JANAKPURDHAM: The Sama-Chakewa festival, which symbolises love, goodwill and strong bonds between brothers and sisters, has begun in the Mithila region.
The festival, which starts on the fifth day of the bright fortnight of Kartik (Kartik Shukla Panchami), is celebrated for 10 days and concludes on the 11th day, coinciding with the full moon.
During the festival, sisters and daughters across Mithila gather in groups to sing traditional songs and perform dances, praying for the happiness, prosperity and long life of their brothers.
According to Pandit Ram Kumar Shastri, who is familiar with the festival’s traditions, sisters and daughters visit paddy fields and open spaces outside their villages to collect soil dug up by their brothers on the first day of the festival.
The soil is mixed with water and moulded into various figures representing Sama and Chakewa.
Traditionally, these figures are arranged in red bamboo baskets, and oil lamps are lit alongside them. Women and girls carry the baskets to village squares, crossroads, public gathering places, schools, rest houses, temples and Chhath ghats in the evening, where they perform traditional songs and dances.
The festivities continue for 10 days, with sisters praying for the longevity and well-being of their brothers.
On the morning of the 11th day, new Sama-Chakewa figures are prepared and painted. In the evening, sisters serve dahi-chiura (curd and beaten rice) to their brothers and perform a traditional ritual known as ‘Phanr Bharne’.
The brothers then break the Sama-Chakewa figures as part of the customary observance. Finally, the figures are ceremonially immersed amid traditional music, singing and dancing, marking the conclusion of the festival.
Traditionally, married women return to their parental homes to celebrate Sama-Chakewa. Even those living far away make the journey to their maternal homes to participate in the festivities with their families.
The festival is celebrated with great enthusiasm in Mahottari, Sarlahi, Siraha, Dhanusha, Saptari, Bara and Parsa districts of Madhesh Province, as well as in neighbouring districts across the Indian border.
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