“Chhatha” Festival

By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

“Chhatha Parba” is a very important festival for the mid and eastern Nepalese terai people. Especially Maithili and Bhojhpuri languages speaking Nepalis of the east and mid Nepalese terai regions celebrate this festival fabulously. They celebrate it for the blessings of Goddess “Chhatha” Devi for peace, progress, prosperity and good health of all family members. The popular belief is that Goddess “Chhatha” Devi blesses childless couples with children, brings fortune to the poor and cures the sick people, and even the disease such as leprosy, and meets all the wishes the devotees have in their mind. This festival is also for religious and ethnic harmony among the poor and the rich people.

Celebration of this festival is believed to have started by the five Pandav brothers at the time of Dwapar Yuga (mid era according to the Hindu calendar), when they were living in exile in the forests, worshipped the Sun, pleading with the Sun God for the victory in the Mahabharat war to be fought against their cousins for regaining the kingdom lost to them in the gambling.

Some people believe that the “Chhatha” is derived from the word “Chaithi” means the sixth day in the Maithili language. The “Chhatha” festival also is known by other names such as Surya Sasthi means the sixth day of the Sun, and Pratihar Sasthi means the sixth day of women guards in a palace.

This festival is more popular among the people in the eastern part of the terai Nepal particularly among the people living in the areas between Birgunj in the central region and Bhadrapur in the eastern region of Nepal. Some people in the western part of the terai Nepal also celebrate it. Maithili speaking people in the northern Bihar of India also celebrate this festival. They also visit the holy places particularly the famous religious ponds in Janakpur and the holy rivers in Biratnagar of Nepal to celebrate this festival.

One of the unique features of this festival is the social harmony people maintain during the festival days. Rich and poor, historically low and high caste people celebrate this festival standing side by side on the same bank of a pond, river or a water-well with the same enthusiasm and vigor. They sing, dance, make merry and share happiness with each other celebrating the “Chhatha” festival.

Women create an environment conducive to make the celebration lively by singing and dancing in the auspicious beginning of the festival. They sing the “Chhatha” festival songs whereas men sing hymns. The songs women sing during the “Chhatha” festival indicate that they also perform worship to Goddess Mai on this occasion. In fact, there is a tradition among the people historically belonging to castes such as Mushar and Dosad to perform offerings to Goddess Mai on the sixth day of the birth of a child. Thus, Goddess Mai is the protectorate of their children. Hence, they perform worship to Goddess Mai on this occasion, too.

During this festival, devotees perform worship to the Sun God, the setting Sun as Goddess Mai on the sixth day and the rising Sun as Dinnanath on the seventh day. People believe that the Sun God relieves human sufferings such as disease, childlessness, and death of loved ones and contempt of others. The wish-fulfilling Sun God meets their wishes if they strictly follow the religious rituals while celebrating the “Chhatha” festival. However, if someone fails to do so, s/he might not only lose the blessings and the fulfillment of his/her wishes but might also be penalized for wrongs. So, devotees meticulously take care of preparation of all items of offerings, and they make sure that they do not miss the order of offerings of those items to the Sun God.

Some of the important food items made for offerings are “Thhekuwa” – a fried bread, “”Kasar”- sweet balls made of flour and sugar, and ”Khir” – a kind of porridge prepared from “gomadi” rice and molasses made of sugarcane juice. To retain the sanctity of these items, devotees themselves wash and cleanse wheat and “gomadi” rice (a special rice which bears grains in the stem of the plant not as ears). Then, they dry it on the sun. While drying it, they make sure that birds and animals do not defile it. They even do not allow humans to touch it if they have not performed the purification rituals. They grind these cereals to flour manually. Thereafter, they prepare “Thhekuwa”, “Kasar” and “khir” from the flour with the help of the family members who have taken a purification wash and who have not defiled their body eating certain food prohibited to eat during the festival. They ensure that all items of offerings are put together before worship.

The popular belief among the terai people is that in ancient time women took the three-day “Chhatha” fast, pleased the wish-fulfilling Sun God, and got their wishes fulfilled. The most popular example they give is: once a queen in preparation for celebrating the “Chhatha” festival had kept the offerings to be made to the Sun God under a cover. When the king saw something under a cover, asked the queen about it. She told the king in jest that it was a gold bar. The king took it seriously. The queen could not backtrack from what she said to the king. So, the queen prayed to the Sun God for saving her from disgrace that might come with the lie she told her husband. To her relief, she found the offerings turned into a gold bar. Thus, the king and the queen realized that the God listened to the prayer of the queen.

Similarly, another legend has it that the Nag Kanyas (unmarried women descendents of the Serpent dynasty) took the three-day fast and performed the offerings to the Sun God as prescribed. Their wishes were met. Impressed by the success of the Nag Kanyas, Sukanya, daughter of King Saruyati celebrated the “Chhatha” festival strictly following the rituals, and she became successful in restoring the eye-sight of her husband namely Chewon Rishi mentioned in the Puran (religious Script).

