Newar community marks Yomari Punhi today

BY SUSHMA MAHARJAN,Kathmandu, Dec. 26: Yomari Punhi is a major festival of the Newars in Kathmandu. ‘Yomari’ means favourite confection in the Newari language. It is celebrated annually on the full moon of the Nepali month of Mangsir. 

On the occasion, the people of the Newar community prepare a special delicacy called yomari, a closed cone-shaped cuisine made of rice flour filled with molasses and sesame seeds. 

The festival also marks the end of the harvesting season. 

Sunita Maharjan, a local from Kilagal, said that she celebrates by cleaning her house, performing puja and offering yomari to the god and goddess early in the morning. Afterwards, she prepares a feast for her family.

According to Maharjan, yomari is made from the flour of the first harvested paddy and offered to the paddy bhakari, a traditional container for storing food grains. This is done with prayers for the harvested grain to be sufficient for the family throughout the year. She said that people celebrate by performing ‘tyo-si-tyo’, a tradition, where groups visit houses in the community singing folklore. 

Upon their arrival, the house owners gift them yomari, fruits and other items and in return the group bless them with good fortune and life, Sunita said.

According to her, the tyo-si-tyo carries traditional and cultural values.

 She said, “Newar people value sharing food and celebrating festivals with family and friends. Historically, yomari was a rare food prepared once a year. Thus, people used to play tyo-si-tyo and share yomari in the community.”

Furthermore, making yomari is considered a way to showcase skills of housewives. Yomari’s unique cone shape featuring a head and tail allows for artistic expression. The tail can be elongated and the head can be shaped into figures like birds, one horn and two horns or even flattened. 

There is a belief that the longer the tail of the yomari, the longer the day will become from that day onward. Additionally, the delicacy is nutritionally valued since it is made of rice flour and sweet ingredients that help generate body heat. 

Meanwhile, some people now celebrate the festival at their convenience due to busy lifestyles. 

Sahayog Ranjit, a local, said that his family celebrates when they find free time. He said at least one festival falls every month in a Newar community. He said, “I and my family members are employed. We don’t have enough time to prepare for the feast. Thus, we call a gathering of the closed family when we have free time and celebrate it together.”

At the meantime, many organisations have started organising rallies and fairs to celebrate and preserve the festival. On the occasion, people dressed in Newari attire gather at Basantapur to participate in the events. 

This year, a rally is being organised from Basantapur. It will pass through Tengal,, Chhetrapati, Thahiti, Ason, Indra Chowk, Ombahal, Lagan and Maru  before returning to Basantapur. 

Similarly, ‘Dhulikhel Yomari Festival’ is scheduled for Tuesday in Dhulikhel of Kavrepalanchowk. Dhulikhel Lacchi Women Group chairperson Diwa Byaju informed that a yomari jatra will be taken from Chochhen Tole to Narayansthan in Dhulikhel.