In Bhumlutar, Kavre there is a small village of Majhi people called Bhumlu Majhi Gau. In this village, they pass down two very important myths regarding worship. The first is that of Dhan and Mangal Shinga Bajai. As the story goes, one day when the two brothers were 2 and 3 years old, their mother was out working and left them on the front porch. When she wasn’t looking, a tiger came and grabbed them, took them up the hill a bit, and ate their bodies, but left their heads. A few days after their deaths, their mother called a priest to communicate with their spirits. They told her not to move their heads so that they could still be with their bodies. In return, they only desired to be worshiped every year during a festival so that they are able to protect the village. Now, there stands a small shrine in the village at the place where the boys were eaten that commemorates their death. They are not believed to be gods, but are worshipped by the Majhi people of the village.

This is the shrine to the two Bajai brothers. It nearly blends in to its surroundings on the hillside. If you look closely, you can see the two stones that are placed on the ground in honor of the boys.

Devi Sisters

The second story tells of two snakes that kept visiting the village. These snakes would constantly come to the village and watch the people work, but wouldn’t attack or cause any harm. When the villagers got curious about the presence of the snakes, they asked the priest to inquire about it. Therefore, the priest called to the spirits of the Bajai brothers to ask why the snakes kept coming to the village. They said that the snakes were actually two sister goddesses who didn’t have a home. If the people in the village were to construct a home for the goddesses, then the goddesses would protect the village. In response, the villagers constructed two small temples to Kati and Set Devi, the two sisters. The temples still exist today and it is said that every now and then the snakes will come and inhabit the temples as living goddesses.

The district of Kavre, where Bhumlu Majhi Gau is located

Conclusion

I am a Westerner. Therefore, both of these stories were very foreign to me. Not just because they were people and goddesses I had never heard of; but because they were ideas that I had never even thought about. In Nepal, the physical and spiritual realms are very much intertwined while in the United States, they are very separate. In the United States, if two boys go missing, there may be a search teams, news reports, or amber alerts. But in Nepal, after the two boys went missing, the mother inquired about their spirits to the local priest. Not only this, but in order to incur protection for the village, the priest suggested building a shrine and worshiping the boys, while in the U.S., we would construct a wall or create some sort of physical defense system. In the United States, we rely more on tangible and controllable solutions to problems, while in Nepal they look for spiritually-driven solutions. The two ways of viewing the world are very different.

I have quite literally visited the opposite side of the world-both physically and culturally. The stark contrast in the customs and norms of the two worlds has broadened my perspective more than I could have anticipated. I am not here to make any statements on how one way of living is better than the other. I suspect that, like most things in life, there is a balance or middle ground to be found somewhere. I am simply here to observe that there are other views of the world than the one you and I might be familiar with. As a result, with a world moving toward continual globalization, maybe it is a good idea to put yourself in someone else’s shoes, learn how they live, and begin to understand the world through their eyes.

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During our time here, we learned about the Gadhimai festival which happens every five years. The last one was in 2014, and the next will happen in the following year in September or October. During the festival, over 100,000 animals are slaughtered for a sacrifice to Gadhimai.

The festival started around 250 years ago when a priest was told in a dream that spilled blood would encourage Gadhimai to free him from prison. Animals that are slaughtered include: water buffaloes, goats, chickens, pigs, and pigeons. There are 300-500 men who are selected by the temple committee to be the butchers during the event. They must have a license. However, none of the men have any experience in the humane killing of animals. These men will often pay to be able to slaughter the animals. The position is greatly honored and valued.

All castes are allowed to attend the festival. Around 4 million attended the last Gadhimai festival in 2014. Men, women, and children gather around to partake. People from all over the terai region travel to participate in Gadhimai. Animals are brought in from India and all over Nepal.

In the eyes of Hindus, animal sacrifice is the most powerful way to appease the gods. Not only that, but it provides an income to families in the area. They eat the meat, sell it, and make a profit off of leather.

Many people oppose the festival for a number of reasons.

