Yomari Purnima: What exactly are Yomari, legends, & Newari folklore?

KATHMANDU: Yomari Purnima, the Newar community’s special festival, is today (Yomari Punhi). This day’s main attraction is Yomari. Yomari is a popular dish in the Newar community. It is now popular not only in Newar but also in other communities.

Yomari is a word from the Newari language. It consists of two words. The words ‘yo’ and’mari’ mean favorite and sweet, respectively. Yomari is made from paddy rice, sesame, and chaku. As everyone enjoys Yomari, the name of this dish was retained.

In this dish, which is made by inserting a chaku into the rice flour, it is found that khuwa is also used instead of sesame seeds. The majority of the Newar community’s food is prepared in accordance with the seasons. Yomari steamed in hot steam is thought to be ideal for eating during the winter months.

Yomari contains carbohydrates from the rice flour, glucose from the chaku, and protein from the sesame seeds. It gives the body heat and energy. As a result, eating Yomari in the winter is scientifically appropriate.

The night preceding Yomari Purnima is said to be the longest of the year. A person who does not get enough sleep even on this night is considered the laziest by the Newars. As a result, on this night, members of the Newar community, particularly women, wake up at 3-4 a.m. and begin cooking Yomari. According to legend, the Yomari’s beak predicts the coming winter. Yomari’s beak grows longer as the winter lengthens. And if it is less, Yomari’s beak is also made a little shorter.

• ALSO READ:- Kirant community celebrates Udhauli festival

According to Newari legends, Panauti Nagar was originally known as Punyavati Nagar. Suchendra Vaishya was the name of a person. Those who have amassed a large fortune through charity, religion, and deeds. As a result, Kubera, the richest man in Devloka, disguised himself as a poor Brahmin and visited the Vaishya’s house on the day of Mangsir Shukla Paksha, i.e. today.

Vaishya satiated him with delectable food. Kubera disguised himself as his true self and suggested to Vaishya that he make a Yomari, worship it with bimiro (citron), and keep it in dhukuti for four days. The Newari community believes that when Vaishya did this, the wealth of Vaishya’s house increased even more.

Accordingly, the Newars worship Yomari cooked on this day by keeping it in a dhukuti and after four days they call their daughters and serve it as prasad (food and water offered to a deity during worship).

According to the same legend, Yomari Purnima is also known as the day to appease Goddess dhan devi.

-Tenzing Dolma Tamang