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Yomari Punhi
Yomari Punhi -meaning full moon of yomari-one of the
popular Newar festivals is observed every year during the full moon of
December.A yomari is a confection of rice-flour (from the new
harvest)dough shaped like fig and filled with brown cane sugar and
sesame seeds, which is then steamed. This delicacy is the chief item on
the menu during the post-harvest celebration of Yomari Punhi. On this
full moon day, people of the Kathmandu Valley offer worship to
Annapurna, the goddess of grains, for the rice harvest. Groups of kids
go neighborhood to beg yomari cakes from housewives in the evening.
Sacred masked dances are performed in the villages of Hari Siddhi and
Thecho at the southern end of the Valley to mark the festival.
The
Newars, upon munching a mouthful of yomari, a sweet dish, await the end
of their four days of devotion of god, following which they will be
blessed with wealth, according to their belief. The people prepare
yomaris, in the form of gods and goddesses such as Kumar, Ganesh, Laxmi
and Kuber. In keeping with the culture, parents bless children from two
to twelve years who are then offered yomaris. The children on the other
hand perform the customary song and dance and ask for food and other
gifts from the elders during the festival.
The festival is said to have started from panchal
nagar(present day Panauti). Myth has it that Suchandra and Krita, a
married couple, first experimented with fresh yield of rice from their
field. And what took shape turned out came to be known as yomari. The
new delicacy was eventually distributed among the villagers. As the
food was liked by all, the bread was named yomari, which literally
means 'tasty bread'. The myth further states that on the same day the
couple offered the god of wealth, Kuber, the new delicacy, who was
passing by in a disguise. Following this Kuber disclosed , his real
identity and blessed the couple with wealth. He also declared that
whoever will prepare yomari in the form of gods and goddesses on the
full moon of December and observe four days of devotion to god, will
get rid of poverty. The festival is celebrated on the second day when
prayers are offered during which the yomaris are stored and not eaten
on that very day. On the fourth and the final day the people belonging
to the Newar community consume the sweet bread as a gift from gods and
this practise also marks the end of the festival.
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