'Chonam' waking up in villages

It is believed that the new grain should not be eaten without washing it. Jhakri, called Pande in Chepang language, offers new grain by calling pitru while making fun of the drum. Then finally the grain or vegetable fruit is open to eat . This method like

Nwagi is called chonam in Chepang language. Chonam is the main festival of Chepang community. But in the recent times, the tradition of celebrating chonam has also decreased as the jhankri has decreased in the village. Nepal Chepang Association started celebrating Chonam openly by making a central program saying that Chonam festival will be on August 22.

Every year since 2063 August 22, the association has been celebrating the collective election in one of Chepang-dominated districts . Now, in addition to the central program of the association, Chonaam has started to be celebrated spontaneously collectively in the Chepang-dominated district. Not only in the district but also at the ward level, there is going to be a chonaam program.

In Orlyang, a hilly village of Chepang-populated Chitwan, on Friday afternoon, the locals collectively celebrated Chonaam . Orlyang village belongs to Ichchakamana rural municipality-2.

Let's have a good marriage, education is the turn, marriage is over 20 years old

You get married when you are young, then you get married in a big disaster later .

Do not dowry, give education to your daughter, no one cares about Mori .

Let's not do anything at all, it's a waste of money.

Higher education should be taught, let's reduce the expenses on Chhebar Bhoj.'

A student studying at a school in Mayatar gave this message through a song to the community celebrating the festival. The festival is a tradition. It is necessary to improve the society while maintaining it . That's why the students have given a message for social welfare through songs," said Padam Chepang, principal of Mayatar School.

The program was organized by the Unit Committee of Nepal Chepang Association Ichchakamana Rural Municipality-2. Ward 2 is a Chepang-dominated ward. According to Ward President Panchu Chepang, the population in the ward is around 3,300. He said that two-thirds of them belong to the Chepang community.

Chepang doesn't have enough arable land because they live in mountainous terrain. Their main crops are maize, pangdure millet, weeds, kaguno, ghaiyadan which grow in paddy fields. Which is nursed in August .

'Pande's chonam work is finished in the morning after making the drum all night and offering it to his father. After that, the new crop is eaten at home . But now Pandey is decreasing . There are no pandey in my village now. Elsewhere, there are very few," said Panchu Chepang, Ward President. He said that because of lack of

s, it is getting less and less to celebrate Chonaam . He said that since there is no Pandey, only the elders of the house are going to start eating it. Due to this, the charm of Chonam was decreasing .

'The adoption of new religions in our community also increased . People believe in Christianity. And stopped accepting the old custom . There was a fear that everything and culture would be lost. And the association has started organizing programs centrally every year," said Panchu Chepang, ward president. Now in many Chepang villages of Chitwan, there is no Pande or Jhakri, the dhangro is not played .

76-year-old Bir Bahadur Chepang from another Chepang village in Orlyang Aad, Bir Bahadur Chepang, remembers that Pande offered new crops to his father for two consecutive nights. It used to be like this 40/50 years ago .

Manmaya Chepang of Hapani saw the rice paddy, weed, and cucumber in the plow when she was young. Now the habit of eating like that is disappearing, she says. He feels that this custom will disappear.

Raj Bahadur Chepang Nepal Chepang Association Ichchakamana-2 Ward Unit Committee Vice President. "Because it has started disappearing, the central district has been organizing a program collectively. The ward has also organized a program in the village for the first time on Friday (today)," said Raj Bahadur. Bhim Bahadur Chepang, district president of the

association, said that Chonaam is celebrated collectively in various places to publicize that Chepang is a national festival. He expressed happiness that such a program has now reached the villages.

'There was no publicity about which festival is ours, as the influence of outside culture and religion was increasing, the celebration of Chonam was decreasing . Now we are trying to wake up," said Bhim.

Govindram Chepang, central president of the association, expressed his concern that Pande and Jhankri are decreasing. "We are in a campaign to preserve our traditions, culture and festivals." There is a plan to gather as many Pandeys as there are, train and prepare the new generation. Because without Pandey, it is difficult for our festivals and rituals to go ahead,' said central president Govindram.

The Chepang community, which belongs to the marginalized category, lives in the hilly areas of Makwanpur, Dhading and Gorkha along with Chitwan. According to the 2078 census, Chepang has a population of 84 thousand 364 across the country. The number of Chepang in Chitwan is 35 thousand 637. This year, on Saturday, the central committee of the association is celebrating the election in Gandaki Rural Municipality of Gokhara.