Yomari Punhi, Udhauli festival is being celebrated

KATHMANDU: Yomari Punhi, which is celebrated on the day of Margashirsha Shukla Purnima, ie Yomari Purnima festival and Udhauli festival are being celebrated.

Today, Dhanya Purnima festival is also being celebrated by ritually worshiping and donating rice.

After the arrival of paddy in Mangsir (Nov/Dec), there is a tradition of worshiping the deities of Paddy, Ganesha, Kuldevata, Gaidu deity, Goth deity, Maharudra, Mahalaxmi and other deities on Shukla Purnima.

Prof. Dr. Ramachandra Gautam, a theologian, informed that since he had not done Navannaprashan before, he should do Navannaprashan today. On this occasion, fairs are held in places like Dhaneshwar in Kavrepalanchowk, Anantalingeshwar in Bhaktapur, Champadevi in ​​Kathmandu.

Yomari Purnima (Yomari Punhi)

The Newar community is celebrating the Yomari Purnima festival with great joy today. Yomari Purnima is also known as Yomari Punhi. Celebrated as a big festival of the Newar community, this festival is also considered as a delicious food festival.

Yomari is made from rice flour made from new paddy, knife and sesame seeds. The women of the house are busy making Yomari from early in the morning. It is a tradition to cook Yomari after bathing in the house.

The Newar community also celebrates Yomari Poornima by worshiping in the bhakari or kothi where paddy is kept. Also, during the pregnancy of a womens, there is also a custom of sending a gift in the form of yomari filled with sesame seeds and a knife from the mother-in-law to wish for the full health of the child in the womb.

It is believed that 400 years ago, the Newar community of the valley moved Uttarayan from 1st of January to Yomari Purnima day. This full moon is celebrated as a festival of eating a special dish made of rice flour with a knife during winter.

This day is also celebrated as Jyapu Day. Prof. Dr. Ramchandra Gautam, Chairperson of the Nepal Panchang Judging Committee, informed that there is a law for hill communities living in hilly areas and other places to worship Gaidu by performing Kool Puja and Goth Puja.

This Purnima is also known as Dhanyapurnima. Nowadays, Kirat community is also celebrating Udhauli festival. It is a tradition to celebrate Udhauli festival by worshiping in Bhumesthan and Sakelasthan on this day, if the farming is good, the work is done, now the grain will be abundant and there will be no shortage of food.

The Kirat community, which worships nature and considers nature as God, has a tradition of praying that if something goes wrong in farming, please remember the children and forgive them. Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar and Yakkha of Kirat community celebrate this festival.

The migration from the low-elevation areas upwards to hilly areas is called Ubhauli (upwards), which is also an annual festival of these communities[1] On the Udhauli festival day, the Kirat people offer thanks to mother nature for providing a good harvest.

Udhauli festival is celebrated by all Kirat people. It is believed that from this day the winter season starts. So people, birds, and animals migrate from cold regions to warmer regions. It’s mainly celebrated in the eastern region of Nepal by dancing an exotic dance called Sakela or commonly known as Chandi.

The dance is very popular in Nepal and is performed by dancing harmoniously in a circle with the beat of Dhol/drum, Jhyamta/cymbals etc. The main destinations for the Sakela are Dharan, Dhankuta, Pathari, Kanepokhari, Kerabari etc. This event of the Kirat people has also been stated in the Mundhum (holy book of the Kirat people).