‘Aathon’ festival being celebrated in Kumoan
‘Aathon’ festival being celebrated in Kumoan
B.D.Kasniyal
Pithoragarh,Aug 20
‘Aathon’, the traditional festival dedicated to Goddess ‘Gaura’ and her consort ‘Mahesh’ (Lord Shiva), was celebrated in Pithoragarh and Champawat districts of eastern Kumaon on Wednesday with religious fervour and devotion. Observed on the eighth day of the Hindu month of ‘Bhado’, the festival holds deep significance for local communities, who regard the divine couple as protectors of the Himalayan region.
Major programmes were organised at the Ramlila Ground in Pithoragarh, Zindi village in the Chamdeval region of Lohaghat and Mallihat in Champawat. The festival was also observed in almost all villages of the two districts bordering Nepal. According to local tradition, ‘Aathon’ is believed to have migrated to the region from western Nepal thousands of years ago.
“Like the past decade, we have organised an ‘Aathon’ Mela at the Ramlila Ground this year as well. The celebrations, being held from August 19 to 26, are rooted in folk traditions and begin with the worship of ‘Gaura’ and ‘Maheshwar’. The rituals include the use of ‘Birura’, or five types of grains, which are soaked by village women on the fifth day of the month,” said Bhupendra Singh Mahar, president of the Sri Ramlila Prabandhkarini Samiti in Pithoragarh.
“The festival has deep roots among the people of western Nepal and eastern Kumaon. Almost every village in this region worships Goddess ‘Gaura’ and ‘Maheshwar’, who are identified as Goddess ‘Parvati’ and ‘Lord Shiva’ in mainstream Hindu religious literature,” said Padma Datt Pant, a folk-religion writer from Pithoragarh.
The festival begins on the fifth day of Hindu calender month of ‘Bhado’, when women soak five types of grains as part of the traditional ritual. These grains are later used in the worship of ‘Gaura’ and ‘Maheshwar’ on the eighth day.
After the worship, the idols of the two deities are immersed in a nearby water body, marking the conclusion of the festival, Pant said.
Once the grass idols of ‘Gaura’ and ‘Mahesh’ are installed at the designated place, village women gather around them and perform traditional folk songs and dances, including ‘Chachari’ and ‘Jhora’.
“Aathon has special religious and cultural significance in the region. The grains offered during the worship are taken as prasad by women and placed on the heads of their children and on grain stores. There is a strong belief that the divine couple will bless the family with prosperity, good health and happiness in the coming year,” Pant said.
