KATHMANDU, Nov 13: The Chhath festival has brought religious and cultural vibrancy not only to villages and settlements across the Tarai-Madhesh but also to cities, marketplaces and the hills. Celebrated through the worship of the Sun, the festival has also provided a seasonal economic boost to the Dom and Marik communities, whose traditional livelihoods depend on making bamboo products.
With the festival approaching, demand for bamboo products such as dhaki, konia, nanglo, dali, kansupo, chalno and pankha has increased. These products are considered essential for carrying offerings during Chhath rituals, bringing a busy season for artisans and traders who depend on their sales.
Markets in Birgunj, Kalaiya and Jitpur in the districts of Parsa and Bara have seen increased demand. Making household and ritual items from bamboo strips and split bamboo has traditionally been an occupation of the Dom community.
Ram Kumar Malik of Barewa, Kalaiya, said he has been extremely busy making bamboo products as demand rises during the festival. He said the increasing use of plastic products has threatened their traditional occupation, as bamboo products now sell mainly during Deepawali and Chhath. However, the religious and cultural importance of using bamboo utensils during the festivals has helped them continue their ancestral occupation.
In the past, when bamboo products were widely used in everyday life, the community could earn a living throughout the year. Now, although demand is largely limited to two festivals, the income generated during the season helps support their families for around three to four months.
Similarly, 35-year-old Som Marik of Gadhi Rural Municipality-2 in Sunsari has continued the occupation of his forefathers after dropping out of school in Grade 5.
"I did not feel like studying after Grade 5, so I started doing the work my forefathers had been doing. I have been supporting my family through this work," he said. "The products do not sell at other times. Chhath is the main opportunity to earn."
Som sold around 500 konia and dhaki at the Thursday market alone. A konia costs Rs 100, while a dhaki costs Rs 400. He said the earnings from Chhath sales help support his family throughout the year. He makes konia, dhaki, nanglo and dala from bamboo and sells them at weekly markets in Duhabi, Gadhi and Inaruwa.
Like Som, members of the Marik community in Gadhi, Duhabi, Harinagar, Bhokraha Narsingh, Inaruwa and Ramdhuni have been making and selling bamboo products for generations. They often travel to markets across eastern Nepal to sell their products.
The festival also brings business opportunities for traders who purchase bamboo products from the Marik community and resell them. Ramesh Sharma of Inaruwa Municipality-2 said he was busy selling bamboo products at the Thursday market. He said such products have a strong market mainly during the festival season. Nagendra Kumar Sah of Inaruwa also sells bamboo nanglo purchased from Marik artisans at weekly markets.
Chhath festival being observed today
Clay utensils and other worship materials have also been in high demand. Sabitri Devi Pandit of Inaruwa Municipality-2 was busy selling machine-made clay products at the Thursday market. She said customers also visit her home to purchase the products for resale in other markets. The market was crowded with people buying bamboo and clay items and other materials needed for Chhath rituals.
Preparations complete at Budhikhola
Preparations for Chhath have been completed at Budhikhola in Itahari, including the booking of worship ghats at Budhiganga-Jamuna Muktidham, located along the Sunsari-Morang border.
The organizing committee said Chhath, celebrated by residents of Itahari Sub-Metropolitan City in Sunsari and Sundarharaicha Municipality in Morang, has increasingly become a symbol of religious, cultural and social unity.
Chhath has been formally organized in Itahari for 36 years, although the festival was celebrated in the area on a smaller scale even before that. A temple has also been constructed at Muktidham to preserve and institutionalize its religious and cultural significance.
According to organizing committee Chairperson Basudev Karn, 650 worship ghats have been booked for this year's festival, compared to 600 last year. Committee Secretary Mukesh Chaudhary said the number of ghats has been increasing every year.
The committee expects a significant number of devotees from Sunsari, Morang and other areas, including relatives who visit Itahari during Dashain and Tihar and celebrate Chhath there. Preparations have also been made at Duhabi and Jhumka, along the Sunsari River in Inaruwa and on the banks of the Saptakoshi River.
