Nawagi festival begins in Dhankuta

By Santosh Subedi, Dhankuta, Oct. 2: The Athpahariya community of Dhankuta has begun celebrating Nawagi, one of its major traditional festivals. The community, which considers the area between the Arun and Tamor rivers in eastern Nepal its ancestral homeland, observes the festival through a series of religious and cultural rituals.

The Athpahariya people have their own distinctive language, customs, culture and traditions. Traditionally, Nawagi is celebrated for several days following the full moon of the Nepali month of Bhadra. Community members perform various rituals to express gratitude to their ancestors and deities and to seek blessings for agricultural prosperity.