Dashain Tika

The nice thing about having a cancelled flight on bijaya dashami (the 10th day of the festival of Dashain, which was last Sunday) was that I was able to go to L. and S.'s house for dinner that night. Not too surprisingly, there was quite a bit of meat, but what I was really looking for was receiving tika.

Tika, also known as 'tilak' in India, is a mark - typically a red dot - placed on one's forehead and is meant to symbolise the 'third eye'. Unlike a bindi, a tika can be worn by men as well as women. Though primarily a Hindu practice, it has been widely adopted by Buddhists in this country. On bijaya dashami,  it is common practice for elders to give tika to their juniors.

The tika I received was made with a red paste - I'm not sure if it was sandalwood, or just clay (my olfactory senses are somewhat dampened when I'm in Kathmandu). In addition to the red paste, some leaves from a grass / herb / plant I did not recognise was placed behind my left ear. Finally, I was presented with a little envelope containing some money! Made it feel a little like Chinese New Year.

So yeah, best cancelled flight ever.

Sacrifice

I suppose it was partly to satisfy my morbid curiosity that I decided to venture out early this morning (or as early as I could) to Kathmandu's Durbar Square. Along the way, I saw people carrying their roosters and ducks (usually held by the leg and hanging upside down) with them - a common sight over the past few days. I also saw a few headless goat carcasses being skinned close to a little roadside shrine to Durga that had been erected some days ago.

I quietly slipped into Durbar Square, playing with my mobile as I walked past the ticket office for foreigners and looking suitably disinterested in the festivities. Women were lining up outside a few smaller temples with puja plates in their hands. Families were lining up to worship / touch / rub their hands on other temples. But by far the longest line was to enter the Taleju Temple, which is only open once a year to the public.



Of course, the main reason I'd come was to watch the goats being sacrificed. I had expected a lot more temples to be covered in blood, and the thought even crossed my mind that the red brick used to construct many of them was appropriate.

Contrary to expectation, the sacrifices seemed limited to one area at Basantapur Chowk. When I first entered the square, I mistook the sound of the executioner's blade striking the ground for the firing of a bullet. There was already a crowd of people and while I didn't get a front row viewing spot, I was still able to use my camera and outstretched arm to record what was happening and to watch it again later.

The first animal I saw sacrificed was a buffalo, followed by a goat. After that I didn't stay much longer around the square. It wasn't that I was disturbed by the actual killing - in these better organised sacrifices, the method of execution was quick and clean (unlike home sacrifices that can be badly executed and extend the suffering of the animal). The stress of waiting to be killed while the priests do the blessings, could equally be likened to the stress of waiting while the animal in front of you is getting slaughtered at an abattoir (though never having been to an operational abattoir or having had the experience of being livestock, I really can't speak for the goats and buffaloes here). Anyway, while it wasn't enough to convert me to a life of vegetarianism, it was a good reminder of what happens before I select my meat at the butcher's or supermarket.

*WARNING*
Some readers may find the following image and videos disturbing.

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On castrated and uncastrated goats

The story goes something like this:

Years ago, my professor's partner flew into Kathmandu to visit her. It was around the 9th day of Dashain. As he got off the plane, his first image was of a group of men furiously masturbating a goat, which they then proceeded to kill by slicing its head off, splattering its blood all over the plane.

Lauren recently told me this story about one of our professors - I assume it was just the wheels of the plane they splattered with blood.

Today, my Nepali teacher informed me, Hindus would start sacrificing animals as part of the Dashain festivities. This BBC article from 3 years ago talks about the cruelty of the practice. While goats are the most common offerings, other animals such as ducks, chickens, pigs and water buffaloes are also sacrificed. The most important thing is that all sacrificed animals be male and uncastrated (so hooray if you're an animal eunuch).

Male castrated goats are called खसी khasi in Nepali, while their uncastrated counterparts are called बोका boka. For a while, I assumed that castrated goats were the ones that were sacrificed, since young castrated male livestock grow to be bigger and yield more meat. However, I just learned today that khasi are the ones used for meat (which makes sense), while boka are reserved for sacrifice (although their meat is usually still eaten afterwards). Wikipedia tells me that castrated animals were excluded from sacrifice in ancient Judaism, as they were seen as being unwhole. I'm not sure if this is the same reason why Hindus here don't sacrifice castrated animals.

So what does this have to do with the men masturbating the poor goat? Nothing I assume, since even castrated goats can reach orgasm. But since appeasing Durga during Dashain is about maximum bloodletting, an excited goat is going to be pumping a lot more blood through its arteries than a calm relaxed one.

Oh, and here's the goat that was in the garden the other day. Haven't seen it since Tuesday...

Dashain!

I don't know how I missed it, or rather the first day of it. I had it in my diary as starting this Thursday, and didn't think to question it. Not even when the BBC was reporting the start of Dashain as they covered the fact that Nepal still has no government. Or when S. said she didn't have school because of Dashain. Or when my Nepali teacher had to cut our class on Thursday short to rush off to the tax office to get her taxes done before the government offices closed for the holiday.

I just thought it was all part of the lead-up to the actual holiday. D'oh!

So Dashain (as usual, 'sh' is more often pronounced like 's') started on Friday (8 October) this year. It's a 15 day Hindu festival that celebrates Durga's defeat of the asura / demon Mahishasur who had made a deal with Brahma that no man or (male) god could defeat him. The battle raged for 10 days, during which Durga and the Mahishasur transformed themselves into various forms to defeat the other. Finally, on the last day, Durga lopped the head of Mahishasur who had transformed himself into a demon buffalo.


Me and Aung Si at the statue of Mahishasura at Chamundi Hill, Mysore (Jan 2009)


Statue of Mahishasura as the demon buffalo at Chamundi Hill, Mysore (Jan 2009)

The 10th day of Dashain is the considered the 'big day', where families gather together and elders give tika (coloured powder placed on one's forehead) to their juniors. Married women also go back to their home villages to take tika from their parents.

The days leading up to the 10th day are filled with animal (particularly goat, but also water buffalo) sacrifice. I'm watching a news report on TV right now with footage of a man leading a herd of goats, presumably towards Kathmandu for the big slaughter. Lauren and I might do what she and Sara did last year and just sacrifice a watermelon.

Since I had the dates wrong, I was under the assumption that I would be away during the big sacrifice / massacre. As it turns out, the sacrifices will be held mostly this Friday and Saturday, while I only fly off to Lukla on my way to visit Sara in the Everest region on Sunday morning.

One of the perks of Dashain (unless you count widespread bloodshed a perk) is that Kathmandu slowly empties itself as people go back to their home villages, especially for the 10th day. So as the week draws on, I'm expecting to see less traffic on the road and fewer people on the streets.