This weekend has been a bit of a whirlwind, but mostly in a good way. I had my first interaction with homesickness on Saturday but from my current vantage point that feels like ages ago. At the time however, I was so overwhelmed. I am stuck in limbo trying to please people and understand their culture and tailor each and every one of my actions to fit the scheme of their daily lives, but sometimes it is so hard and tiring and I don’t always agree with the rights and wrongs of Nepal. But, we are taught (by our program) that we are essentially wrong and we must abide by every little thing that is done here. And I realize that I am the guest and the intruder, but that doesn’t necessarily make me wrong.
Today (and much of yesterday) we have been celebrating Teej, which is a festival that celebrates women. On this day women don’t have to work (Sunday is usually a work day) and they dress up in red saris and dance all day. At first, it almost sounds righteous until you realize that the women are supposed to fast all day, no food, no water, no complaining, for the health and prosperity of their husbands. Thousands of people flock to Pushupati to dance and complete the holy procession, and many end up passing out from exhaustion! I definitely did not fast, but I did get to engage in all the best parts of the festival; dancing, dressing up, funneling through the countless people, spending time with my aamaa, didi and bhaini etc.
On Friday, (working backwards now) I went to Pushupati with my peers as a continuation of our lecture on Hinduism. It was such an incredible experience. I was finally hit in the face with culture and was able to step into unfamiliar territory. Pushupati is supposedly an incarnation of Lord Shiva and is supposed to be one of the most significant Hindu temples in the world. When we first arrived we all sat around a little Mandir ((Hindu temple) one of the many scattered throughout the country) and listened to our Hinduism lecturer speak about Hinduism in modern day Nepal and what that means. Then, as we entered further we walked past a beautiful river filled with women and children bathing. As we continued further along the river a burning stench filled the air. There were at least 5 funerals going on that day, and in Nepal the procession includes burning the body. So, yes, I was breathing in burning flesh… kind of gross but also so interesting! It was such a public event that any one who was at the temple that day became privy to. Except, you will notice that no matter how public the event is; women are still not allowed to go, unless it is the mother of the deceased.
Pashupati pictures:
Pashupati brings forth such an interesting dynamic, the intersection of tourism and tradition are able to look each other directly in the eyes. Foreigners are allowed to attend, or at least watch these funerals, but female family members are not? The city that Pashupati is in asks for an entrance fee for tourists as well; a fee that may be more than some of the people who live within the area work for months to make. I felt especially funny carrying around a water bottle (!) that I am sure costs more than the belongings of some of these people.
It was also strange because there were men dressed in traditional Nepali wear, such that you might see in the villages, sitting beside the mandirs asking if we wanted to take pictures of them, so that we would then pay them for having them in the picture. But hey! If they can get away with ripping off tourists, all the more power to them right? We are the intruders, are we not? I certainly felt like an intruder, walking inches from the corpse of someone’s beloved and clunking around with a huge group of people, most of which were carrying DSLRs.
Sunday, on the other hand I felt like I started to fit in a bit better. My pariwar (family) dressed me head to toe in red in celebration of Teej and I spent the day with my aama (mom), bhaini (younger sister), and buaa (dad’s sister). I was still stared at as we walked through the streets, but much less than usual. I am not sure if it was as a result of my more camouflaged dress, or simply by virtue of being lost in the crowds. The strangest thing happened though. These two foreign women came up to the four of us when we were sitting outside of a store drinking Sprite and eating chips. They started out asking to take pictures of us, and then with us! They were speaking so slowly and using minimal words even though they clearly spoke English. They would point at the camera and say “it’s okay?” or “I come in picture?” My family thought this wasn’t that strange, but I was certainly surprised by the interaction. I kept quiet for the most part, and I don’t think they ever figured out that I was an American. Later on the walk when it was just my bhaini and I, I found that foreigners would not smile at me. This was atypical because it usually feels like there is an unspoken bond between us foreigners… maybe because at some point we may have had a similar experience, being in unfamiliar territory in a country like Nepal…Or maybe by virtue of how we are socialized to interact with our race or people who are similar to ourselves (I may draw on this for my independent study project!). In any case, I explicitly smiled at two separate groups of foreigners and received no response. My bhaini and I started to make a game of it… but she said that Nepali people knew I was a foreigner, she heard a group of women saying I can wear a sari well. J
Well, I apologize for how long it took me to get this up. I will be on an excursion to Palpa District starting tomorrow and through next Sunday. I won’t have internet, but I will write something to post upon my return!
Pictures from Teej:
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