Every dozen years, a procession takes place. Hardly known outside of Nepal, this rare festival marks a story involving rice and ends in drinking animal blood.
What does the name mean?
The festival ( or Jatra) here is called Pachali Bhairav Khadga Siddhi. The words 'Pachali Bhairav' refer to an aspect or form of Shiva, the God of destruction and renewal. While in most Hindu communities this form of Shiva is not seen as significant, in the Kathmandu Valley (the area surrounding the capital of Nepal), a cult has formed around this figure. The followers of this deity are mostly Newars, an ethnic group in the valley.
What does Khadga Siddhi mean?
Khadga means sword while Siddhi means complete knowledge (enlightenment) or great power. So it can be loosely translated as an ‘enlightened sword’.
And Jatra?
Jatra just means festival in Nepali.
What is the story behind Pachali Bhairav Khadga Siddhi Jatra?
Information is patchy online. The few articles that do exist are mostly a copy-and-paste job from other articles or give only vague information. The festival may have been started by King Ratna Malla, who made several expansions in the Kathmandu valley in the 16th century. The festival could have been a way to solidify his power. Another article says that the festival began in the 11th century. But this would be strange considering Pachali Bhairav is only mentioned from 1333 onwards. So what is going on? Not entirely sure. However, information on Pachaili Bhariab himself is better.
There are three main stories associated with him.
Story 1:
Pachali Bhairav was the king of Pharping (this is the most popular story). Pharping is roughly a 50-minute drive from Kathmandu.
As king, he had a habit of eating great quantities of meat and rice. While doing so, he would expose his true demon-like form for all the world to see. His wife wanted to see this. His husband told her that once she saw his true form, she would need to throw rice at him to restore him as a human. Understandably, she was terrified by her shape-shifting husband’s true form. She forgot about the rice and ran away.
Story 2:
Pachali Bhairav seduced a young girl who wanted to see her true form. He agreed but warned her about the rice-throwing thing like in the previous story. He revealed himself. She ran away. He buried himself underground, out of shame, with only one of his buttocks was left exposed. There is a rock still around today which is apparently the exposed part of that buttock.
Story 3:
Pachali Bhairav is a farmer, not a king, and walks through the fields of Pharping with his
Daughter Kumari and Son Ganesh. But his wife, Ajima, was jealous she was not with them. Pachali Bharaiv said it was ok for her to join him for walks around Kathmandu.
These are the three stories. As this aspect of Shiva acts as the crux of the festival, these stories about him and the story of the festival are intertwined. But what exactly is the canon story behind the festival? I cannot say for sure. There are distinct nods to the first and second stories, such as when the Gods throw rice at the crowd (which I will get into later). Beyond that, however, it could simply be a Jatra to solidify power for the king of the Kathmandu valley. This is why a sword is ceremoniously passed around four times during the event, as a way to transfer divine power to the king (or now president) of Nepal. This is about as much as I could find out.
What happens in the festival?
The festival lasts for several weeks every time it occurs. Throughout the valley, the Jatra is repeated. The one that I attended was in Chhepratri. It lasted 2 days.
Day One:
At 3 pm a procession moves out of the square where the Jatra is due to take place. They file their way through the streets of Kathmandu, passing several temples along the way, until they reach Darber Square. An hour later they return to Chhepratri with a group of people dressed as Gods. Each one wears a distinct mask and headdress. The most prominent, and largest figure, is Pachali Bahirav for he is the most significant in the story.
From 7 pm a crowd forms around a small patch of Chhepratri, a small roundabout in Kathmandu close to Thamel. While in Britain, the festival would have featured fenced-off roads, here traffic still trundles only a couple of metres away from the gathering.
At one end of the clearing sits the band who play a collection of notes that last around five seconds on a constant loop. Then the masked actors come out. It is believed that while the costume is worn by the actors, they enter a trance and have great power. The Gods then take turns to dance one by one while the rest sit down. However, those in their seats constantly shake their arms and legs at a fast pace. At no point do they change their stiff upright poster or slow down.
