The Kirat community on Thursday observed the Sakela Ubhauli festival with zeal.

Various clans belonging to the community—Rai, Limbu, Yakkha and Sunuwar—celebrated the festival with fanfare in various parts of the country, particularly in Bhojpur, Khotang, Dhankuta, Dharan, Biratnagar, Kathmandu and Lalitpur. The festival is also popular in Sikkim of India and Hong Kong. Likewise, Nepali communities residing in the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States, among other nations, celebrate the festival with much gusto in the same countries.

The Ubhauli festival highlights the age-old agricultural ecosystem existing in Kirat community. It is also considered a prayer to mother nature for healthy crops and protection from natural calamities. The ritual is called ‘Bhumi Puja’.

Buddha Jayanti, the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, is also being observed across the nation today. The day is celebrated in all Buddhist nations, rejoicing in the enlightenment of Lord Gautam Buddha.

Traditionally, during the summer, the Kirat people used to move uphill to avoid the heat and malaria. They performed Ubhauli rituals before they moved and during that, they worshipped their ancestors and nature for better health and crops.

The major attraction of the festival is the Sakela Ubhauli dance in which a large number of people in traditional attire perform the dance together in a circle.