Teej is a festival celebrated by Nepali women, for the long life of her husband and long and firm relationship between them until the death this life and all the lives to come. Teej is observed for marital happiness, well-being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul. Teej is the most famous festival among Nepali women.
The folk music
and dances add more flavor to traditional values of Teej. It is fascinating to
see women, in “Red” dancing and singing on the street, going to temple in holy
and fasting mood. Teej is also called Hari Talika Teej. This festival is
celebrated by Nepali Hindu women all across the world.
Teej is a
small red insect that comes out of the soil during the rainy season. It is said
Teej got its name from the same red insect. That is why Teej is celebrated in
red.
When is Teej
Teej is
celebrated on 3rd day of Bhadra Sukala Paksha (according to Nepali lunar
calendar). It generally falls in late August or early September
| source:bhaktisangrah |
Teej is
traditionally dedicated to the Goddess Parvati, remembering her union with Lord Shiva. It is
a three-day-long celebration that combines splendid feasts as well as rigid
fasting.
Teej also
welcomes and celebrates arrival of monsoon after a season of summer heat.
How do we
celebrate Teej
The eve (first
day of Teej) is called Dar Khane Din. On this day all the family members
especially the women, both married and unmarried gather at one place, in their
finest outfits of red (called Saubhagya) and start dancing and singing
devotional songs mixed with Nepali folk and Dohori songs.
| source: thetravelboss |
This evening
the grand feast takes place. The grand feast is called “Dar”. The fun often
goes on till midnight, after midnight the 24-hour fasting starts.
What is Dar - दर
Women who go
in fasting the very next day eat a very big feast...."daro khana" (दर्हो खाना) that means a heavy
food in Nepali....it is said daro khane became dar. Whatever, the meaning is,
they go for big feast that evening with deserts, mithai, nepali foods like sel,
puri, fruits and non vegitarian foods like mottons and chicken by some communities.
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| source: wikipedia |
The second day
Second day is
the main day of Teej (the fasting day). Some women take it very rigid, they
even live without a piece of food and drops of water while some others take
liquid and fruit. On this day, they happily dress in red, married women wear
their lagan ko pote, nathhi, other jewelries and chadke tilahari ( jewelries
are optional but chadke tilahari, laganko pote and natthi is said to be most
important) and visit a nearby Lord Shiva’s temple singing and dancing all the
way.
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| source: missyeshi |
Most of
devotees in Kathmandu go to Pashupatinath Temple. At the Shiva temple, women
worship the Shiva lingam, the symbol of the lord Shiva, offering flowers,
sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings
of flowers, fruits, etc., made to Shiva and Pārbati, pleading them to grant
their blessing upon the husband and family. The most important part of the
pooja is mostly done in the evening burning the oil lamp (108 sute batti in a
diyo) which should be burning throughout the night. It is a tradition of giving
the diyo of teej by her mother in law to the married woman.
Third day
morning
Women get up
early in the dawn and get cleaned and do the puja once again to the diyo and
goddess Parvati. The most important part of this puja is a banana and holy
basil (Tulsi patta) leaf. Only after this puja, women take solid food. This
third day of Teej is Ganesh Chaturthati. Women eat Karkalo ko Tarkari with
chokho (pure) food made with pure ghee.
| source: omshivam |
Rishi Panchami
The fourth day
of the festival
After the
completion of the previous day's pooja, women pay homage to various deities and
bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred Datiwan bush, along with
its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which
women are considered forgiven from all their sins. The recent years have
witnessed an adjustment in the rituals, especially regarding the strictness,
but its spirit remains the same.
| source: sojho |
The actual
date of inception of Teej is not known. However, it is celebrated by the women
of Nepal and some part of India with lots of joy and enthusiasm. Most married
women rich or poor observe this festival with fun.
| source: gettyimage |
Eating
delicious food, popularly called dar, on the eve of Teej, and singing and
dancing on the
main day are the main features of this festival. On this
particular day, the streets of Kathmandu turn into a sea of red with women
dressed in red Sarees and Dhoties making their way to Shiva shrines, especially
to the Pashupatinath Temple.
| source: scamp |
Celebration
On Teej, the
devotees do not eat and drink the whole day. They first offer worship to Lord
Shiva and spend the rest of the day singing and dancing in the temple premises.
Singing Teej songs like "Teej ko rahar aayo bari lai". Indeed, women
are seen mostly in holy sites on this day. Men are not allowed to enter the
most of Shiva Temples on this day.
Outside
Kathmandu valley too, women gather in public places like roads and markets and
enjoy the festival by singing and dancing.
Though the
women fast throughout the day - refusing to take even a drop of water - Teej
brings smiles on the faces of women in the cities and villages.
It is a rare
opportunity for many married women in Nepali village to go to their mother’s
home due to busy schedules in village farm works. The parents invite their
daughters or send someone to bring their daughters to their home a day or two
before the festival. There they contribute of the ritual food called dar before
going on a fast on Teej. Interestingly, no daughter goes to her mother’s place
during this festival unless they get an invitation from her parents or
brothers. In case they do not get an invitation from their parents, they feel
extremely sad - they say it is the saddest moment in their life.
The timing of
the festival is practical in a rural society like ours as it falls immediately
after the farm work is over. This festival takes place after the farmers finish
weeding their paddy fields.
Hindu women
across the country celebrate this festival with much fun, the food they eat in
the form of "dar" varies from place to place. In hills of eastern
Nepal they take porridge, sel roti and mutton in the form of dar whereas in
western Nepal, they eat rice cooked in ghee which they call latte. In the city,
pulau, sweets, mutton, fish make the main menu of dar.
These days it
is becoming expensive to celebrate Teej as the people seem to be competing in
inviting relatives and friends for the dar eating and spending more for other
ritual practices.
source: weallnepali
