{"id":7875,"date":"2017-07-26T12:26:15","date_gmt":"2017-07-26T06:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pahichan.com\/?p=7875"},"modified":"2017-07-26T12:32:18","modified_gmt":"2017-07-26T06:47:18","slug":"it-is-a-cosmic-dance-not-cross-dressing-understanding-the-culture-and-festivals-of-nepal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pahichan.com\/en\/it-is-a-cosmic-dance-not-cross-dressing-understanding-the-culture-and-festivals-of-nepal\/","title":{"rendered":"It is a Cosmic Dance, Not Cross-Dressing! Understanding the Culture and Festivals of Nepal"},"content":{"rendered":"
Sunil Babu Pant\/Pahichan – I grew up in a remote village of Gorkha district, north west from Kathmandu, in Nepal. Fortunately or unfortunately, from where the famous term, the Gurkhas (as brave warriors), originated, after they fought WWI and WWII along with the British Empire. As I have no interest in wars or weaponry, I will talk about the cultures I have been exposed to since my childhood. Every year I used to get amused and enjoyed myself during the festivals, whether it is\u00a0Lakhe<\/em>\u00a0Dance or\u00a0Ropain Jatra<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Gai-Jatra<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Indra-Jatra<\/em>, watching the few young men prepare themselves, which the \u2018West\u2019 calls \u2018such thing\u2019 a cross-dressing, and these days the rest of the world have so easily adapted this term \u201ccross-dressing\u201d without thinking much of the implication. But for us it is never cross-dressing, rather, it is a symbol and process of transformation. The young men take hours to put make-up, wear colorful dresses, long hair, bangles, outlandish traditional jewelries, some also wear mask and most importantly they practice the effeminate body languages and gestures. Both, the performers and onlookers, play with light mischief, pranks, humors and jokes. It is all fun and remarkable.<\/div>\n
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I know it is difficult for me to explain,\u00a0why this is such<\/strong>, to the world; and even more difficult for the world to understand, a world which today is obsessed with Macho-culture and Gym-going-\u201cmasculine-body\u201d image. Some may even ridicule such cultures of Himalayan Mountains and Hills. But it is, in fact, a philosophical and spiritual journey, which, according to Hinduism\/ Buddhism, everyone must complete, if not in this life, then in one of your many lives yet to come.<\/p>\n

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  1. Lets look at some of the pictures from few unique festivals, mostly common across the hills\/mountain regions of Nepal, India, Tibet and Bhutan.\u00a0The Lakhe (Mask Dance) Festival:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Lakhes<\/em>\u00a0are said to be demons who used to live in the forests and later became protectors of the townspeople. The\u00a0Lakhe<\/em>\u00a0dance is characterized by wild movements and thumping music. The\u00a0Lakhe<\/em>\u00a0stops at major crossroads and market squares to give a performance. During the dance, a small boy known as\u00a0Jhyalincha<\/em>\u00a0taunts the\u00a0Lakhe<\/em>making him chase him in anger.\u00a0Jhyalincha<\/em>\u00a0always manages to slip into the crowd and escape. (try to watch 42 seconds long\u00a0<\/em>Lake Dance<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>from Chainpur, Sankhuwasabha, Nepal<\/em>)\n
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    \"nepal<\/p>\n

    Photo Credit: onlinekhabar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    2. Ropain Jatra (the rice plating festival)of Phujel village of Gorkha distrcit of Nepal<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    \"Ropain<\/p>\n

    Photo Credit: Worldnews<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    3. \u2018Sano Paltan Jatra\u2019 (small \u2018platoon\u2019) festival from Jumla district of Nepal, (celebrated on the 3rd day of 8 days long elaborated Gaijatra celebrated in Jumla)<\/em><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    \"nepal<\/p>\n

    Photo Credit: ekantipur<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a04.\u00a0Gai-jatra (Cow-Procession) Festival in Kathmandu<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    \"Nepal<\/p>\n

    Photo Credit: onlinekhabar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \u00a0 \u00a05.\u00a0Indra-Jatra in Kathmandu<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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    \"Indra<\/p>\n

    Photo Credit: AP<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    Most of these Jatras (Yatra in Sanskrit, means Journey), in the Hills and Mountains of Nepal, India, Bhutan and Tibet, are performed by young boys\/men in a feminine attire, are not just about the outfit but an inner transformation too. As the Jatra\/Yatra, as a pilgrimage, is supposed to take you to your desired destination (for both the Hinduism and Buddhism, the ultimate destination is Mokshya or Nirbana, the ultimate Liberation), without inner transformation the journey is impossible, is incomplete. Hence many young boys\/men often try their best to get a chance to perform, and not everyone is fortunate enough to get a chance even once in a life time.<\/p>\n

    The transformation is about liberating yourself physically, intellectually and emotionally by transforming your presentation, identity and feelings of who you think you otherwise are. This is such a profound philosophy, handed down by the ancestors through our unique cultures and festivals. Today, when the \u2018pop-cultures\u2019 look up to the \u2018Western-Masculinity\u2019, such traditions of\u00a0Feminization<\/strong>\u00a0of your presentation, identity and feelings of \u2018who you are\u2019 are looked down upon. Even women empowerment is equalized to \u2018acting, performing and becoming<\/em>\u2019 masculine; thus so-called powerful women try hard to look masculine (look at some of the women leaders in powers today, short hair, almost masculine attire and attitude, no make-up).<\/p>\n

    All these feminized festivals are, in a way, teaching us the value of beauty, fluidity, gentleness, flexibility, diversity, and compassion. That\u2019s why, this is not \u2018cross-dressing\u2019 and this is not \u2018cross-gender-ing\u2019 either (Anyway,\u00a0Nepal always believed, accepted and since 2007 legally recognizes three genders<\/em>).<\/p>\n

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    This is a culture of transformation, helping you free from your own mental and physical caging of Machismo, Rigidity, Standardization, Brutality, Hatred, Beauty-phobia and Glamour-phobia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    The picture 2 above of\u00a0Ropain-Jatra<\/em>, the rice planting festival, reminds us of the importance of agriculture, food, fest and materialism, not just to survive but to enjoy life. The festival is also a feed to your intellect and emotions with the transformed presentation of the performers and music, songs and dance\u00a0(The visual quality is not that great but enjoy the 3:32 minutes long<\/em>\u00a0Ropain Jatra<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0from Gorkha District<\/em>).<\/p>\n

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