17 Jul 2024 4 min to read
Nepal is an amazing destination with diverse cultures and traditions. The country boasts 124 languages, 142 ethnic groups, and 10 major religions. Annually several festivals are celebrated that are unique and hold great cultural and religious significance. Likewise, Saune Sankranti is celebrated grandly with holy beliefs in different parts of Nepal. Among many regions, there is a unique Saune Sankranti in the Dolpa region of Nepal.
Shrawan is the fourth month in Nepal as per the Bikram Sambat calendar. The first day of Shrawan month is often referred to as ‘Saune Sankranti’. The locals celebrate Saune Sankranti in Majhphal, Dolpa by lighting Raanko (traditional fire) on their rooftops. This unique way of celebrating Saune Sankranti in Dolpa showcases the existence of the deep-rooted historical and rich traditions of the Khas culture.
In the evening, the locals with their family members gathered on their house rooftops. Then, they all set raanko (fire torches) including each of their family members, and started cursing at the villagers across the other side of the rivers. It might seem confusing and amazing to witness but these curses are expressed with a belief in the removal of illnesses, impurities, and bad omens from their houses. Also, nobody gets offended by the given curses and all take these as a part of the tradition and are done communally.
There is folklore or belief that the prime reasons for lighting Raanko during Saune Sankranti in Dolpo are as follows:
Ritual Bathing
A mandatory ritual bathing in the holy river to purify oneself for the festival.
Food Preparation
Married daughters and young women are invited and special meals are prepared for the festival.
Deuda Dance
A traditional Deuda dance is performed in open spaces in the afternoon and later they collect necessary flowers for evening rituals.
Collect Prick Sticks
Young men gather to collect prick sticks generally from a plant named Dhatelo for the evening rituals.
House Cleaning
Locals clean their houses and collect waste such as old clothes, bedbugs, and dirt. Then, all are gathered in a small sack bag and tied with prick sticks.
Wild Plant Collection
To perform the throwing out luto (scabies) ritual, a wild plant such as Guiyapati is collected.
Village Procession
Villagers gather in one place to perform the ritual by sprinkling water on animals (chicken, goat, pig, or others) depending on their local customs. Then, those animals are circumambulated into the village and released. Then some villagers ran away towards those animals and hit them with prick sticks. Then, those prick sticks are also settled which is taken as a symbol of the removal of bad evils.
Collection of Offerings
As a tribute to performing the ritual, those villagers who collect and offer animals are rewarded with one mano (a traditional measurement) of grain from each household.
Lighting Raanko
Then the villagers place collected seasonal flower leaves on their house roofs on tinny stones and lit raanko. All these ignited raanko are tied together to form a Dhoj (a type of torch) and placed in the open spaces of the houses and temple courtyards. The lighting raanko process starts first at the temples and then at individual houses.
Communal Cursing
The lighting of raanko ignites and villagers start making noises with traditional instruments like Shankha (conch shell), Ghanta (bell), and others as part of the rituals. Then, communal cursing begins across the opposite side of the village. Nobody gets offended by the cursing as it is performed in a humorous manner and not personal. The curses are mostly related to health, animals, crops, fruits, etc. Some curse examples are “May bad omen go away,” or “May the prick sticks bring good fortunes.”
Disposal of Raanko
The Raanko is taken to the crossroad for discarding. In some places, people from both villages gathered at one point and disposed of raanko. They curse each other in a good way and dispose of raanko and return.
Dinner Preparation and Celebration
Villagers at their houses prepare traditional dishes like Kheer (rice pudding), Taatya (deep-fried bread), or Sel Roti (rice doughnut) and celebrate the gathering. It is also believed that it is also a day of celebration of bad spirits, so nobody is allowed to get out of their houses. They perform the rituals by continuously making noises, cheering, and celebrating to ward off bad spirits until the fire is burned out.
Picture/Video Courtesy: Prem Bahadur Bohara
