Nepal's Religious Festivals Newars celebrate Saat Gaonley Jatra Thakalis celebrate Toran-la

Hundreds of villagers of Newar community living in seven villages of the Valley's Southwest part celebrated the locally popular festival of Saat Gaonley Jatra (festival of seven villages). The festival is celebrated at the premises of Vishnu Devi temple, located in Tinthana village, on the way to Macchegaon.

Newar community in this part of the Valley celebrates this festival every year according to the lunar calendar in the Dashami Tithi. People from seven villages - Satungul, Besigaon, Lahankot, Macchegaon, Taukhel, Naikap and Teenthana converged at the Vishnu Devi temple to offers prayers. As per the tradition, decorated chariots carrying the daughters of Goddess Vishnu Devi were brought from Satungul, Macchegaon and Naikap villages to the temple of Vishnu Devi on the midnight amid a chanting of drums and other traditional instruments.

And the chariot of Lord Bhairab was brought from Besigaon and Lahankot villages to the temple.A stone-script at the temple shows that the temple was built in the 17th century. Beside these seven villages, people in Kirtipur and Panga villages also celebrate this festival, but in their own way. After the completion of the festival, the chariots are kept at the temple vicinity and are taken back to their respective villages only after a year.People celebrate the occasion in their respective villages in their own way, which will continue for a week.

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The Thakalis, living in Kathmandu remembertheir forefathers, celebrating the annual festival of Torna-la. "Toran-la" is the most important festival of the Thakalis religiously as well as culturally. The people of the community gathered in the capital, exchanged greeting and spent time with traditional game of archery and other indoor games. The women clad in their traditional long skirt while the men in daura-suruwal were busy in the sunny day at Balaju, an outskirt of Kathmandu.

Worshipping the dead souls is the major part of the festival whereas playing archery, singing song and dancing are other adjoining games are its merry side.

The Thakalis have four main clans and each of them worships its own clan god or goddess. Their idols - Lha Langba Nhurbu, Lha Chhyurin Gyalmo, Lha Khangla Sinkki Karpo and Lha Hyaba Hangjyung - are in animals guise.

Thakali people, originally from the inner Himalayas of Thakkhola, are known for their unrivalled hospitality. Most of them in the villages and highways run restaurants where family atmosphere overpowers business. According to the 1991 census, the Thakalis occupy 0.07 percent of the population while 0.43 percent of them speak their mother language.