Festive fervor spreads across Madhesh
Preparations for Chhath, one of the major festivals of faith and devotion in Madhesh, have intensified in villages across the region. Devotees have begun cleaning their surroundings, arranging worship materials and preparing for the four-day celebration dedicated to Chhathi Maiya.
As part of the preparations, villagers have cleaned their main roads and sung traditional Chhath songs while praying for the long lives of their brothers and the happiness, peace and prosperity of their families. They have also started building new clay stoves for preparing mahaprasad, a tradition commonly observed in Madhesh villages.
Shanti Devi, 85, of Gadhimai-4 in Parsa, who has been observing the Chhath fast for seven decades, said purity and cleanliness are given special importance during the festival. From building the stove to preparing offerings and arranging worship materials, all activities are carried out according to religious rituals.
The main rituals begin Friday with Nahay-Khay, when devotees bathe, purify themselves and eat pure vegetarian food. In many Madhesh villages, well-off and devoted people also provide rice, lentils, wheat, sathi rice and seasonal vegetables to the homes of those observing the fast.
On Saturday, devotees will prepare kheer, puri and other delicacies on newly built clay stoves as part of Kharna. After performing the evening rituals and consuming the offerings, they begin a rigorous fast without food or water.
On Sunday evening, devotees will gather at ponds, rivers and other water bodies to offer arghya to the setting Sun. Chhath ghats are being decorated with banana trunks, flower garlands, lights and other worship materials, while families are preparing traditional offerings.
Following the evening rituals, devotees return home, although some remain at the ghats throughout the night, singing devotional songs, bhajans and kirtans in praise of Chhathi Maiya.
The festival concludes on Monday morning when devotees offer arghya to the rising Sun before breaking their fast.
According to priest Jay Prakash Mishra, purity, restraint, truthfulness and devotion are central to Chhath. Devotees are expected to maintain purity in their thoughts, words and actions, avoid telling lies and keep their minds peaceful throughout the festival.
He said Chhath is observed in Madhesh particularly to pray for long lives, happiness, peace, prosperity and continued progress of husbands, children and other family members. Beyond individual religious faith, the festival has increasingly emerged as an expression of family bonds, social cooperation and cultural unity.
Preparations for Chhath traditionally begin around Kojagrat Purnima, when devotees start following a sattvic lifestyle, cleaning their homes and surroundings and arranging worship materials. The festival gives special importance to the Sun as a source of life, energy and prosperity, with devotees offering arghya to both the setting and rising Sun.
Decorated Chhath ghats, featuring bamboo sup, dhaki, clay utensils, fruits, thekua and bhuswa, turn villages and cities across Madhesh into festive spaces. The festival is widely regarded as a unique combination of religious faith, rigorous devotion, respect for nature and prayers for family well-being.
A shared cultural celebration
Nepalgunj, a major commercial and cultural center in western Tarai, has also become vibrant with preparations for Chhath. Preparations for the four-day festival have intensified around the pond at the historic Bageshwori Temple.
Painting, renovation and the installation of electric lights at the temple pond, Ranitalau and other water bodies have reached the final stage. Markets have also become increasingly crowded with people buying bamboo nanglo and dhaki, clay lamps, bananas, sugarcane, coconuts and jaggery.
Once considered a festival largely confined to eastern Tarai and the Mithila region, Chhath has gradually evolved into a shared cultural celebration among different communities in Banke.
Although the festival's history in Nepalgunj is relatively recent, its popularity has grown significantly. The tradition was introduced by people who moved to Banke from eastern Tarai for employment, trade and government service and has since developed into one of the major religious gatherings in western Nepal.
According to Mithila Sewa Samaj Chairperson Ram Lochan Shah, the tradition of celebrating Chhath in Banke began around 1982. In its initial years, a group of five people, including Ramkewal Das, Haridev Mahato, Kewal Krishnalal Das and Mahendra Shah, started organizing Chhath Puja at Ranitalau in Nepalgunj.
The growing participation of people from different communities has helped transform Chhath into a broader celebration of cultural identity, religious devotion and social harmony beyond its traditional strongholds.
Contributed by Nagarik Republic Media reporters Amar Khadka, Madan Thakur, Upendra Yadav and Ganesh Bishu.
_20211110163458.png)
