Kirat Community Celebrates Sakela Ubhauli Festival

Kathmandu. The Kirat community residing in the Kathmandu Valley has celebrated their important cultural festival Sakela Ubhauli with enthusiasm. Especially the Kirat Yakha, Sunuwar, Limbu, and Rai communities gathered in Nakhhipot, Lalitpur and celebrated this festival by performing traditional Sakela dance.

This festival, celebrated by worshipping nature, land, and ancestors, is especially connected with agricultural work. According to Kirat tradition, Ubhauli is celebrated on the day of Baishakh Purnima to start the farming season, and Udhauli is celebrated on the day of Mangsir Purnima to harvest new grains.

Of the two festivals celebrated annually, Ubhauli refers to the time of going to the mountains to escape the summer heat, and Udhauli refers to the time of descending from the mountains to the lowlands to escape the winter cold in Mangsir. This is also a unique festival that reflects the interdependent relationship between nature and humans.

On the occasion of Ubhauli, after the 'Nokchho' or shaman performs special worship and makes a shrine of branches, the Sakela dance officially begins. Participants dance in a circle, coordinating their hand and foot movements to the rhythm of drums and cymbals, creating original tunes.

This dance depicts the imitation of animals and birds, agricultural activities, and the cycle of human life through gestures. The program organized in Nakhhipot saw enthusiastic participation from young to old, adorned in traditional attire.

Photo: Nepal Photo Library