Yesterday was Bhai Tika day, the last day of Tihar,when each bhai 'younger brother' receives tika from their sister(s). I was given the honour of being S.'s adopted little brother, so I got to receive tika, among other things.
Quite a bit of preparation is required to give this tika, which is not like the red dots that the mad saddhus (holy men / crazy ascetics) dish out to tourists on the streets.
The set-up requires a carpet (for the brother to sit on), along with a whole lot of other stuff in front of it. To the best of my knowledge, starting at the back on the left, there's white powder on the floor making a half-face, a guava, a pomelo, a butter candle, a small jar of water, a bowl of curd, a small plant (not sure if it's barley) stuck in a bit of cow dung, a bell, and a pot with some water and marigolds (with stalks). In front of these from the left are a plate of grain, a large plate of marigold petals, more white powder making another face (and a sun I suppose), and a plate of oil. (I'm not sure what the significance of most of these items are - something to do a bit of research on later.)
The sister starts off the ceremony by walking around the brother three times, sprinkling water on the floor and door. She then repeats this with oil. She then rubs some of the oil in his hair, around his ears, and in his ear. I was reminded of this oil afterwards when I used my mobile. She then places red-stained grain on his head, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and feet - basically the joints and extremities. This is then repeated using marigold petals.
After this, a multi-coloured tika is applied to the forehead.
A purple malla is placed around the neck, followed by a topi (Nepali hat) on the head. The sister then feeds the brother some curd (not putting that picture up) and presents him with a huge plate of food - I had a mountain of fruit and deep-fried shel roti (see Lauren's post on this) with nuts, dried fruit and sweets, which I'm still working through today.
The brother then places tika on the sister's forehead and gives her a present (like a little envelope containing some money). He then gets to finish the curd he was given previously, and food is served! (I was quite hungry by that point because I'd thought that we'd be having breakfast first. Apparently, no food is to be consumed prior to receiving tika so all we got was a cup of milk coffee to tide us over till lunch.)
Lauren, Sara and me - after Lauren and Sara got to give L. tika.
(Thanks go to Lauren and Sara for most of the photos. Many thanks to L. and S. for the priviledge of getting tika on Bhai Tika day,)
Quite a bit of preparation is required to give this tika, which is not like the red dots that the mad saddhus (holy men / crazy ascetics) dish out to tourists on the streets.
The set-up requires a carpet (for the brother to sit on), along with a whole lot of other stuff in front of it. To the best of my knowledge, starting at the back on the left, there's white powder on the floor making a half-face, a guava, a pomelo, a butter candle, a small jar of water, a bowl of curd, a small plant (not sure if it's barley) stuck in a bit of cow dung, a bell, and a pot with some water and marigolds (with stalks). In front of these from the left are a plate of grain, a large plate of marigold petals, more white powder making another face (and a sun I suppose), and a plate of oil. (I'm not sure what the significance of most of these items are - something to do a bit of research on later.)
The sister starts off the ceremony by walking around the brother three times, sprinkling water on the floor and door. She then repeats this with oil. She then rubs some of the oil in his hair, around his ears, and in his ear. I was reminded of this oil afterwards when I used my mobile. She then places red-stained grain on his head, shoulders, elbows, palms, knees and feet - basically the joints and extremities. This is then repeated using marigold petals.
After this, a multi-coloured tika is applied to the forehead.
A purple malla is placed around the neck, followed by a topi (Nepali hat) on the head. The sister then feeds the brother some curd (not putting that picture up) and presents him with a huge plate of food - I had a mountain of fruit and deep-fried shel roti (see Lauren's post on this) with nuts, dried fruit and sweets, which I'm still working through today.
The brother then places tika on the sister's forehead and gives her a present (like a little envelope containing some money). He then gets to finish the curd he was given previously, and food is served! (I was quite hungry by that point because I'd thought that we'd be having breakfast first. Apparently, no food is to be consumed prior to receiving tika so all we got was a cup of milk coffee to tide us over till lunch.)
Lauren, Sara and me - after Lauren and Sara got to give L. tika.
(Thanks go to Lauren and Sara for most of the photos. Many thanks to L. and S. for the priviledge of getting tika on Bhai Tika day,)
