Most Khatwe spoke only Maithili. In conversation, I asked a question in English, then my friend translated it into Nepali for a young man who spoke both Nepali and Maithili, who then asked the Khatwe man my question. I was quite the process but we made it work! We learned that the Khatwe are all Hindu and their population is spread out throughout the village, but often grouped in communities. Hoping to get a better idea of their culture and beliefs, I asked what gods they worshipped. The Khatwe man told us that they worship all gods in Hinduism. He said that they often worshipped Durga, and had a temple for her nearby.

Our conversation seemed to be coming to an end so I asked one final question.

“Is there anything special about your people group that you’d like to share with me?”

The Khatwe man paused and smiled. He proceeded to speak for a very long time about a man named Sashia Maharaj. Apparently, Maharaj saved the Khatwe caste hundreds of years ago when Muslims were attempting to kill them, take their land, and convert them to Islam. During the 12th-16th century, Muslims conquests in the Indian subcontinent occurred. They travelled from Pakistan through the Indus River Valley to get to places like Nepal.

Maharaj is worshipped by the Khatwe people only. He has been worshipped by their ancestors and the story has been passed down for generations.

Legend has it that Maharaj had three bothers; and therefore, the Khatwe have three means of worship to this god.

1. An offering of rice and milk
2. Sacrificing goats
3. Offering flowers

It is believed that Maharaj dwells in the homes of Khatwe. Each home has a small area to worship.

Throughout my time in the Saptari district, I met more Khatwe people and heard many stories of Sashia Maharaj, often different from the first story. In a separate village, the Khatwe said that Maharaj was a king who fought with another king named Lukashri. The two kings battled and Maharaj won. Out of fear, Lukashri’s people (the Khatwe) ran from Maharaj. He eventually caught them, and instead of killing them, he gave them gifts and then they were released.

A separate tale was that Maharaj saved the Khatwe from being kidnapped on a train.

We may ever know the true story of Sashia Maharaj, but tradition is tradition! The Khatwe claim to worship him for the rest of their lives and stories of him will be passed on from generation to generation.

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I had so many questions. This just appeared to be a normal pond.

We approached the tree where the villagers sat and we asked them why the pond was holy. They told us that 40 years ago someone placed an empty bucket on top of the water of this very pond, and the bucket sank. Therefore, they believe the pond is holy and there is a god inhabiting it. The god’s name is Tapshiva. I learned throughout the day that Tapshiva is only worshipped in this village in Nepal. I asked if they gave offerings or sacrifices to Tapshiva. They told us that they offer fruits and vegetables by tossing them in the water. In between the tree and the pond was a large pile of stones. The men said they have been collecting these stones in hopes that the government will give funding to build a temple to Tapshiva.

It was such a cool and unique experience to listen to these men and women speak about Tapshiva, a god I had never heard of. I felt honored to get a sneak peek into their lives and witness the devotion they have to the god they worship.

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When you spend a month in the Terai you run into a lot of similarities between villages. When you find information special to one area it’s pretty exciting. However, we were not prepared for such a shocking find.

We walked around for about an hour searching for people. Everyone appeared to be out working in their fields. Finally, we came across a middle-aged woman. She was extremely eager to speak with me. To the point that often she would forget I could not understand her and she would begin speaking in rapid Nepali to me as I smiled without understanding a word. But then she said a word I did understand, “Elephants.”

My translator stepped in and began to explain all she was saying to me. The excitement on my face slowly turned to shock and sadness. This kind woman began to describe in great detail the greatest danger to their people, the elephants.

The kind woman took us to the high point of the village, which was a small hill that looked similar to a sand dune. As we stood on top of it she pointed across a large space of desolate flat land towards the jungle. “They come from there,” she said. The flat land is left destitute every year by the elephants. Every October during the harvest season of rice they come and eat all their crop, eat the fish out of their river, trample their homes to nothing, and kill their people. The elephants come every 2-3 days and kill 5-6 people with each visit.

I asked what could be done to help and she said that there is nothing to be done. The penalty to kill an elephant was a fine of a minimum of one thousand American dollars and five years in jail. All the people can do is hide and pray they leave enough of their crops so the people have enough to eat. Most people have to buy rice from other villages to survive the year. The woman told us that there is no one in government to stand for them and none are strong enough to protect them.

The thought of a world where people die from animal attacks and nothing is done for them is shocking to those in the western world. However, here the feeling of helpless to circumstances is all too normal.

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A middle-aged man in a traditional Terai garb sat atop a tall mound of gravel and began to explain what all of the cut bamboo was for. He motioned behind us to a half-built mud hut. They were building a home for a male relative who appeared to be around the age of 60. All the men in the family were participating in the building of this home for their beloved Buba (father).

We asked about the process of building their homes. It takes about 10 days for 5 men to build the average sized home (about 10’x12′). First thick poles of bamboo (which they grow themselves) are set up at each corner (vertical and horizontally) to build a framework. After the framework is set and tied together the people take straw in bundles and pile it all laterally on top of each other to create walls. The smaller poles of bamboo (which we walked up to them as they were cutting) were set horizontally and vertically like a checker pattern on both sides of the straw walls and tied to the original framework to hold all the straw in place. Now that the basis for the walls is finished mud is made with simple water and dirt and is packed on top of the straw to make the entire house durable. The mud then sets in the hot summer sun. Finally, a thatch roof made of bundled straw is set in place.

What most would consider a sign of poverty, these people were proud to show us. And I was more than honoured the be shown. 

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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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The tobacco cultivating process takes about 20 weeks. After the tobacco plants are grown there are harvested and begin a 5-month process of drying, fermentation, de-ribbing and sorting, and then a second fermentation process before being stored.

We learned that tobacco is a rapidly increasing crop of choice for many farmers in the Terai. The reasons for this are that tobacco can be planted in any type of soil and can be planted during the monsoon season. Tobacco does not require nutrient-rich soil. However, tobacco depletes nutrients in the soil faster than nearly all other crops. If tobacco cultivating is taken up by all farmers it could potentially be detrimental to all other crops. The tobacco season would have to be put on hold for 2 years between each crop to allow the soil’s nutrients to be replenished. Tobacco also yields a higher revenue than all other cash crops grown in Nepali.

Most would argue that the increase in revenue and ease of planting would be a great sign for the economy of Nepal. However, the effects of tobacco becoming a major cash crop for Nepal could, in time, destroy the agricultural system and the beautifully rich soil of the Nepali Terai.

About 13% of the Nepali people use tobacco. However, Nepal has one of the lowest percentages of tobacco users in all of Asia and is still decreasing on the scale. The government’s tobacco prevention laws established in 2014 are given credit for this decrease. However, the decrease has been less than 2% in the past 4 years so the actual effectiveness of these laws is unknown.

If the tobacco industry can be controlled and regulated, it could potentially remain beneficial to the nation’s economy. If not, it may take much time before the nation can recover from the destruction this popular crop could bring.

http://www.sasecrtn.edu.np/index.php/en/resources/usefulinfo/how-to-grow-harvest-food-cash-crops/cash-crops/tobacco

https://tobaccoatlas.org/country/nepal/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/world-according-to-tobacco-consumption/

http://www.itcportal.com/businesses/group-companies/surya-nepal.aspx

https://www.kullabs.com/frontend/public/classes/subjects/units/lessons/notes/note-detail/272

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