Festival attendees hoist the 55-foot-tall Lingo (pole) on the occasion of Bhadai Purnima Festival.

Among traditional stories, god folk tales, and events that shaped our culture; the story of Manma and Bhadai Purnima defines interesting Nepalese culture. The story all begins in a place called Juphal in Dolpa. Juphal is not the headquarters of Dolpa, Dunai is but it is the place in Dolpa that has access to the airport and most of the facilities seen in Dolpa.

In ancient times, it was believed that the Manma Deuta (Nepalese word for god) also called Bhotey Deuta was traveling down from Bhot (Tibet in Nepali). During his travel, he rested in Juphal and quite liked the place. He then had a conversation with the Guru Deuta who was already there and they both agreed to co-exist together to live in Juphal after obtaining permission from the Thakuris.

Clustered houses of Juphal village nestle below the snow-capped mountain range, Dolpo. Photo by Niranjan KC

Later, as the population grew and time passed, Manma was identified as the local god of Juphal, and the whole festival of Bhadai Purnima was started to celebrate in Juphal to worship Manma. The Bhadai Purnima, a full moon day on the Nepali month Bhadra (August/September) is one of the main festivals of people living in Juphal, which is done to please the existence of their local god (Manma) through a series of rituals, worshipping, and sacrifices.

The Purnima is also found to be celebrated in some parts of Dolpa and far Rukum districts. The Purnima has been passed down from the 20th generation and all the people of diverse castes, ethnic groups, or classes celebrate it despite their differences. Bhadai Purnima starts with the full moon day of Shukla Paksha and generally lasts up to 15 days.

The festival is inaugurated by gathering the 350+ household villagers in Juphal to the sacred temple. The team of musicians (Damai) along with local singers stays all night and is entertained by the songs and dances of the accompanying villagers. The process is repeated every day with various planned activities like puja (worshipping), and making tetey (a sel-roti bread) for 15 days until the festival is completed. The 15-day festival is filled with activities, fun, and rituals all day and night.

All 350+ households partake in some responsibilities in the festivals despite their differences. The most interesting part of the festival for me was the role division among the people to carry out various works for the festivals. People were allocated tasks in the festivals according to their caste. For eg, People from Dhami (Shaman) group were allocated the task of sacred Dhami Nach which needs to be performed on the final day. Similarly, Damais were responsible for playing Bhukur (Traditional Nepali musical instrument), Pujari (priest) was responsible for worshipping the god, Thakuri was responsible for a particular task, and so on. The workers of the festivals were awarded prasad (offering left from worshipping god).

Dhamis of the festival perform rites and dances during the festival. The dance is the most important part of the Bhadai Purnima. 

There is also a very interesting system to allocate Prasad for the whole village. To Clarify Prasad are the offerings that the people make to the gods, which could be anything, fruits or animal sacrifices. In Bhadai Purnima, families of the whole village make an offering of a goat if they have the birth of an elder son in their family. Thakuri offers a goat if they have any something good happened or birth of an offspring in the family while any woman from the village who gave birth in a recent year must make an offering in the festival. The offering averages around 50 goats, and all of them are offered to Manma Deuta on the final day of the festival. The sacrificed goats are then distributed to the whole village. The head is given to Dhami, the Tail with a portion of meat is given to Damai, and so on.

After the inauguration day of the festival, each day villagers gather in the temple and continue with their Bhajan (religious song) all day and night. On the 14th day of the festival, there’s a tradition of changing the flags of the Lingo (pole) erected on the temple premises. The 55-foot-tall lingo has multi-colored flags which are changed yearly with proper ritual.

People observing the main festival from the top of the main temple (Mandaba)

The last day of the festival is the most important, and busiest day for the people of Juphal. Women travel up to the Mandaba, the main temple of Manma situated at the top of the hill in Juphal in the early morning to prepare roti (flat bread), tarkari (curry), and raksi (liquor). While men prepare for Dhami Naach (Shaman Dance), which is the main event of the festival, they also handle the sacrificial ritual of 50+ goats which came as an offering from the villagers.

Firstly, the Dhami Naach is performed in an open place in attendance of all the villagers, then the Dhamis and Pujaris are gradually escorted towards the temple of Juphal. After a few worshipping and dancing, the whole crowd also proceeded toward the Mandapa. Again, Dhamis perform their dance along the route, spreading their ritual blessing in their way. After the dance, the Dhamis and Pujaris get into the temple where the Kul Deuta (Main God-Manma) is located while the observers go to the stalls set up by women to have roti, tarkari, and raksi. At the same time, Men will be working on killing the offerings made to Manma.

Holding the slaughtered animal, that will be distributed as prasad to all on the last day of the festival.

To an outsider, unfamiliar with the culture of Juphal, the Bhadai Purmina festival appears to be chaotic madness. But the energy, excitement, and dedication that the whole village has for the festival and their local god for 15 days straight is just amazing. It is just insane to witness how crazily the villagers devote themselves to the rituals of the festivals and this is how the story of Manma has continued to live on, through the people’s dedication, belief, and blessings.