Catha or Ganesh Cauthi

By Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

The Newar community in Nepal celebrates the Ganesh Cauthi called Catha on the fourth day in the bright fortnight of Bhadra (August-September) in the Vikram calendar (it was on September 3 in 2008). On this occasion, they make offerings to Lord Ganesh and the crescent moon in the evening as soon as the moon appears in the sky. Some people do not look at the moon as it might bring them the charge of stealing if they view the moon in this evening so they hide in rooms where the light of the crescent moon does not reach. While making offerings to Lord Ganesh on this particular evening, some other people simply make offerings to the crescent moon also for freeing him from the curse Lord Ganesh has put on him after the moon molested Lord Ganesh. Some Nepalis believe that this is the celebration of the birthday of Lord Ganesh.

Sisters were busy at roasting beans and corn. They say that they need to roast nine different beans and then corn for offering those items to Lord Ganesh in the evening. It was a surprise to me to note that they are not preparing any meat dishes for offering to Lord Ganesh but they prepare meat dish for us to feast after worshipping Lord Ganesh. These offerings of nine beans do not follow the Shastric rituals or Tantric although we the members of the Newar community follow both the Shastric and Tantric rituals.

They put the nine different roasted beans separately in wicker baskets, fruits and cucumber in another basket and kernels of a few peach-pit (stone) roasted in a small plate. These are the items we do not miss to offer to Lord Ganesh on the day called Catha or Ganesh Cauthi. If we miss any one of these items of offerings then Lord Ganesh might punish us with the charge of stealing. In addition, we make regular offerings to Lord Ganesh.

In the evening we all gathered at one corner of the rooftop and waited for our grandfather to make offerings to Lord Ganesh, as it is the duty of the male head of the family to do so. One of the sisters came with a bronze plate full of regular items of offerings and on top of it a paper printed with Lord Ganesh. Then, other sisters brought the baskets with nine beans and corn, and with fruits and cucumber. They set all those baskets on the portion of the rooftop floor smeared with the mixture of red clay and fresh cow dung. We believe that the floor smeared with such a mixture of fresh cow dung and red clay is a spiritually purified spot.

The patriarch of our family, our grandfather walking with his staff came out to the rooftop, set aside the staff and sat on a low stool set for him to sit. We all stood around him. First, he cleaned his hands drawing a little bit of the holy water from a copper water pot, and then sprinkled the holy water over the already cleaned spot by smearing with the mixture of fresh cow dung and red clay. Then, he took the cucumber and placed it at the center of the smeared spot and set the paper Ganesh on a standing position on it. He set all the baskets containing roasted beans and popcorn at Ganesh.

Then, our grandfather did regular offerings to Lord Ganesh from the bronze plate. First, he lighted incense sticks, and then he dipped his middle finger in the yellow color powder placed on the bronze plate and marked the forehead of Lord Ganesh with it and then on top of it with the red color powder. He placed flowers on the head of Lord Ganesh, and then offered other items such as flattened rice, and sweets, and then lighted the wicks soaked in oil and offer it by circling it a number of times at paper Lord Ganesh and placed it on the rice grains placed on the floor. Then, our grandfather distributed rice to all of us and asked us to clasp our hands with rice and then offer the rice to Lord Ganesh throwing it at Lord Ganesh.

Our granddad then took out a few grains each of the nine beans and of the popcorn out of the baskets and offered these items to Lord Ganesh. He took a few kernels of peach-pits and offered them to Lord Ganesh. He took another set of the beans and peach-pit kernels and threw them at the crescent moon. Then he took out of Lord Ganesh the flower he had placed on his head and broke it into pieces and offered one piece of the flower to each of us as the blessing from the God. He then distributed the beans, peach-pit kernels and popcorn to all of us as another blessing from Lord Ganesh. Everybody ate the blessed beans, popcorn and so on.

