Gaura festival is a festival that falls in the month of Bhadra, which is according to the Nepali calendar and translating it into the English calendar it would fall between August and September. Gaura Festival is mostly celebrated in the middle-west and far western parts of Nepal. The festival starts from the day of Krishna Janmaasthami ( the birthday of Lord krishna , who is a reincarnation of Lord Bishnu), and this festival lasts for three straight days observing by worshiping Lord Shiva and Parvati , along with Lord Ganesha.
Theres a dance called deuda dance which is performed during the Gaura Festival. It is danced to the tunes of a song called the deuda song which is a collection of various folk tales, texts of the the great goddess Gauri who actually is the Goddess Parvati, who is said to be the Wife of the Lord Shiva, During the Gaura Festival, Women especially worship the Goddess Gauri wishing for the Good health of there husbands, prosperity and Long life.
This dance is also used as a way to express their feelings, sorrow and happiness to each other, this helps the people release their grief,woes and sadness. This dance doesnot have any special steps compared to the western dances , the people just hold hands and dance in a circular chain, while taking just one or two steps at a time, During this dance, both Men and women hold hands and dance in unison while singing together simultaneously, which is called “Juhari” in their own dialect.
Theres a tradition that the Brothers and Sisters or family members related by blood who cannot be married to each are not allowed to be in the same group, meaning , Brothers and sisters, nieces and uncles and so on and so forth tend to be in different groups from each other while performing this dance.There are different types of deuda nach , such as Raheri Deuda, Thadi Bhakha deuda, etc.
Deuda song is a song sang during the Gaura Festival and this song is sang by both the Men and women together in unison as they dance in a circular chain, the song has alot of folk tales, stories, and other significance that is unique to the people of the far western and mid-western parts of Nepal. This song is famous mostly in Achham, Darchula, Dailekh, Jumla, Kalikot , Baitadi, Dadeldhura. Bajura, and other many more places. This type is song mostloy present in the sudhur pashcim, and many regions of madhya pashcim.
There are arious tales of the start of the Gaura , mainly of this very day, but the main part is the women worship the goddess Gauri, the wife of Lord SHiva for their husbands health and long age.
The main theme of the Gaura festival is to worship the Goddess Gauri, On this day all the temples of the goddess Gauri is decorated with flowers, and various other decorations. There are various rituals being conducted in every temple and the people tend to hold parades as well. These parades have various shops and other stalls, that sell various delicacies of that is unique to them.
The people also give various offerings to the Goddess Gauri , which is called Biruda.
Biruda is a mixture of five or more grains which is made into a form of a ball, and then offered to the goddess Gauri. The mixture is believed to a pure and succulent offering for the Goddess Gauri, this offering is made by the ladies of the family and then offered in the temple of the Goddess Gauri. The belief goes that this mixture is fulfilling to whoever eats it and it contains all the essential nutrients that can be provided through the grains.
After finishing the worshiping at the temple , the women who are fasting return nback home and bless the family with the Biruda, The five grain mixture, it is believed being blessed with the Biruda , brings good health and long life of the family.
On the day of Krishna Janmasthami that happens between the days of the Gaura Festival, the women fast even longer, later on that very day , they form a idol of Lord shiva, Parvati ( Goddess Gauri) which is made up of grass. They offer the Biruda to the idols as well, this Biruda is also called the Pancha Birudi. This festivals other name is called the Biruda Parva, because of the Panchi Birudi, and the women wear new clothes on this day, and they sing in unison and enjoy the day, while singing their traditional songs, and dance along. Legend has that this festival has been going on being celebrated since the last four centuries, in the memory of Satidevi’s sacrifice of her body to the burning altar and then again being re-birth from the Himalaya Parbat.
Gaura Parva holds a huge significance in the lives of the far western and mid western people, the same goes all around the country , Every Festival holds a lot of significance as it shows our country in full bloom.
In 2020AD Nepal is bringing back Visit Nepal 2020 , and these festivals are what make the tourists come to our country and travel around , providing revenue to the country , Nepal in itself is a country that has Mountains, hills, traditions and cultures that are so large in number , just making one year as a tourism year wont allow it to showcase its entire tradition to the world. For Nepal is the only country with ethnic diversity and none of the cultures discriminate each other. Theres respect among every single ethnic group and will always be , So , Visit Nepal , See the Traditions, Try the cuisine , to enjoy what this small land locked country has to offer, the hospitality from this small country is something every Nepalese take pride of . Visit Nepal 2020 , not just that one year , but Visit Nepal every year, because , in a single month or just a few weeks, no one can see how beautiful this small Nation is. Visit Nepal.