MYAGDI: The Magar and Chantyal communities in Myagdi district are joyfully celebrating Maghe Sankranti. The Magar community, which is prominent in the district, observes Maghe Sankranti and Saune Sankranti with special significance, while the Chantyal community considers Maghe Sankranti as their most important festival.
“On Maghe Sankranti, it is customary to invite family and relatives to share delicious meals,” said Kham Thapa Magar, Secretary of the Magar Association in the district. “As nature worshippers, the Magar community marks these occasions as transitions in seasons.”
The festival serves as an opportunity for family gatherings, exchanging greetings, and sharing joy. In Magar settlements, people gather to dance, perform ancestral dances, and celebrate together during Maghe and Saune Sankranti. Women often visit their paternal homes with gifts like yam, sel roti, and fruits during Maghe Sankranti.
Many Magar community members return to their ancestral villages from cities, towns, and abroad to celebrate the festival. Mukti Roka, who traveled with her family from Australia to her hometown in Mangala Rural Municipality-1, Tusarepani, shared that the festival offers a chance to reunite with loved ones.
A sports and cultural fair has been organized in Tusarepani to mark the occasion. Local residents recall that a fair has been held in Beni Bazaar, located at the confluence of the Myagdi and Kaligandaki rivers, for over 200 years.
According to honorary member of the District Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nain Kumar Shrestha, people from surrounding areas used to gather at the Beni fair to buy and sell goods such as rice, millet, hemp, bamboo items, ghee, copper, and iron products.
Beni’s Kaligandaki River is believed to have religious significance, with devotees bathing in the river to gain merit. “In the past, there were no markets in villages, so people waited for fairs like this for trade. The Beni fair was a hub for shopping and entertainment,” said 80-year-old Shrestha. “Young people would sing, dance, and have fun during the festival.”
Over time, the nature of the fair has evolved due to changes in lifestyle and social contexts. However, efforts to preserve and promote the traditional fair have increased, with active participation from the youth.
Every three years, a festival is organized in Beni to promote local products, arts, and culture. In years without a major festival, the Women’s Enterprise Development Committee under the Chamber of Commerce runs the Maghe Sankranti fair.
This year, the eighth Myagdi Festival and Maghe Sankranti Fair began on Sunday in Beni. According to Chamber President Subin Shrestha, the festival aims to preserve the traditional Maghe Sankranti fair, market local products, and boost domestic tourism. The event will continue until Magh 8.
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