Maghi festival lights up Kathmandu

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Jan. 16: The indigenous Tharu community celebrated the Maghi festival on Thursday, highlighting their culture and rich traditions. Members of the Tharu community living in the Kathmandu Valley staged a rally in the morning, wearing traditional attire and jewellery. 

The rally, which featured Tharu cultural performances, was organised from Basantapur to Tundikhel. Traditional Tharu dishes such as Dhikri, Andik Bhat, fish, pork, pigeon, ghongi, crab were also the highlight at the festival. Various cultural and traditional programmes, including exhibitions of food, traditional costumes, handmade items, and indigenous products, were held. 

The festival also marked the beginning of the Tharu New Year. With the start of the New Year, the community elects new village leaders, priests, postmen, guards, and household heads for a one-year term. 

Tharus live across 23 districts of the inner Tarai and Tarai regions, stretching from Jhapa in the east to Kanchanpur in the west. In 2011 (2068 BS), the government declared a public holiday for the Tharu community on the occasion of Maghi. Earlier, in 2007 (2064 BS), Maghi was recognised as a national festival. 

According to the Tharu Sambat, this year marks 2649 Magh. Tharus celebrate Maghi as their New Year, settling transactions and accounts by the end of the month of Poush and opening new accounts from Magh 1. They review the work completed during the year, settle accounts, pay wages to those engaged in village duties, and make new appointments from Magh 1. The festival is considered the New Year as it involves making new plans for the coming year and assigning responsibilities to achieve those plans. 

Meanwhile, on the occasion of Maghe Sankranti, Magars living in Kathmandu also organised a cultural rally. Organised by the Nepal Magar Association Central Committee, Magars from the Kathmandu Valley staged a cultural rally from Bhrikuti Mandap to Tundikhel on Thursday. 

It is customary for brothers to bathe on the morning of Maghe Sankranti, perform rituals, worship their ancestors, and offer tika and gifts to their sisters. In the Magar community, a gift made from yams, fruits, vegetables, and other food items is known as mishra or nisro. The Magar Association has also organised a National Festival of Original Culture at Tundikhel to promote and globalise the indigenous culture of the Magar community and get it listed in the national cultural heritage register of the Government of Nepal.