MUSTANG, Sept 27: Although Dashain is mainly a Hindu festival, even Buddhist people of Thini in Mustang district celebrate the festival with merrymaking for ten days. But unlike Hindus, they sacrifice sheep instead of goat and on the Vijaya Dashami day they put on white tika on their foreheads instead of a red tika.
“We have been celebrating Dashain by putting Tika and Jamara (barley and maize shoots) as a tribute to the struggles of the kings of Mustang,” said Kul Bahadur Thakali, a local community leader, adding, “We sacrifice sheep by using the weapons used by the Thini king during the war with the king of Jumla.”
The art of giving
Buddhist of Gharpojong Rural Municipality-5, Thini have been celebrating Dashain since the 16th century.
While Hindus pay visits to their elders and relatives to receive tika and blessings, people of Thini observe the tika ceremony only at their homes, he informed.
Similarly, the jamara growing tradition is also different in Thini. Unlike Hindus who grow jamara at their homes, jamara is grown only at the house of the community leader in Thini.
Niraj Thakali, a local of the same village said, “We celebrate Dashain as a tribute to our rulers and ancestors."
