Dashain and Tihar are Nepal’s 2 biggest Hindu festivals and they fall in October/November. At this time, families get together, sometimes traveling for days to get back to the family home and eat and drink and give presents. At Tihar, children and young people do ‘Bhailo’, something like carol singing in the UK – they go round each house in the village singing and dancing and are rewarded by a little rice and some money. This year, the sponsored girls made a group and learnt both traditional Tharu dances as well as more modern pop moves. They are going to spend the money they earnt on a picnic.

They say Happy Bijaya Dashami (Happy Dashain) to everyone who has sponsored them! As you can see from this card, it’s the year 2063 in Nepal!

This coloured powder is used in most, if not all, religious ceremonies – not only cows, but dogs, other farm animals, crows (if you can catch them!!) and vehicles are blessed at Tihar. On the most important day of the festival, bhai tika (brother's day) brothers and sisters also bless each other by using this powder to paint elaborate designs on each other’s foreheads. Sisters make sweets and food for their brothers and brothers give gifts of money and clothes.

One of the major days in Tihar is Laxmi puja, the festival of Laxmi, goddess of wealth. In urban areas houses are decorated with strings of fairy lights but in rural areas without much electricity traditional lamps are used. The lights are used to guide the goddess into the house and thus ensure prosperity for the coming year.

The SWC commissioned a local potter to make these lamps and committee members filled them with clarified butter. They were then sold in the village and in the nearby market town to raise money for the SWC. (2000 lamps at 4p each – enough to sponsor 2 girls!!).

Tihar festival is a series of festival days. On one day, the cow is celebrated as it is a sacred animal (as well as being the national animal of Nepal). The pink marks on this cow means that it has received a blessing.

Steamer pot used for cooking dikris.

Dikris cooking in a ceramic steamer.

Festivals in Nepal involve large gatherings of family and friends and no-one has enough plates to go round; instead women make plates from leaves, pinning them together with tiny twigs. The food here is typically Tharu: on the right is potato pickle (boiled potato, sesame seeds, turmeric, chilli, lemon juice and mustard oil); in the middle is dikri (steamed rice flour – can be long and thin, like these, or round with an indent in the middle); on the left, karria (spiced black lentil patties, steamed and fried in mustard oil).

During the dance, the house owner gives one of the dancers a large plate with a handful of rice, a lighted oil lamp and some money. The groups keep the money and return the plate.

Traditional Tharu dance. This group is from a neighbouring village and is famous for having won several dance competitions.

Traditional Tharu dance. The girl is dressed as a bride and dances to the accompaniment of 2 drummers. The boys carry the traditional mandal (drum) around their necks – these drums are covered in crocheted cloths for decoration – and dance with the girl.

Traditional Nepali dancing

Sponsored girls dancing in traditional Nepali dress.