1. The animals are mistreated before the festival even starts: Animals either have to walk for days to get to the Bara district or remain cramped in trucks or on bicycles. They are often starved of food and water for the whole journey. Small animals are cramped into small spaces with no ventilation. The committee members claim that the animals will be killed quickly and painlessly during the festival. However, this is not the case.
2. Health hazards: Because of their religious beliefs, they do not realize nor accept the health hazards that might exist in consuming meat that has been sitting for days in unsanitary conditions. They believe that the offering cannot decay. There is no concept of hygiene during the festival. Carcasses lay all around the area. There is so much blood that it is impossible not to walk in.
3. Mental health: Children are taken to witness all that occurs during Gadhimai. Many children are left depressed and fearful after the festival.

Efforts by animal equality organizations have been made to put an end to the festival, but have not been entirely successful. However, steps have been made to reduce the number of killings. Animal Equality India requested to ban the movement of animals across the Indo-Nepal border during the festival. Because of this, around 2,000 animals were stopped at the border. At one time, it was believed that the animal sacrifice was banned at the festival. However, the temple chairman said otherwise. He told BBC, “Devout Hindus could be requested not to offer animal sacrifice to the goddess, but they could not be forced not to do so – nor [could] the tradition be banned or stopped completely.”

From my conversations with villagers that I met in the Bara district, the festival still seems to be thriving. Although obvious efforts have been made in attempt to end the festival, every single person I encountered said that the festival would indeed happen again in fall of 2019, along with the animal sacrifices. People have offered other solutions, such as having a peaceful worship celebration and offering fruit or vegetables to this goddess rather than killing animals. However, devout Hindus have made it known that if they do not kill thousands of animals, entire villages will be destroyed. This deity will not compromise.

Sources used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadhimai_festival

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33699136

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While in Nagarkot, I had the privilege of talking to two women about their lives in their village. From my short stay in Nagarkot, I learned that the people in the area practiced Hinduism and Buddhism. Oddly, there were no visible temples or places of worship nearby. The two women so kindly offered to take my friends and me to their own personal place of worship.

We approached a dark room where there was a large picture of a man on the wall with a red light glowing above his head. Out of the temples and prayer rooms I have visited, this was the first time I saw a human being at the focus of the worship. I already had so many questions.

We sat down on pillows in a circle as the women started to give us an overview of this spiritual teaching they practice known as “Om Shanti,” which they tied into Hinduism. In Hinduism, the three principal gods recognized are Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the sustainer), and Shiva (the destroyer) with Shiva primarily being worshipped. The women went on to explain that Shiva chose this man, the man on the wall, to be his son. His name is Om Baba. They believe that they can hear from Shiva and worship Shiva through Om Baba.

In this spiritual teaching, they believe each person has 84 lives. At death, the soul leaves the body and then goes into a baby inside a mother’s stomach. If a woman has a miscarriage, it’s believed that the soul who inhabited the baby’s body was very sinful. If someone commits suicide, their soul might not inhabit another body, but rather just float around and become a ghost who haunts people. Suicide is considered the worst sin in Om Shanti.

Strict practices come with Om Shanti. The women told us that they have to wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning every day to worship. After that they go for a morning walk and come back and worship again. Every time they go to the bathroom or sleep, they have to change their clothes.

Anytime they wanted to leave their village or go somewhere they would have to ask Shiva (through Om Baba) if they had permission to leave. They told us they could feel his response and then would act upon it. The women also must treat their husband as they would a brother.

Surrounding the room were posters with information regarding Om Shanti. We asked about some of them and the women grabbed them off the wall to explain. One of the posters had Shiva on it, along with other gods from many other religions. The women told us that, “all other gods from other religions are simply Shiva’s messengers.” They explained that all followers of Om Shanti believe that people today have made the mistake of worshipping these “messengers.” These messengers may have been telling a version of the truth, but in the end it’s all sent from Shiva – or so believe the Om Shanti.

