The Rising Nepal
BY MALA KARNA
Kalyanpur, Sept. 17: Celebrated with a wish for longevity of the children, the festival of Jitiya has begun from Friday.
One of the major festivals of the Mithilanchal zone, it has commenced with the observance of the ‘Naha Kha’ ritual, which means to take food after taking the ritualistic bath.
On the first day, the women take dips into nearby rivers and ponds in the early morning before fasting rituals start. They offer mustard cake, molasses and mustard oil to the deity Jitamahan.
There is a religious belief that when the offered oil is put on the head of children, they will be blessed with good health and long life, said Sharmila Yadav, local of Bishanpur of Khadak Municipality-8.
Fasting women eat fish, millet bread and curry made from ‘nuni’ grass after finishing worshiping process. Single and fasting women eat only millet bread, green vegetable and fruits.
Maithali and Tharu women celebrate this festival wishing for longevity of their children and husbands.
The fasting rituals are performed on Ashwin Krishna Asthami which begins from 2:00pm Saturday and concludes on the next day at 5:20pm Sunday evening, said Ramchalitar Yadav, a local.
The fasting women have to observe fast called ‘Ogathan” in the local language which requires them to apply some foods – millet bread, green vegetables, fish, among others – on their lips early in the morning before the cawing of crows.
Fasting women are required to eat food before the start of Asthami. Performed on Ashwin Krishna Asthami, the eighth day, the fasting ritual is very tough in itself.
Fasting women take fast without drinking a drop of water. There is a strong belief that if a fasting woman burps, coughs or mistakenly bites the tongue, her fast is believed to have been unsuccessful, said Dharanjaya Jha, a priest.
The festival falls on the 7th, 8th and 9th day of the waxing moon (Krishna Pakshya) in the Nepali month of Ashwin.
There is a myth associated with festival: Once upon a time there was a king called Shalivahan. One day, a demon took away seven sons of a women and it was the king who brought back her sons from the captivity of the demon.
Since then, the women started observing the festival by renaming the king as Jitamahan, in gratitude to the king.
