Newar community celebrates kija puja to honor sibling bonds

Newar community members in Bhaktapur and surrounding areas celebrated Kija Puja, a festival symbolizing love and harmony between brothers and sisters. The celebration followed a specific calendar where the community observes Lakshmi Puja, Maha Puja, and Kija Puja on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of the month of Kartik.

Sisters visit their brothers' homes to perform rituals for their long life, health, and prosperity. During the ceremony, sisters create a mandala using red clay and rice flour on the ground.

They place their brothers inside the mandala and perform rituals involving oil circles, lamps, and various offerings. The tradition includes providing five types of "sagun" items, which include eggs, fish, meat, beaten rice, and alcohol. Sisters apply a seven-colored tika to their brothers' foreheads while brothers provide gifts and money in return. In Bhaktapur, local residents note that sisters also perform these rituals for their elder brothers and nephews based on seniority.

Historian Mukti Sundar Jadhari states that the festival is linked to a myth where the river goddess Yamuna performed rituals to save her brother from the god of death, Yamraj. The festival dates were determined following a discussion between the Bhaktapur Municipality Mayor Sunil Prajapati and local religious leaders and committee members.