The historic town of Tauthali in ward 5 of Tripurasundari Rural Municipality marked its centuries-old “Tauthali Curd-Splashing Festival” on Friday with locals hurling curd mixed with vermilion on one another.

People from across the district, from the elderly to the young, joined the celebration, splashing curd. According to local leader Mohan Shrestha, the festival begins after traditional rituals and offerings at six wooden poles, known as lingo, are performed with tantric rites while chanting “Jai Jai Om Mahadevi.”

The festival has grown larger since the 2015 earthquake, after the Department of Archaeology rebuilt the Tripurasundari temple for Rs36.5 million in its original design. The event culminates at the temple courtyard, where the goddess Tripurasundari Mai is worshipped.

Ward chairman Yadav Shrestha said the tradition dates back to the Kirant period and is celebrated to commemorate Goddess Lalita Tripurasundari’s slaying of the demon Mahishasur. Villagers also bring curd as offerings, hoping for prosperity in cattle rearing and livestock farming.

“As the curd is considered sacred, it is distributed as prasad. But since it cannot be given to everyone, it is splashed around instead,” he said.

The rural municipality has allocated Rs100,000 for the preservation of the festival. Recognised as one of the seven daughters of Taleju of Hanumandhoka, the goddess Tripurasundari’s festival begins every year on Phulpati, the seventh day of Dashain.