Puja

In the last few weeks I’ve had the special and insightful opportunity to witness and partake in several local festivals and a day of family worship called Puja. I thought you might enjoy a wee insight into my Puja experience ….

So to start with, Puja is a form of Hindu worship which can be performed in various ways and at different times of year. Muna wasn’t able to explain (or at least in a way I could understand) exactly what it meant and why the family was performing it now, but I gathered that it was generally intended to bring the family good luck through their giving of symbolic gifts (lots of food which I quite fancied eating, especially since we fasted from the previous night until 3pm the next day!)

The preparations for the day of worship reminded me of Christmas. Lots of people in the house and LOTS of food being prepared. At about 5.30am the morning before I was rudely awoken by the chatter of women below my window. Didi’s (the mother) friends had arrived to help in the preparations. A rather impressive operation followed: 6 women sat crossed-legged on a mat, either kneeding dough or rolling it into neat circles, to make pourri. Pourri is a type of fried bread, a wee bit like poppadoms but more greasy and softer.

During the preparations, I felt the most isolated I have felt so far - language barriers can be a difficult thing. As I tried to include myself by sitting outside, the women would look at me, say something and then enjoy a wee giggle. They didn’t speak English and I certainly don’t speak enough Nepali to worth mentioning. Having persevered for a good hour, I gave up and went to my room, where Muna found me. She was very sweet after I had explained to her what the matter was. She obviously told everyone that they were to make an effort to include me and for the rest of the day and the following day, I was continuously motioned to sit down in different groups preparing different things. The mother, who speaks no English at all, was particularly attentive apparently having been very sad to think I was feeling lonely!

The morning of Puja was spent in the garden surrounded by vast numbers of different family members and close friends. Typically, the men were inside while the women sat busily chopping veg and making sure everyone had enough tea to see them through the fasting period. (I’m sure they were adding extra sugar in an attempt to increase their calorie intake) Although it was the women who prepared the veg etc, it was the men who would cook it while only the women went to the temple. They apparently cook only for Puja and weddings.

At 11am, we made our way up the hill to the temple. Some of the older women were already there, having started their part of the ceremony with the 5 priests earlier in the morning. They had built a fire and drawn special shapes around it in colourful chalk. As the priests chanted, they threw seeds into the flames. Each woman had a tray with certain items on it: bananas, coloured powder, flowers, a special doughnut thing, incense sticks … Yup, a fairly random collection! When it was their turn, the women placed these objects on an ever increasing pile beside the fireplace.

The action was then taken into the temple itself where all the women gathered and the priests continued to chant … Five bowls of waxed rope (which I’d help to prepare) were set alight, coins were dropped into them, and they were carried by five women who walked round the central shrine in a circle. At this point, with the heat of the fires and the lack of food, I started to feel rather faint so I had to go and sit in the shade. Unfortunately, I thus can’t tell you how the ceremony continued but at the end they all came out with very red faces, carrying charcoal covered bamboo canes …

We finally got back to the house at about 3pm and spent the rest of the afternoon eating. The men had been rather enthusiastic with the spices and chillies because everyone was having difficulty finishing their food without the help of gallons of water! (Yes yes, I know that some of the men out there are thinking that maybe cooking should be left to the women …)

All in all it was a very interesting day to be part of and definitely added to my understanding of Hindu culture in Nepal, especially the importance and extent of the extended family! All the connections of “this is my mother’s brother’s wife’s brother’s cousin” were lost on me …

Tomorrow I’m leaving here for 3 weeks to go trekking and travelling with Sarah. I’m having mixed emotions about it because I’ll miss the family etc but I’m also looking forward to seeing other parts of Nepal, and being in Western company for a while … A good beer or two (or maybe even a glass of wine!) will also be greatly appreciated 

Photos

Here are a few photos to give you a taster of where I am and what I'm doing :)


Left: Me and Sarah with a bird-poo covered statue at a Hindu temple


Left: Me and Sarah on our adventurous walk from Nagarkot

Above: a typical terraced hill side farm.

Above right: enjoying a refreshing drink and the views of the Himalya from Nagarkot


Left: Me with the female members of the KC family on Muna's birthday

Below: Me and Muna on our boat at Serpent Lake

Below: Serpent Lake where Muna and I went "boating"

Below: Muna at Serpent Lake

Left: Me just near the house




Below: Patan Durbhar Square with the typical Hindu temples.

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Left: The view from my balcony

I'm going to do a written update this afternoon or tomorrow :) XXxx