Chepang community observing Chonam festival today

Muglin (Chitwan), Sept 7: The Chepang community is observing the Chonam (Nwagi) festival today. The national religious festival of the Chepang community falls on Bhadau 22 in the Lunar calendar.     

Like in the previous years, the Chonam festival is being observed collectively today in Tomandanda of Gandaki rural municipality of Gorkha district, said central Chair of Nepal Chepang Association, Govindaram Chepang.     

At the initiative of the Association, people from the Chepang community gather at a location of their choice to observe the festival collectively. Last year the festival was observed collectively in Chyangli of Gajuri rural municipality-5, Dhading.     

The festival features singing, dancing and savouring various delicacies. It is also marked as the day when you start having meals of new cereals for the year. Relatives are invited for a family feast, while the local shaman sacrifices and offers chicken blood to the appease the ancestors.     

According to national population census 2021, the total population of Chepang in Nepal is 84,364, with a majority of them living in Chitwan. They are also scattered around Makwanpur, Dhading and Gorkha districts, with presence in 26 of the 77 districts in the country.     

Meanwhile, on the occasion of the national festival Nwagi of the Chepang community, the Bagmati provincial government has announced a public holiday today in Chitwan, Makwanpur and Dhading districts. (RSS)