Lakhe Dance festival kicks off in eastern hill districts

 Kimathanka (Sankhuwasabha), July 29 — The Lakhe Jatra, a traditional festival celebrated by the Newar community in eastern Nepal, kicked off today in several hill districts including Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Dhankuta, Tehrathum, and Taplejung.

In Sankhuwasabha, the festival began in Khandbari Bazaar with rituals at the Bhimsen Temple in Khandbari Municipality-1. According to Newar customs, Bhimsen—the deity of trade and commerce—is worshipped before the official start of the celebrations.

The festival traditionally begins on Nag Panchami, a Hindu festival that honors serpent deities, and continues until Krishna Janmashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna—roughly two weeks apart.

This year’s festival is being organized by the Newa Dey Daboo Municipal Working Committee in Khandbari. The main attraction of Lakhe Jatra is the Lakhe dance, where performers dressed in vibrant traditional costumes and fearsome masks parade energetically through the streets to the rhythm of traditional Newar music, drawing large crowds.

Committee chair Pushpa Bahadur Shrestha confirmed the official start of the celebrations. Though the Newar community is originally from the Kathmandu Valley—specifically Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Lalitpur—they have long established communities in towns like Dhankuta Bazaar, Taksar (Bhojpur), Chainpur, Khandbari, Wana, and Sibhuwa (Sankhuwasabha).

The Lakhe dance includes symbolic performances inspired by Hindu mythology, particularly the story of Lord Krishna’s battle with his evil uncle Kansa from the Dwapar Yuga.

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