|
Gai Jatra, the festival of cows, (''gai'' means cow and ''jatra'' means festival in Nepali: गाई जात्रा, and Nepal Bhasa: सा पारु) is celebrated in Nepal, mainly in Kathmandu valley by the Newar and Tharu community.〔() Nepal Home Page〕 The festival commemorates the death of people during the year. During the festival, cows are marched in the streets and generally celebrated in the Nepalese month of Bhadra (August–September). It falls on the 1st day of the dark fortnight of Gunla according to the lunar Nepal Era calendar. Peoples also distributes food to others. The festival of cows is one of the most popular festivals of Nepal. * The whole complex of Gai Jatra festival has its roots in the ancient ages when people feared and worshiped Yamaraj, the god of death. However, the ironic sessions synonymous with the Gai Jatra festival entered the tradition in the medieval period of Nepal during the reign of the Malla Kings. Hence, the present form of Gaijatra is a happy blending of antiquity and the medieval era. * According to the traditions since time immemorial, every family who has lost one relative during the past year must participate in a procession through the streets of Kathmandu leading a cow. If a cow is unavailable then a young boy dressed as a cow is considered a fair substitute. * In Hinduism, a cow is regarded as the most venerated among all the domestic animals. It is believed that the cow, revered as a holy animal by Hindus, will help the deceased relative's journey to heaven. * According to the historical evidence, when King Pratap Malla lost his son, his wife, the queen, remained grief-stricken. The king was very sad to see the condition of his beloved queen. The king, in spite of several efforts, could not lessen the grief of his wife. He desperately wanted to see a little smile on the lips of his sweetheart, and so he announced that anyone who made the queen laugh would be rewarded adequately. * During the festival of Gaijatra, the cow procession was brought before the grief-stricken queen. Then the participants began ridiculing and be-fooling the important people of the society. Finally, when the social injustices and other evils were highlighted and attacked mercilessly, the queen could not help but smile. The queen laughed and the king instituted a tradition of including jokes, satire, mockery and lampoon into the GaiJatra celebration. * After the procession is over, in the afternoon, nearly everyone takes part in another age-old tradition in which the participants dress up and wear masks. The occasion is filled with songs and jokes. Mockery and humor of every kind become the order of the day until late evening. Hence, Gaijatra is a healthy festival which enables the people to accept the reality of death and to prepare themselves for life after death. According to Hinduism, "whatever a man does in his life is a preparation leading to a good life after death". ==GaiJatra in different cities== ===Kathmandu=== Kathmandu is considered to be the main source of this festival as the king who started this festival was of this city. After the show presented to the queen was a success, it became an annual program to present the queen with this festival. As time passed on and as the kings and the queens passed on the festival has been passed on from generation to generation. In main Kathmandu, people celebrate it with much happiness and many programs than those on Patan. If a father had died the previous year then the elder son dresses up like a cow and goes around the city, and if the mother had died then it is the duty of the younger son to go around the city dressed up like a cow. The procession is now not that of joke, satire or mockery but has become a serious but enjoyable event that will help their beloved ones to rest in peace. The procession goes around the city to different parts of the suburbs and the inner urban areas to present the devotion to their loved ones. The people involved in this procession get small packets with fruits, sweets, oats and other food items to help them in their tour around the city, by many people watching the festival and by their loved ones. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gai Jatra」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|