Visual Stories
Sithi Nakha marked by cleaning water sources
The Newar community across Kathmandu Valley observes the annual festival by cleaning traditional water sources ahead of the monsoon and gathering for communal feasts.
Dipesh Darshandhari
The Newar community across the Kathmandu Valley celebrated the annual Sithi Nakha festival on Saturday by cleaning traditional water sources, including wells, ponds and centuries-old stone spouts.
Observed every year on the sixth day of the waxing moon in the lunar month of Jestha (May/June), the festival marks the onset of the monsoon and holds deep cultural and environmental significance for the Newar community.

Sithi Nakha is observed as a community effort to clean and maintain traditional water sources before the monsoon, when rainwater, debris and runoff can contaminate them. In Lalitpur, local residents gathered to clean centuries-old stone spouts, continuing a tradition passed down through generations.
The festival is also marked by the preparation and sharing of traditional foods, with families and neighbourhoods coming together for communal feasts.

Widely regarded as a celebration of both environmental stewardship and cultural heritage, the festival reinforces community ties while helping preserve the Newar community’s traditions and identity.









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