Siraha. It is said that culture is the identity of man. With this identity, the relationship between man and nature lasts for ages. In the Terai, the Jitia festival is now in full swing, especially for married Tharu women and mothers. The Tharu community, rich in cultural heritage, has been celebrating its cultural festivals from Shiruwa to Phagwa, i.e. from Baisakh to Chait, for twelve months based on nature.
Terai (Madhesh festivals like Shiruwa, Akharahi, Rab, Jitiya etc. are faithfully celebrated with the wish of family welfare, health, happiness (prosperity, longevity of children). Not only have they made significant contributions to the party, they have been maintaining the identity and representation of culture.
These festivals, which have been maintaining the identity of the culture and the representation of the culture, have been widely accepted by the Tharu community as well as other communities in the Tarai. Jitia is especially celebrated in Mithilanchal. They have followed Jitia and accepted it as a festival of cultural significance.
According to Tharu culturist Bhulai Chaudhary, Jitiya has been celebrated in Koshi in the east, Gandak in the west, Khoch in the north and Ganga river basin in the south. He says, “Jitia festival is prevalent mainly in the mentioned lands. Jitia festival is celebrated grandly in the districts from East Jhapa to West Nawalparasi in the Terai. Not only that, it is also celebrated in Bihar and Mithilanchal of India.”
Although Jitia is celebrated in a large part of the country in its own name and style, it has spread to the Kathmandu Valley through the Jitia Terai, which carries the original identity of the Tharu community, says cultural expert Chaudhary. In the Tharu community, Jitia festival is not limited to religious rituals and cultural festivals but is celebrated as a special festival.
Similarly, the influence and prevalence of Jitiya, which is seen only in the Tharu caste in Chitwan, is prevalent in the Bhojpuri-speaking region of India along with Nepal, he said. He said that the Tharu community of Chitwan used to dance jhamto in Jitiya and celebrate it as a cultural festival for a week.
He claims that the way Jitia is celebrated and the food items used in it, the style of worship, the rituals are not different from the festivals of the primitive people when viewed closely. Achhata, small corn kernels, oil, vermilion and fruits show the relationship between human and nature. Nature’s mustard drink should be used to make hair better, not to use soap on the hair when bathing in the mud, and vermilion to show the power of women. ‘
Oatmeal rate of oats and fish
Vratalu women are accustomed to eating oatmeal according to the situation, in which Vratalu women are obliged to eat a type of vegetable which is rich in iron and contains fish. But nowadays, it has become a custom for the people living in the city to eat as much as they want. Those who can afford it bring fish and eat it, but in the village it is still customary to eat wet vegetables as much as possible.
Due to the abundance of moisture in the fields and rivers and ponds in the Terai, it makes it easier for the Vratals to fast there. Because from a health point of view, fish and oats are very beneficial foods. Before starting the fast of Jitiya, the habit of consuming it can be seen in connection with the energy obtained from it. That is to say, it is being used to make it easier to overcome the most difficult fast by eating a solid food like Ol. These materials of nature have maintained the cultural tradition of preserving and promoting aspects such as humanity, equality, health, natural balance.
Happiness (sad things) with relatives and friends
Tharu women who have come to Maiti to celebrate Jitia get to meet their brothers and sisters year after year. They share the joys and sorrows of the year, especially the quarrels with the siblings in the family, because now they have to go to get the relatives, not the brothers or the siblings, but the father (one of the family members from the mother).
At that time, only when they go to fetch from the relatives, the vratalu sisters can leave their differences with their relatives and come back to their relatives happily. This is considered a very happy moment for them. Otherwise, if you don’t take it from the relatives, the sisters will have to celebrate the victory in their in-laws.
Tharu women from West Nawalparasi to East Jhapa of Jitia Tarai as well as non-Tharu women have organized grand Jitia fairs at various places on the occasion of 9 festivals including Madhesi, Dalit and others.
In Kathmandu, Tharu women have organized Jitiya Mahotsav in two places. The Tharu Mahila Samaj has organized a Jitiya program at Moteshwor Community Building at Tikathali in Lalitpur while the Tharu Mahila Sabha Kathmandu Valley Committee has started organizing the Jitiya program through virtual medium.