The Mahabharat epic also mentions that one of the main characters of the Mahabharat epic, Draupadi also celebrated the “Chhatha” festival strictly following the rituals of making offerings to the Sun God. Her wishes for the victory of her five husbands in the battle against Kauravas for regaining their lost kingdom were met. Draupadi was the common wife of the five brothers called Pandavas, sons of King Pandav, ruler of Hastinapur.

People strongly believe that their wishes would be met if they strictly follow the offerings procedures while celebrating the “Chhatha” festival. It is a popular belief that the blind receive eyesight, the poor receives riches, lepers receive a strong and beautiful body and the childless women conceive. Usually, women take the three-day fast following the pledge made to the Sun God for getting their wishes fulfilled.

Therefore, women en masse participate in this “Chhatha” festival. They sing, dance and make merry throughout the period of “Chhatha” festival. This is an opportunity for women to come out of the four walls of their houses. They put on their best clothes. They camp at the nearby water source, which may be a pond, river or a water-well. There, they prepare for performing offerings to the Sun God. Thus, the celebration of the “Chhatha” festival is centered at the water source unlike other religious festivals, which usually are celebrated in temples, shrines or monasteries.

This three-day festival starts on the fifth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartik (October-November) according to the Vikram calendar, and continues on the sixth and seventh days. These days fall on November 15, 16, and 17 in 2007

People begin preparing for the “Chhatha” festival on the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartik according to the Vikram calendar. Previously, from the day of Laxmi Puja that is no moon day, devotees stop eating the foods such as Bhadaiya rice (rice grown in the Month of Bhadra), millets, and lentils (mass and musro), eggplant, fish, meat, egg, onions and garlic, as they believe that these foods defile their body. However, the period of restriction of taking such food items has been relaxed. Currently, devotees follow this food habit from the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartik according to the Vikram calendar.

The fourth day of the festival called “Nha-kha” means to eat the prescribed food only after a purification wash. So, the devotees spend the whole day on the purification rituals.

The fifth day of the light fortnight is called “kharana”. On this day, devotees fast the whole day. In the evening, they take a purification dip in the water of a holy river or a pond, and keep it clean fasting for a whole day following the religious tradition and then they prepare “Khir” – porridge like dish cooked “gomadi” rice and pure molasses made of sugarcane juice, together in a new clay pot placing on a freshly done earthen stove. They first offer it to the Sun God, and then they offer it to all family members as the blessing from the Sun God. Thereafter, they eat it, thus breaking their fast.

On the sixth day, devotees take a 24-hour fast. They prepare “Thhekuwa”, “Bhuswa” and Kasar” from the flour they have meticulously prepared from wheat and “gomadi” rice. They take the help of the family members who have undergone purification rituals, and who have lived on the vegetable meals, to prepare these food items.

Devotees begin making preparations for setting off to a pond or river early afternoon to make offerings to the Setting Sun on the sixth day. They set out at about 4:00 P.M. There, they set all items of offerings on the bank of a pond or a river. Such offerings comprise “Pancha Gabya” – five different products of cow, “chandan” –paste made of aromatic wood, rice, coconut, areca nuts and sesame seeds, “Thhekuwa,” “Kasar”, sugarcane plant, ginger plant, turmeric plant and betel leaves. Devotees perform offerings such as “Chhiti”, “Supati”, Dagri”, “and Haathi”, “Koshiya” according to the pledge made to the Sun God in return for a special favor they had wished for.

Devotees cleanse their body taking a dip in the water of a holy river or a pond. Some devotees stand half submerged in water in the posture of praying to the God, facing the setting Sun for hours. Other devotees take a number of dips in the water. They believe that by doing so, their diseases will be cured. Then, they put on fresh clothes and perform the offerings called “Argha” consisting of cow milk, water and honey to the setting Sun God. This is called “Sajh-karak” means an evening offering.

Thereafter, devotees stay on in the tents overnight. Devotees sing, dance and enjoy the whole night. In the rural areas, people go back home after completion of the evening offerings to the setting Sun God. They sing, dance and make merry in the village the whole night.

On the seventh day, devotees begin preparing for the offerings to the rising Sun God at about 3:00 A.M. Some devotees perform worship called “Parna” to the rising Sun God. Devotees offer banana, sugarcane, coconut, various other fruits and special breads made for this occasion to the Goddess during the special worship and prayer. Others make regular offerings to the Sun god. Thereafter, they return home. Thus, ends the “Chhatha” festival.

The most conspicuous feature of this festival is that people worship the setting sun. This kind of worship is unique because the tradition of worshipping the setting sun is rare elsewhere in the world. The worship of the setting sun is one of the humanitarian features of this festival.

Previously, people used to send “Thhekuwa” as blessing of the Sun God to relatives and friends living far away. Even now, people welcome guests with “Thhekuwa” during and after the “Chhatha” festival. The tradition of inviting married daughters and sisters to the festival continues even today. They buy new clothes for all family members on this occasion.

Monday, November 12, 2007