Om Shanti is like nothing I’ve ever heard of before!

I was very thankful to learn so much new information from these incredibly kind women.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brahma_Kumaris

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Tucked away in the small village of Mangchaabun, there are two white symbols painted on a family’s roof. The symbols are used to display the god that is worshiped by that household. Upon questioning our guides, though they were uncertain of what god it was specifically, we did learn that separate rooms in the house are used for worship of this god. Typically these practices make use of iron.

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In the village of Sindhuwa of the district Dhankuta, there is a pond at the top of one of the hills. It’s is quite the hike for a foreigner (a 3000 foot climb), but for a local it is an easy, common journey. This pond is for the worship of the mother of the Vedas, Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and creative arts. Every full moon, the local Nepalis would hike the pathway to the pond to make an offering at the shrine in the rest area before the entrance and bathe in the water.

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When exploring Nepal, my group and I found a huge, beautiful tree that was absolutely perfect for climbing. Immediately we asked our guides if we could climb this tree. Our guides gave us permission and we immediately began to scramble into the many limbs. Upon further research about this tree we found that this tree holds incredible significance for the Nepali people, and its array of religions. This tree is called the Pipal tree, Bodhi tree, and the Sacred Fig tree; this beautiful tree is the same species of tree that Buddha found enlightenment under and the Hindu god, Vishnu, sought refuge from the demons that defeated the gods. For more information on the sacred fig tree please explore the two links listed below.

Links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_religiosa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Tree

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Pictured is a man who lives in the Annapurna Mountain Range.  He is carrying a water jug which is nestled in a typical hand-made basket.  In the background is “Machapuchare” or more commonly known as Fishtail Mountain.  The Annapurnas are located in the North Central portion of the country and are revered by the local population as sacred.

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The couple pictured here live in the far eastern part of the country.  Their homes are simple and made of bamboo & mud. Neighboring homes are found fairly close together.  As we walked through their village, the people took us to the community lake to show us these men fishing.  Onlookers of the community anxiously watched to see their “catch.”

The children of the community followed us down the road and were anxious to show us their climbing skills.

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The culture of hospitality in Nepal is so emphasized it could even be considered as overwhelming. As we began our trek in the district of Dhankuta every single house we visited greeted us with chairs, tea, and most of the time biscuits, or cookies. (Side note: These cookies tasted nothing like our cookies in the states. Crackers are a much more apt description.) Following our afternoon snacks came the most important part of their hospitality-the actual meals.

We learned quickly how extremely rude it is to not finish the food and drinks that are placed in front of you. We’re not talking about normal sized portions either. No, that would be way too easy. We’re talking about huge metal plates and bowls filled over the brim with rice, greens, lentils, and often chicken. Occasionally we would have to be sneaky just to survive these vast meals. Don’t tell anyone, but often our portions were slid onto our teammates plates when the host turned their back. Dry foods, generally excess biscuits, found their way into our pockets for later consumption.  After years of portion sizing, our entire team was again forced to over-eat to the point of sickness to not offend our hosts. Wanna know our secret? We tried our best to take turns getting sick. Four of us stayed healthy to finish the plate of the teammate who was throwing up all their rice. We definitely had a system.

Though now comical, going through culture shock, this increased sense of hospitality caused a good amount of annoyance. The chairs were always a welcomed gift especially after hiking miles in the rain or heat; or both. The food, not so much. We wanted to have control of something in this new country, but the food was not that thing. After looking back on our experience, I realized that the amount of food wasn’t something to be upset with but something that was necessary. With the amount of activity we did daily we needed as many calories as possible. After all, like they say in Nepal, “Dal Bhat Power, 24 Hour”. Wanna trek a mountain? Get yourself that bowl of rice.

Andrew Sexton
Edited: Kaitlyn Rawls

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This young girl is covered with dried clay.  She worked many hours on making a clay patio for her family’s home.  Clay is widely used for construction (walls & floors) in rural areas.  After the clay hardens, it leaves a nice smooth surface.

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