Mha puja
Mha Pujā ( Devanagari : म्हपुजा) is an annual ritual of the Newar living in Nepal , which is supposed to purify and strengthen the soul in the context of New Year celebrations. It is carried out on New Years Day, which takes place during the Swanti Festival according to the national lunar calendar of Nepal, the Nepal Sambat .
meaning
Mha Pujā means "worship of the inner self" and celebrates the spirit within. The Newah believe that before one can understand others, one must understand and respect oneself. The ceremony is designed to lay the foundations for a promising start to the New Year and will bring prosperity and longevity to the participant. It also differs from other Hindu or Buddhist prayers in that it is the worship of self and not the usual worship of gods and goddesses or others. Mha Pujā reveals a person's relationship with the surrounding nature and the cosmos. In addition to understanding the self as part of the universe, which is supposed to make you selfless and more responsible, the social aspect of Mha Pujā also includes celebrating together and feasting with family members, in which family relationships are to be strengthened. Mha Pujā is celebrated wherever Nepalese have settled.
procedure
On the eve of New Year's Day, the family members meet and first the men, then the women, sit in a row with their legs crossed. A mandala is drawn for each member of the family . These mandalas are individually designed and decorated with different colors, grains, fruits and flowers. In between there is a small mandala made of oil, which represents the human soul. Since the small mandala lies between the grains and fruits, it is said to bring success to people, because every object represents a certain god and each of these deities blesses the person. The woman of the house gives everyone present an extra long velvet wick for an oil lamp. This is placed on the mandala and shines in all four directions. This introduces the person to the mandala in all parts of the world. The lady of the house draws a swab of colored paste on each forehead.
At the same time, all household items such as brooms, water pots, utensils and machines are honored in the same way and mandalas are drawn for them too. The custom has its origin in October 880 AD. Legend has it that a scholar ordered porters to fetch sand from the Lakhu Tirtha, a river in Kathmandu, knowing that the sand would turn into gold the next day. Someone else, named Shankhadhar Sakhwaa, found out about this and persuaded the porters to leave the sand with him. After the sand turned into gold the next day, Shankhadhar Sakhwaa took the gold and used it to pay off the debts of all the people in the Kathmandu valley. This day was now considered the beginning of a new year for people and they celebrated it to remember their happiness.
This is followed by the Sagan Biyegu in the ceremony . One of the women walks down the rows and hands each one a clay pot with dhow (yoghurt), each of which takes a swab and dabs on the temples. After that, ritual dishes consisting of boiled egg, smoked fish and rice wine are presented. The rice wine is poured into a small bowl and refilled three times, the bowl must be held in the hand and must not be put down. Worship of the mandala is the main ritual during Mha Pujā. The mandala represents the universe, and the wick and incense sticks that are lit during the ceremony signify that the participant should diffuse brightness and fragrance for others.
At the end of the ceremony, the family members celebrate. A bronze plate of auspicious foods is placed on top of the mandala, destroying the carefully crafted and decorated design to mark the worldly impermanence.
The main menu consists of eight items that represent the Astha Matrika , the eight goddesses of the Great Mother who are venerated as protectors. The arrangement of the dishes on the plate also represents a mandala, in the middle of which there is a pile of rice, which is surrounded by eight side dishes. In addition, other foods are served for a sumptuous feast. After dinner, the plates and leftovers are left that way overnight. The floor is not swept clean until the next day.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Mha Puja - A Unique Newah Tradition ( Memento from October 14, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ a b Cultural symbolisms in Mha Puja ( Memento from September 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Mha Puja today, Nepal Sambat 1132 being observed ( Memento from October 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Chunda Bajracharya, Newah Tajilajii Nakhah Chakhah , Nepal Bhasa Academy, 2000, Katmandu, p. 148