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. Itis 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
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.
In 2069, Teej is on Sep 18, 2012. That is Ashwin 2, 2069.
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.
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.
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.
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 donein 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
diyoof 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.
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.
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
joyand enthusiasm. Most married women rich or poor observe this
festival with fun.
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.
Celebration
On Teej, the devotees do not eat and drink the whole day. They first
offerworship 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 notallowed 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.
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