KATHMANDU, Aug 2: The Newar communities across Nepal, including the Kathmandu Valley, are celebrating the Ghathe Mangal festival today on the occasion of Shrawan Krishna Paksha Gantakarna Chaturdashi. The festival is marked by grand celebrations involving worshiping Gantakarna and praying for peace and prosperity at home.

During the Ghantakarna festival, the community constructs an anthropomorphic monster made from reeds and wheat stalks, placing it in the streets. It is also customary to designate a person as a demon for the purpose of collecting money.

In the evening, the monster effigy, along with various utensils, is carried to the nearest river, street, or outside the city and burned. Traditional songs with humorous and obscene lyrics are sung, and traditional musical instruments are played as the effigy is set alight.

The festival begins early in the morning with the Newar community cleaning their homes. After bathing, everyone in the house visits temples dedicated to Mahadev and Narayan, bringing water back to sprinkle throughout the house for purification. All daily-use utensils are also washed and cleaned. It is customary not to eat until the purification process is complete.

Following the cleaning, the Newars perform ‘bau vai jy (exorcism). This involves preparing a small bowl made of raw clay or Salicha (a type of earthenware pot) filled with beaten rice, scallions, garlic, red chilies, black soybeans, colorful flags, and cloth-wrapped wooden sticks. This bowl is taken to a junction where two or four roads meet to drive away evil spirits.

In addition to the exorcism, peacock feathers of five colors and three-legged iron nails are affixed to the main door of the house. It is believed that these practices prevent ghosts from entering the home.

Small children in the household are adorned with iron or copper rings, and adult girls often carve tattoos on their legs on this day.

The festival is named ‘Gantakarna’ because it celebrates a demon who is said to walk around with bells hanging from his ears. Gantakarna is also considered a symbol of Shiva, as he was a devoted follower who rejected all other deities.

The Rudrayamal Tantra recounts a tale of a tantric who defeated a demon by transforming into a frog. Thus, the tradition of making and raising a symbol of Gantakarna on Chaturdashi in Shrawan’s Krishna Paksha aims to prevent the repetition of evil deeds. In the evening, the demon effigy is taken to a river, pond, or road and burned.

From this day onward, traditional dances and musical instruments are practiced within the Newar community. The preparation for the satirical plays performed during Gaijatra, as well as the famous Navadurga dance of Bhaktapur, begins today, including the crafting of masks.

 
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