South Asian News Network

The Kirat community celebrates the Udhauli festival on the full moon day of Margashirsha Shukla Purnima, honoring ancestors and respecting nature. The festival involves offering offerings to deities after harvest, seeking permission to eat, and remembering ancestors. Kirat women and men dress up in ethnic costumes and perform various dances, including the traditional Sakela Sili and Chhyabrung. The small elephant forest in Lalitpur is considered a historical and religious place since the Kirat period. The festival is celebrated in Sano Hattivan with a special puja. Kirats perform Ubhauli puja on the full moon day of Baisakh, performing an environmentally friendly act by descending from the top. Worship is done for good farming and thanks are given to Sakela for good farming in Ubhauli.