Sithi Nakha: The Newar environment festival
A Newar festival, Sithi Nakha is celebrated at the onset of the rainy season. Newars celebrate it by worshipping Kartikeya or Kumar, son of Lord Shiva and Parvati, by preparing a small feast including traditional Newar dishes called Wo and Chatamari, and most importantly, cleaning the nearby water resources.
Sithi Nakha is also the last day for performing annual offering to the ancestral or guardian deities amongst the Newar community.
According to Tejeshwor Babu Gongah, cultural anthropologist, the word “sithi” was modified from the Sanskrit word “Shashthi” meaning sixth and “nakha” in Newar language, or Nepal Bhasha, means festival.
Thus the name Sithi Nakha was given because it is celebrated on the sixth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Jyestha in the Bikram Sambat calendar. It is also known as Kumar Shashthi.
“It’s a day to worship “Pikhalakhu.” “Pikha” means outside and “lakhu” means the rivers nearby,” says Gongah. Pikhalakhu is a small circle or a mandap drawn outside each household of the Newar community. The community also regards Pikhalakhu as the place of Kumar.
The cleaning up of wells, ponds and stone spouts on this particular day, marking it as a festival, has a great cultural importance in the Newar community.
Environmentalists, on the other hand, have realized that this festival links itself with social and environmental awareness issues. UN-Habitat has mentioned Sithi Nakha in its brochure as “to be supported nationally in an effort to both preserve water sources and promote rainwater harvesting.”
Gyani Maya Maharjan, a local of one of the oldest Newari settlements of Lukhusi in Patan, however, shares a different story.
She has vivid memories of celebrating Sithi Nakha by pulling the remaining water from wells, making it easier for the male members to climb down.
“But in course of time, this culture has disappeared. My children barely know about cleaning water sources,” says Maharjan.
Anil Chitrakar, social entrepreneur, who avidly works for environment, says, “It’s not going to be easy to revive Sithi Nakha as a social event, as our societies no longer share a common value.”
He also mentions that the idea of adaptability can play a crucial role in establishing a cultural norm in disintegrated societies.
There are some instances of Sithi Nakha celebrated as a social initiative for water resource conservation. In 2009, seven newly renovated wells were inaugurated on the day of Sithi Nakha at Machhegaun Village, five kilometers west from Kirtipur Municipality. However, there were no programs organized the following year on Sithi Nakha.
Bishnu Narayan Manandhar, president of Machhegaun Environment Improvement Committee, says that there is low hope for a program this year, too.
The above cases from the members of Newar communities prove that the basic essence of the festival is being gradually forgotten. People are carrying out the traditional chores but the community service has been edged out. The water resources which have now turned into drain or have dried up are the witnesses that people have put the sanitation part out of their minds.
When the Kathmandu Valley is suffering from a scarce supply of water, Sithi Nakha stipulates that communities save their water sources.
Gongah believes that there are two dimensions of culture. The first is the traditional approach, and the second is the dynamic approach. He further adds, “We should focus on the dynamism of the festival, which is to save the environmental resources.”
This year, Sithi Nakha will be celebrated two days after the World Environment Day.
Hence, it will be contextual to spread word about water resources and community actions while the major water resources around the city like Bagmati, Bishnumati and Tukucha are filled with filth.
With the 11th population census starting today, the government has geared up to collect census data nationwide.
The methods and techniques of population census have come a long way since the establishment of “Chhevarel Adda” which was established during the medieval Malla rule in Kathmandu to conduct census.
And with the foundation of the Central Bureau of Statistics under the National Planning Commission, modern census techniques were developed in Nepal.
Long before all that, the Newar communities of the Kathmandu Valley had their own system of keeping records of their demographic changes. However, the mechanism was more cultural than legal. Though not regarded as a formal census, the Newar communities still practice this traditional method of enumeration.
The old Newar settlements used to dig a hole in the ground at crossroads. The significant ones are seen at Nachhe Galli in Naya Sadak (now known as New Road) and Lukhusi in Patan.
Built during the 15th century in ‘Sikhara’ style, the Mahabudha temple located in Okubahal, Lalitpur is believed to have nine thousand statues of Buddha engraved on the outer surface. While terracotta bricks were used for construction of the temple Vajra, a mixture of brick powder, lime, lentil and fenugreek, was used to join the bricks.
History has it that it took four generations of the same family to complete construction of the temple. Pandit Abhayaraj in Nepal Sambat 685 (1564 AD), laid the foundation stone in his own residential courtyard. It is said that Goddess Vidhyadhari visited him in his dream and directed him to build the temple.
Pandit Abhayaraj had visited Mahabodhi Temple at Bodhgaya in India for meditation and samadhi.It was there that he decided to build a similar temple in his homeland and made a painting of the same. After his death, his sons and grandsons worked to build the temple taking reference from the painting.