One of the sisters brought a large pan and covered the paper god and items offered to him by the pan to protect all of those items from rain and from night birds and rodents, as we needed to keep the offerings made to Lord Ganesh for overnight on the same spot. Next morning, one of us would offer holy water to Lord Ganesh and then collect all those offerings except the paper Ganesh and dispose those items of at the nearest river. We usually paste the paper Ganesh on a wall.

After performing the worship to Lord Ganesh, all family members sit together and feast on the festival dishes. Our parents make it sure that no item of festival food has left out; if we do miss some items we would miss those items during the big festival called Dashain and on other occasions, too. This is our belief.

We do not wash the dishes on this night but leave them in the washbasin for washing next morning. The reasons for not washing the dishes are kept secret but our seniors say that these dishes might turn into gold next morning. We do not believe in it. However, we do not wash the dishes. Our forefather might have been tired to wash the dishes on this night so they must have set the tradition of not washing the dishes on this night.

In Nepal, we offer both Shastric and Tantric offerings to Lord Ganesh. Following Shastric offerings, we offer sweets balls to Lord Ganesh. We believe that Lord Ganesh loves sweet balls more than anything else. Following Tantric offerings, we offer animal sacrifices and alcoholic drinks to Lord Ganesh. However, on this particular evening we offer nine beans and some other items that did neither match with the Shastric offerings nor with the Tantric offerings. Probably, we the members of the Newar community perform worship to different Lord Ganesh than Shastric and Tantric on this particular occasion, as the Ganesh printed on a paper has only one right tusk, rides on a lion not on a usual rat and looks fierce unlike other Ganesh.

We believe that making offering to the crescent moon would free the moon from the curse of ‘anybody seeing moon would be charged with stealing even though the person might have not done anything of that sort,’ cast on him by Lord Ganesh. That is why we make offerings to Lord Ganesh only after the crescent moon is visible in the sky.

A legend has it that while returning back from the divine world after receiving the boon of perfect creation from Lord Brahma, Lord Ganesh happened to be in the world of moon. Seeing the unique physical features of Lord Ganesh, the moon laughed at him.

Lord Ganesh became furious with the moon at his rudeness. So, he cast a curse on the moon that anybody seeing the moon would be charged with stealing. So, everybody started running away from the moon. The moon lost the status of the member of the divinity in the divine world. The moon was upset very much but could not do much.

Following the counsel of the creator of the universe Brahma, the moon started making offerings to Lord Ganesh pleading for the forgiveness for his mistake (in other words atoning for his sin) and restoring him to his previous status.

After a number of years of strenuous atoning for the sin, the moon was successful to please Lord Ganesh. On the fourth day of the bright fortnight of the month called Bhadra, satisfied with the repentance of the moon for its misdeed in the past, Lord Ganesh said to the moon, “I would free you from my curse for all days except for the fourth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Bhadra.”

So, seeing the crescent moon on the fourth day of the bright fortnight of Bhadra, anybody might be charged with stealing. Most of the believers in such a legend hide in the room where the moon would have no access in this evening to escape from the effect of the curse cast on the moon. Some people use to steal a fruit from neighbor and display it as they have stolen to get rid of any charge of stealing that might befall on them if incidentally they happen to see the moon on this night.

Our parents have been very practical posing to steal fruits even before the moon is visible on this night so that the charge of stealing would not be on them. So, we all children carry pieces of fruits apparently stolen from a neighbor and hanged from a string attached to our shirts. All other family members also carry such pieces of fruits. Then, we all offer those pieces of fruits to Lord Ganesh in the evening worship. So, we could view the crescent moon even on this night.

We all pray to Lord Ganesh for freeing the moon from the curse of ‘anybody seeing him would be charged with stealing.’ We also pray to the moon for being free from the curse cast on him. Our forefathers have developed various sorts of such offerings to make to different deities based on such myths and mythologies for us to follow for centuries to come.

Note: Nepal has both Tantric Ganesh and Shastric Ganesh. Tantric Ganesh accepts meat dishes alcoholic drinks and even animal sacrifice whereas Shastric Ganesh accepts only sweet balls and other vegetarian foods.