Kirat Khambu Rai and Sakewa Sili was presented on the occasion of 63rd Republic Day 26 January 2012in New Delhi

Sakela, also known as Sakewa or Sakenwa (), is one of the main festivals of the Khambu (Rai people), an ethnic group indigenous to Eastern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

and the

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

Kalimpong Kalimpong is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The region comes under Gorkhaland Territo ...

, and

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a city in the northernmost region of the States and union territories of India, Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the Koshi Pr ...

regions of

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. Sakela is celebrated twice a year and is distinguished by two names: ''

Ubhauli Ubhauli () is festival of the Kirat communities of Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha and Rai of Nepal, India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, sevent ...

'' and ''

Udhauli Udhauli () is a festival of the Kirat communities of Kirati people specially celebrated by Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha, Khambu Rai etc. of Nepal, India and other different countries around the world where these indigenous people (Kirati People) res ...

''. Sakela ''Ubhauli'' is celebrated during

Baisakh Purnima Vesak (; Sanskrit: '), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima, Visak Bochea and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia, as well as in Tibet and Mongolia. It is among the most impor ...

(the full moon day in the month of

Baisakh Vaisakha (, ) is a month of the Hindu calendar that corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Indian national calendar, Vaisakha is the second month of the year. It is the first month of the Vikram Samvat calendar, Odia calenda ...

) and Sakela ''Udhauli'' is celebrated during the full moon day in the month of

Mangsir Mangsir () is the eighth month in the Bikram Samwat, the official Nepali calendar. This month coincides with the mid-November to mid-December of the Gregorian calendar. Important events during this month include: *Mangshir purnima (Full Moon), U ...

Significance

Kirats believe in

shamanism Shamanism is a spiritual practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with the spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritual energies into ...

and are worshippers of nature. The Sakela celebration is a prayer to

mother nature Mother Nature (sometimes known as Mother Earth or the Earth Mother) is a personification of nature that focuses on the life-giving and nurturing aspects of nature by embodying it, in the form of a mother or mother goddess. European concept tr ...

for healthy crops and protection from natural calamities. The festival is Started on

, Sakela is celebrated for fifteen days in Baisakh (April–May) marking the beginning of the farming year. Similarly, the celebration of Sakela during Mangsir (November–December), which is the harvest season, is the giving of thanks to mother nature for providing a good harvest.

Sakela dance

The main characteristic of this festival is a ritual dance call Sakela dance performed by large groups of Kirats, wearing their traditional attire. People from all ages dance together in a large circle. There are male and female leaders in each circle known as ''Silimangpa'' and ''Silimangma'' respectively. They choreograph the dance moves known as ''sili'' while others follow them. The term "sili" reflects the different aspects of human life and their relationship with nature.

Variations

Among Kirats,

Sunuwar The Sunuwar or Koinch are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group. ( Nepali:सुनुवार जाति, ''Sunuwār Jāti'') a Kirati tribe native to Nepal, parts of India (West Bengal and Sikkim) and southern Bhutan. They speak the Sunuwar languag ...

and

Rai (), commercially styled as since 2000 and known until 1954 as (RAI), is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terrestrial and subscription television channels a ...

celebrate this festival, whereas the

Yakkha Yakkha may refer to: * Yakkha people, an ethnic group of South Asia * Yakkha language, a Sino-Tibetan language * Yaksha The Yakshas (, , ) in Mythology are a broad class of nature spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or ca ...

s and the

Limbu Limbu may refer to: * Limbu people, an indigenous tribe living in Nepal, Sikkim (India) and Bhutan ** Limbu language, their Sino-Tibetan language *** Limbu script **** Limbu (Unicode block) * Rambahadur Limbu Rambahadur Limbu, (; 8 July 1939 � ...

s have their own Youchyang and

Chasok Tangnam Chasok Tangnam is a festival of the Limbu people The Limbu (Limbu language, Limbu: ) are a Sino-Tibetan ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Himalayan region of eastern Nepal, northeastern India and western Bhutan. In India, the Limbus ...

. Despite important local variations, indigenists view these dances as specific as well as common to all Kirat.

Different ways of saying it

There are different nomenclatures of Sakela in different Khambu languages. The Chamling sub-tribe calls it Sakela. Bantawas call it Sakewa or Sakenwa while the Thulungs call it Toshi. Bayung Rai Hang Silli Dance in Kathmandu 2011

Bayung Rai Hang Silli Dance in Kathmandu 2011

Among the various Rai languages Sakela is also called: * or in

Bantawa The Bantawa Language (also referred to as An Yüng, Bantaba, Bantawa Dum, Bantawa Yong, Bantawa Yüng, Bontawa, Kirawa Yüng), is a Kiranti language spoken in the eastern Himalayan hills of eastern Nepal by Kirati Bantawa ethnic groups. They use ...

, Dungmali and

Mewahang language Mewahang (Meohang), or Newahang, is a Kiranti languages, Kiranti language spoken in Nepal. The eastern and western dialects are structurally distinct. Distribution and dialects Western Mewahang is spoken in the upper Arun valley west of the Arun ...

s *

Kulung Kulung may refer to: * Kulung people, an ethnic group of Nepal * Kulung language (Nepal) Kulung (autonym: ''Kulu riŋ'', ulu rɪŋ is one of the Kiranti languages. It is spoken by an estimated 33,000 people. Van Driem (2001) includes Chukwa as ...

and Nachhiring * in Thulung * in Bahing * or in

Lohorung Lohorung may be: * Lohorung people, in Nepal * Lohorung language, their Sino-Tibetan language {{dab ...

and Yamphu * in Puma

Gallery

File:Sakela Ubhauli Festival 2019 (48076233107).jpg, Offerings made to Paruhang and Sumnima, the ancestral deity File:Kirat Rai ethnic womens in Sakela Ubhauli festival.jpg, Kirati Rai women in Sakela Ubhauli festival File:Sakela Ubhauli Festival 2019 (48076097346).jpg, Women in traditional Rai wear (2019) File:Sakela Ubhauli Festival 2019 (48076168937).jpg, A Rai man playing traditional drum (Dhol) File:Rai Girl Playing Jhyamta in Sakela Ubhauli festival 2017 Kureong Darjeeling.jpg, Rai Girl Playing Jhyamta in Sakela Ubhauli festival (2017

Kurseong Kurseong (, ) is a town and a municipality in Darjeeling district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Kurseong subdivision. Located at an altitude of , Kurseong is from Darjeeling and has a pleasant climate throu ...

)

References

External links

{{commons category
SakelaDance.comSakela Dance
on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

United Kirat Rai Organization of America
Kiranti Kirat festivals May observances Public holidays in Nepal Culture of Nepal Observances set by the Vikram Samvat calendar Culture of Koshi Province