| Science Census Hall
Edited | Science Census Hall
It may seem outrageous that women living in Nepal are married three times in their lifetime, and that these three marriages are not even married to people, but this is a unique custom in this country. Why is there such a strange custom in Nepal?
Nepal is a country that may sound a little strange to some people, but this country is actually very close to our country, it is in the middle of India and China, it can be said to be a very small country. The living standards of the people of this country are also relatively backward, and they are one of the least developed countries in the country. Although the country is relatively poor, it has characteristics that make many people shine. Nepal is rich in beautiful women! And these beauties are still that kind of natural beauty, and their appearance is very pure and sweet.
However, Nepalese women are influenced by local traditions, and they must marry three times in their lifetime, including the people they marry later. Failure to do so would be condemned by the locals. But don't get me wrong, they weren't married on two of the three marriages, or more like a ritual.
Their first marriage will surprise people, and they will marry Luo Han Guo when they are three years old. And this marriage is also known locally as fruit marriage, it is to hold a very grand wedding, but it is not a hasty matter. It is said that according to the local saying, with this marriage, you will bless your future husband with health and longevity, and the relationship between the husband and wife is harmonious. Doesn't it sound like a religious ritual that isn't over yet?
The second marriage is even more outrageous, requiring girls to stay in a dark room that does not pass through light for 11 days, until the sun appears on the 12th day before they can come out. This is known by the locals as "marrying the sun", also known as the "kiln dwelling" ceremony.
The ceremony begins when the girl first comes to the Great Aunt and is usually performed in the attic or basement of the house, during which the girl is required to isolate all men, usually with the older woman in the family. When the sun comes out early in the morning of the 12th, the girl will come out to pray for the sun. After this kind of behavior similar to the black house hiding, it means that the girl has officially grown up on this day, and has reached the age of marriage, and can also be seen as a coming-of-age ceremony for local girls.
The third marriage is the formal marriage with the man, the marriage process is similar to most places, the process is very cumbersome, usually it takes four days to get married, but Nepalese women have experienced the first two marriages, no matter how much trouble should be tolerable.
I have to say that Nepalese women are really troublesome to get married, if in the mainland I am afraid that women who are married once are difficult to find the next one, let alone married three times, married women are difficult to welcome in the mainland, and this also shows the cultural differences of different countries, and the incomprehensible customs in our eyes are indeed normal in the eyes of the locals. And there are festivals in Nepal that are actually for animals, what is going on?
Most of the festivals have a very positive meaning, such as the new year in the mainland is for the family to reunite on this day, and it also represents the welcome of the new year. In the perception of many people, most festivals are based on people as protagonists, and few let animals be the protagonists. However, in Nepal there is a festival for cattle, and the Gai Gatra Festival is also known as the Nepalese Cow Festival.
More than 80 percent of Nepal's natives work in agriculture, growing crops such as sugar cane rice. However, the local level of science and technology is relatively backward, and the processing of grain can only be through simple means, although it can meet the needs of the local people but cannot get benefits from it, which also makes Nepal one of the least developed countries in the world.
But it is such an agricultural country that has held the scalper to the sky, regarded the scalper as its own national beast, and regarded the scalper as a sacred cow. No one should harm the scalper, and the scalper should be protected at all times. However, the origin of the Nepalese Cattle Festival was not because of cattle, but for people.
It is said that in the 17th century, the second son of the king of Nepal died. The queen was heartbroken and could not accept this fact. So the king began to think of a series of ways to comfort the queen in order to comfort the queen. But none of them had much effect, so the king set a special festival for the queen. Let the people in the kingdom who died with the second son for a year, by their families to drive cattle on the street parade, the queen saw this scene, understand that not only her own relatives died, there are many people who have the same experience as her, but everyone cheered up. The queen was no longer sad.
Subsequently, this event gradually evolved into a unique local day of the dead, and this festival was also inherited and became one of the more solemn festivals in Nepal. The purpose of the festival has also become to pay tribute to the deceased relatives and friends, hoping that they will live well in another world. The same with their own family on the day of the holiday laughter and forget the grief.
The highlight of this festival is that there are cows everywhere in the streets, and even cows played by people are paraded in the streets. Usually, people who have passed away in the family will hang pictures of their lives on the cow, and according to local legend, this will allow the sacred cow to take the soul of the deceased to heaven. This is also a special way to let the dead rest in peace
And it is precisely because of this festival "cattle flooding", but also so that many people call this festival as the cow festival, but the meaning and purpose of this festival and the name is indeed inconsistent, it is easy for many people not to understand what this festival is going to do. This kind of festival to commemorate the deceased should still be respected. And Nepal also has a very grand festival - Desai Festival, this festival is different from the Cow Festival, on the last day of the Desai Festival, Nepalese people will kill cattle, what is going on?
The Desai Festival is a national holiday in Nepal and begins with a nine-day event on the night of the full moon from September to October each year. The most important thing in the Desai Festival is the sacrifice, the 9 days are basically sacrificed for the goddess of the local faith, so the Desai Festival is also known as the Durga Festival. This festival and the mainland's New Year's year, is based on family reunions, thanks to the contributions of ancestors, every year at the beginning of the Desai Festival will bring people a grand carnival.
The activities carried out in the Desai Festival are related to durga, the goddess of the Nepalese faith, and the origin of the festival is precisely because of this goddess. According to local legend, durga, the goddess of demons, has nine hands and ten incarnations. In order to save the kingdom of heaven, Durga rode on the male lion in a big red robe, holding various weapons and magic weapons in each hand, and led the other gods from heaven to attack the demons together.
In the end, the demon goddess Durga killed the demon and successfully saved the kingdom of heaven. Nepal honors the goddess's actions by calling her "divine protector." In order to worship the gods, people carried out a series of sacrifices and killed livestock during the sacrifice to worship the gods. And this is also the origin of the Desai Festival.
Therefore, when the Desai Festival is held, the most important event is the sacrifice activity, and the festival is celebrated through sacrifice. Although it is a national festival, the way of worship varies. But one thing doesn't change, every day during the festival, devotees come to the statue of Durga to offer animal sacrifices to him. However, it is said that in some places only women can be enshrined.
It is said that during the festival, the status of virgins will be very high, and even the locals will be regarded as objects of worship, and some simple rituals will be performed on virgins. Or on the fifth day of the festival, the nine most suitable virgins were chosen to be gathered for everyone to worship, and the reason for the choice of nine virgins was probably related to Durga's nine hands.
On the last day of the Desai Festival, the climax of the festival arrives. A grand "blood sacrifice" ceremony was launched, killing a large herd of buffalo at the place where the sacrifice was held, and using the blood of animals to sacrifice the goddess Durga, the scene of the sacrifice may be very bloody, do not take children to watch it.
At the end of the Desai Festival, people will sink the goddess into the water, so that the goddess can return to her own place and silently protect the local people. Although the festival is full of religious overtones, the grandeur of this festival is unprecedented, and friends who have the opportunity can go to Nepal to watch this grand festival. Nepal also has a variety of festivals, I believe that friends who can travel to Nepal will have a lot of fun.