. Since her son Indra did not come back from the earth to heaven, mother Basundhara was worried. She came to the earth to seek her son Indra and wandered around Kathmandu looking her son. This event is commemorated by the procession of Dagin दागिं) through the City, Pulu Kisi alternate name of Tana Kisi a wicker representation of an elephant also runs around town reenacting Indra’s elephant searching frantically for its master Indra.
When the Kathmandu city folks realized they had captured Indra, he was immediately released whoever caught him and out of appreciation for releasing her son his mother Basundhara promised to provide enough grains and fortune throughout the winter to ensure a rich crops along with fortune it said that Kathmandu Valley starts to experience foggy morning from this festival onwards because of this reason particularly in the Kathmandu Valley. This is a base on the history of Indra Jatra festivals..
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