The mixture of the anonymity that the mask provides, the non-human-like movements, in tandem with the repetitive music creates an atmosphere that feels completely foreign to me. It's entrancing. The dancing continues for around five and a half hours. During this time the crowd is relaxed and chatty. Despite this, it is difficult to gauge if there is a sense of solemnity or jollity. While one would expect a musical festival to be energetic, like Holi for instance, the ceaseless repetition and silent actors counteract this impression.
At 11.30, the dancing stops. Before this point, the whole crowd films the procession and dancing. But just before the festival ends, security guards tell everyone to put their phones
away. To reinforce this rule, the guards wave a green laser pointer and shout at anyone who does not comply with the no photos policy. If someone is stubborn, the crowd also grows quickly annoyed.
Why are there no photos allowed all of a sudden?
A chicken and a goat are taken to the circle where the Gods are dancing. Both have their necks snapped and are put to rest on the floor. The crowd is quiet, everyone raises their heads to get the best view of the event. Each God, in turn, then lifts their mask slightly, still shaking and in tune with the music, and drinks the blood of the dead animals. They then stand up, put a handkerchief to their lips and wipe quickly before lowering their mask back to the normal position. After all the Gods have done this, the carcasses are taken away and the crowd suddenly begins to chatter again. Pachali Bharaib then takes a bowl of rice turns, throws some of it at the crowd and repeats this motion until he's done a full turn. He then takes a bowl of white liquid, which I assume to be milk, and dances, spilling small amounts onto the ground before the bowl is refilled again.
The Gods all then sit down, still constantly shaking and tapping their feet after 5 or 6 hours. The crowd then walks to the Gods and provides donations of money. They then turn to a small row of men with turbans and give food and drink to them.
Day 2:
This time there is no procession. It is similar to the day before, from around 2 pm or even a bit earlier, the Gods come out one by one and dance to the same repetitive music as before. This continues until around 5 or 6. The dances are less repetitive and movements are more lively. The figures dance and twirl quickly, running from one side of the circle to the other. At around 8 or 8.30 the Gods then are offered rice (called death rice) and water (death water). The cameras are put away again, just as before. A buffalo is brought out and its throat is slit. Each god drinks its blood as before with the same grave atmosphere as the day before. The animal is then beheaded and its carcass is taken away from the circle.
It looks as if the Jatra has finished and the donations from the crowd are about to be passed around. But today was a little different. Weather happened. Only a minute or two after the sacrifice was completed and the festival ended, the clouds opened with a mighty roar. Thunder, lightning and rain descended onto the valley. After two days of perfect weather, lazy clouds meandering under the blue sky, with no warning the heavens open just after a sacrifice. Coincidence?
What is the function of the Jatra?
This section, like in Holi, is more a personal opinion rather than a solid fact. How does this rare and (at least in my eyes) strange festival work within Newari society? There is certainly a mystic air around the whole event, its rarity, its entrancing nature and solemn ending do create a memorable and (for those religious) divine atmosphere. The rarity of the Jatra therefore acts as a boon in this regard to bolster its mysterious qualities. It also helps to tie in and legitimise the power between religion and state through the passing of the Khadgas (sword) between the Gods and the kings/president. Not only is this a cultural relic (as Newari kings used to do this same ceremony) but it aids in maintaining the Newari people’s strong influence on the feeling of Nepali nationhood, language and culture. Also, the celebration of an aspect of Shiva which is highly significant to the Newars and the reenactment of his myths works similarly to the nativity plays for Christmas. It works as a tool for educating the audience about their heritage.
Well, now you know about this Jatra, occurring every dozen years. Will you be there to see the next one?
Some corrections in this part - "Pachali Bharaib then takes a bowl of rice turns, throws some of it at the crowd and repeats this motion until he's done a full turn. He then takes a bowl of white liquid, which I assume to be milk, and dances, spilling small amounts onto the ground before the bowl is refilled again." It's not Pachali Bhairab who takes bowl of beaten rice, she's 'Barahi'. The white liquid is alcoholic drink, closest term would be 'rice beer' and the one offering this drink to everyone is 'Ajima' (literally meaning grandmother goddess and wife of Shri Pachali Bhairab)