Dashain: Jhijhiya & Sakhiya dances

Dashain celebrates the victory of the goddess Durga over the buffalo demon. Across Nepal it means family reunions, tika and blessings from elders — and on the plains it also means dance.

Jhijhiya

In Mithila, during the nine nights of Navaratri, groups of women and girls carry clay pots pierced with holes and lit by oil lamps on their heads, dancing in circles and singing songs that ask the goddess to protect their homes from witchcraft and evil. The flickering pots in the dark lanes of Janakpur's villages are unforgettable.

Sakhiya

Among the Dangaura and Rana Tharu of western Nepal, young women perform the Sakhiya dance through Dashain nights, in bright clothes and silver jewellery, to the beat of the madar drum. Songs tell stories of gods and village life.

Temple fairs

Goddess temples across the Tarai — Chhinnamasta at Sakhada, Gahawa Mai in Birgunj, Bageshwari in Nepalgunj — draw huge crowds from both sides of the border.