One of the most prominent festivals celebrated in the far-west, Gaura Parva, kicked off this week and with it, the residents of the region have started celebrating the Deuda dance, the major highlight of the festival. 

Deuda is a game-cum-dance event, where the participants organise themselves in a circle, hold each other’s hands, and move themselves in harmony. Deuda is usually accompanied by a song that celebrates gods and goddesses and myths. 

Bir Bahadur Chand, a Kanchanpur-based litterateur, said that, since the main attraction of Gaura is the Deuda dance, and since the tradition is not very popular among the youths today, it is high time to work for its preservation. 

“Deuda is the identity of far-west and its people. The songs they sing in Deuda carry myths spanning back to centuries. It also is a reflection of the culture and society,” Chand said. 

In Mahendranagar, two different groups, Mahakali Sahitya Sangam and Khaptad Samaaj, are organising Deuda dances in Khula Manch and Sambidhan Chowk, which see hundreds of attendees dancing the Deuda every day. 

Deuda singer Lal Bahadur Dhami said that although the custom of Deuda is still being observed, the number of participants, however, have dwindled of late. “Deuda is a ubiquitous in the far-west. The number of participants may have been on the decline of late, the news of our fellow Nepalis celebrating it elsewhere, from Kathmandu to Doha, is a silver lining.” 

Gaura is also considered a festival of unity in which the migrants return home for celebrations. 

On the first day of the festival, which started on Saturday, women marked the beginning of the festival by soaking five types of grains in water in a copper pot. The collection of the five grains including wheat, peas and black gram is known as Biruda in the local dialect.

Likewise, the second day is a day of fasting during which the women prepare the portraits of Gaura Devi in the wee hours at sources of water or wells by washing the Biruda collectively.

On the day of Saptami, the married women welcome the Gaura deity in the temple after worship. The residents of Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura, Doti and other districts observe the festival with great fanfare.