What is the Desai Festival in Nepal?

Desai Festival is a sacred festival in Hinduism, which is on the eve of the appearance of autumn valley, that is, from the first day of June to the full moon, which is equivalent to the second day to the sixteenth day of the ninth lunar month in China. Lasting for half a month is the happiest moment for the Nepalese people.

"Desai", which means "ten days", refers to 10 days and nights when Nirvana, one of the gods with many followers in Hinduism, fought against the demon Mahisasu. Dressed in a red robe and riding a lion, he has nine pairs of giant hands, each with different weapons and magic weapons, incarnated as 10, an evil spirit backed by gods. After 10 days of fighting, he finally killed the devil and saved the kingdom of heaven. Commemorate the meritorious service of this goddess. The kingdom of Nepal respects her as a "sacred protector".

Sacrificing animals and worshipping gods is the most grand and common traditional festival during Desai Festival, which is very lively in dozens of inaccessible mother temples in Kathmandu. People holding goats and cocks entered the temple in an orderly way. In the chanting of more than a dozen wizards, they cut off the heads of sacrifices in front of the goddess in turn, put them on sacrificial plates, sprinkled blood on the gods, worshipped, crossed a pool of blood and left happily.

The army also slaughtered sacrificial flags. In the military camp, seven slaughterhouses were set up according to the flags of seven active brigades in the Kingdom of Nepal. Representatives of the royal family came to preside over the ceremony, accompanied by magnificent military music, and senior military generals lined up to salute. After the ceremony, accompanied by the red wizard, the royal representative baptized a black goat with holy water, that is, first put red on its head, and then sprinkled cold water on it. According to the custom of Nepal, shaking your head indicates agreement. When a sheep wants to shake the water off its hair, shake off its whole body and shake its head and tail, it means that it agrees to be slaughtered. At this time, two agile soldiers caught the goat one by one, and the well-trained butcher was ready. The knife flashed and the sheep's head fell to the ground. Two soldiers immediately took the headless sheep around the field. Finally, the band played military music again, and the guards fired their guns and cheered. The chief of staff of the head of the regiment pressed his handprint on the flags of each brigade with his hands stained with the blood of animals, and the flag awarding ceremony came to an end. This ceremony shows that under the protection of the inaccessible mother goddess, you can win this battle even if you meet an enemy with infinite power like the demon Ma Xi Sassu.

The ninth day of Desai Festival is "Red Spot Festival". On this day, the elders point red for their families and younger generations, that is, they rub together mascots such as cinnabar, rice and petals and stick them in the middle of their foreheads to show good luck. In the afternoon, the king and queen held a little red activity in the palace to bless officials and subjects, which brought the festive atmosphere to a climax. The square of the palace was decorated with the national flag, and six etiquette officials stood at the main entrance on marooned horses, which was very solemn. The civil and military officials put on their holiday costumes and lined up on the left side of the palace. On the right are the vast number of subjects, including well-dressed intellectuals, disabled people with inconvenient hands and feet, centenarians and babies in their arms, and pariahs in rags ... Those who come voluntarily can get red dots from the king and queen. At 3 o'clock sharp, the military band played cheerful music. The king stood on a red-carpet platform 30 cm above the ground in the square. People who accepted the red dot all approached the king and stood and saluted, their heads slightly leaning forward. The king touched the center of his forehead with his right thumb dipped in cinnabar, leaving a dark red auspicious mole. The women went straight to the palace to receive the queen's little red coat. This activity lasted until five o'clock.