Crafted by the artisan Hakuju, the temple’s construction was continued by his successors Muniju and Ratna Muni. It was completed during the 15th century in 1600 AD, after thirty-six years of hard work. The then king, Shiva Singha Malla is said to have participated in a worship ritual organized upon completion of the work.
The temple has images of Buddha, representing three segments that of the past, present and the future. Shakyamuni Budhha is placed in the main sanctum facing east, accompanied by images of Samantabhadra Bodhisattva and Vajrapani Bodhisattva on the sides.
The images of Dipankara Tathagata, Maitriya, Ratnapani, Padmapani, Visvapani, Amitabha, Ratnosish, Padmosnish and Vishwasnish are also enshrined in the temple on different directions.
The temple was demolished in the earthquake of 1934 AD. The lineage of the five sons of Pandit Abhayaraj, known as ‘Nyacho Aaju’, headed the reconstruction of the temple. Till date, families of the five elders look after the temple in turn.
The curator family changes every month. Reconstruction work was supervised by master artisan Jogmani Shakya.
“During the time when all of the houses of people were destroyed, Buddhi Narsingh Shakya and Devraj Shakya stepped ahead to supervise the reconstruction,” says Naresh Man Shakya, former president of Mahabudhha Temple Preservation Organization.
Ahoratra Yajna, a fire ritual that lasts day and night, was performed to mark the completion of reconstruction in 1938 A.D. Judhha Shamsher, the then Rana Prime Minister had visited the temple for the ritual.
He was so impressed by the works that he reimbursed the loan provided by the government for construction of the temple.
At present, Mahabudhha Temple Preservation Organization, established in 1999 A.D. maintains the temple.
The committee had also renovated the temple in the year 2000 with support from the locals. Images of Shakyamuni Buddha, Amitabha and other images on the outer walls of the temple have also been repaired.
Though situated in the main city area, the temple is secluded amongst the inner lane of Okubahal, with the ambience being peaceful and serene. The periphery of the shrine is well maintained with good sanitation and proper places for lighting ‘dewas’ (traditional brass temple lamps).
According to Naresh Man Shakya, the temple always faced financial crisis for the reformation and other activities. Therefore, the temple preservation committee has been collecting entrance fees from non-Nepalis, which according to them is used for the temple’s conservation.
One might easily dismiss them as some random stones worshipped as gods, like many similar stone images in the Kathmandu Valley. However, these are important holes, and are known as “Chhwasha” in the Newar language.
These holes are made offering of a placenta, a pair of cloth items, and some raw bricks. Offerings are also made during a Newar feast, on the occasion of births, deaths, or marriages – important events that take place in the community.
According to the Newari dictionary “Nepal Bhasha Tah Khagwa Dhuku” published by Nepal Bhasha Academy, “Chhwasha” refers to two things. First, it is regarded as a place to dispose of the placenta of a newborn child in a mud basin, and a pair of cloth pieces of a recently deceased person. According to the second meaning, it is also a hole located at crossroads.
And “Chhwasha Ajima” refers to the Goddess Ajima residing in that hole, and “Chhwasha” also refers to the record keeper/s of births and deaths in the community.
Indra Mali, editor of the dictionary and culture expert, says that there are two types of Chhwasha Ajima—Matangi Ajima and Dhumawati Ajima – residing in every Chhwasha.
The two Ajimas differ in the following ways: Matangi is offered leftovers, while Dhumawati is offered a sacred share. However, this difference pointed out by Mali has not yet been properly researched.
“Chhwasha Ajima is an abstract concept with no specific image, but it symbolizes a very powerful goddess in the Newari community,” says Satya Mohan Joshi, a cultural analyst. He adds that new settlements do not have any more of those holes, but they still remain important in various rituals.
Tejeshwar Babu Gongah, another Newar cultural anthropologist, on the other hand, interprets Chhwasha Ajima as a way to recognize the importance of women.
“As women have the power to give birth to a new life, thus, Chhwasha Ajima is informed about the births, deaths, weddings and other events and rituals,” says Gongah.
In a Newar community, apart from disposing of the placenta of a newborn baby in Chhwasha and a pair of a deceased person’s cloths along with three raw bricks to inform about births and deaths in the community, feasts and other important functions are also held in society which need to be kept records of.
The objects thrown in the Chhwasha are cleaned up by a particular caste of people known as Kusle. Since they are also in charge of keeping tabs on the births, deaths and marriages in a certain area, they are known as “twa-jo,” according to Gongah. Literally, “twa-jo” means the “person who holds the town.”
Though the origins of Chhwasha cannot be properly tracked, Gongah believes that it was started to keep records of births and deaths by the community itself.
“At present, our country needs a lot of fund for population census, but the Chhwasha indicates the social responsibility of the citizens before there was any formal official survey,” says Gongah.
The budget of one billion and one hundred and eighty million US dollars allocated to the current population census supports Gongah’s opinion. The participation of community and the spirit of “twa-jo” are always required to help the country in its current transitional phase.
