Hindu Festival

Dasai is a major Hindu festival in Nepal, sort of like our Christmas. The festival lasts for 10 days and commemorates the mythical victory of Lord Rama over Ravana, the demon king of Sri Lanka. Dasai is a family holiday, so Nepalis travel home to gather with relatives for feasting and worshipping various gods with prayer, offerings and sacrifices (goats mainly). There are special blessings for family members, homes, vehicles, etc., and everyone gets new clothes. Children and younger family members receive special blessings from elders, which are bestowed with a tika (red spot) on the forehead. One source told me that on one of the days of Dasai, people worship dogs, so they put tikas and bangles on their dogs and treat them nicely for a day. On the two main days of the festival, people take their goats to the temple to sacrifice to one of the Hindu gods. They also build huge bamboo swing sets, and I heard there was a ferris wheel in the bazaar. (No wonder there were so many broken arms in the hospital over Dasai!)

I managed to have a good conversation with one of the pediatric interns before he left for the holiday. I asked him what Dasai meant to him, and he said it was pretty much just a cultural thing, a time to be with family and friends. He does not believe in any god and hasn’t since he was a small child. Although he will receive a tika from his parents and grandparents at Dasai, he does not plan to worship at the temple. I hope to have more conversations with others over the next few weeks, as it is a good way to start conversations about faith and beliefs.

Things at the hospital were really busy despite the holiday. Other area hospitals were closed, so the mission hospital here in Tansen received many referrals of critically ill/injured/pregnant patients. Half of the interns and residents were on holiday, so I actually felt useful helping on rounds and in the Emergency Room.