Celebrating 77 Years, 7 Months, and 7 Days

The Newars are the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley, which from the 14th to the mid-18th century was the kingdom of Nepal. This period fostered the affluence of tangible and intangible art and culture in the Valley, which is now designated as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Kathmandu Valley and encompasses seven Monument Zones.

The Newar community, being ardent believers in divine, sacred energy embodied in nature, manifested it into images in various mediums. This belief system is reflected in the plethora of arts, architecture, and ritual and cultural practices that shape the artistic and cultural heritage and living traditions of Nepal.

The Newars not only celebrate the divine but also rites of passage (samskara) as central to their socioreligious tradition of the self as a sacred being. These ceremonies express and honor the importance of major life milestones, including birth, weaning, and coming of age.

Bhimaratha, the old age ceremony, is celebrated when a Newar individual or married couple reaches 77 years of age. This ritual transforms them from simple beings into divine elders. The elevation in their status is marked by a series of old age rituals called jyatha janko, or celebration of old age. These occasions are considered powerfully auspicious in bringing longevity and removing negativities.

There can be up to five jyatha janko ceremonies at different stages. When a person reaches the age of 77 years, 7 months, 7 days, the bhimaratha ritual takes place. At the age of 1,000 months, roughly between 81 and 84 years old, when the elder “sees a thousand moons,” the chadraratha ritual occurs. At 88 years, 8 months, 8 days, the devaratha ritual is celebrated. At 99 years, 9 months, 9 days, the divyaratha ritual takes place. Some even achieve the mahadivyaratha ritual at 110 years, 10 months, 10 days.

These old age rituals have elaborate and specific procedures with extravagant paraphernalia including paintings on cloth, terracotta pots, paper banners, mandalas, chariots, and other decorations, most of which are intricately handcrafted by the Newar artist community, known as the Chitrakar.

The bhimaratha occurs over four days. The first day is preparatory, gathering all the necessary items and cleansing and purifying in the presence of a ritual master (gubaju). On the second day the gubaju and Chitrakar install all the ritual items and decorations in their respective locations. The third day is the actual ceremony where all the rites of passage, known as the dasa karma rituals, are fulfilled. After the ritual, the celebrated person or couple sits on a decorated chariot pulled by family members. In the evening, having attained divine status, they give blessing to their relatives, and in return receive presents from family. The concluding fourth day involves deinstalling all the ritual paraphernalia and distributing them to relatives. The sons sponsor this whole ritual.

Sunil Chitrakar, CEO of Mahaguthi Craft, a fair-trade organization that produces, markets, and exports Nepalese crafts, celebrated the bhimaratha of his parents in 2021. He belongs to the Chitrakar, or artist community, with a family history of artists. Although he now has a different occupation, he still practices the skills he inherited from his family.

For the bhimaratha, he and his family created the painting commemorating the ceremony (janko paubha) and other ritual items. “We apprentice with our fathers and elders since childhood, not formally, but very informally, as assistants when we can,” Sunil says. “We thus inherit this practice and practice it when required.”

The process and production for such festivities ties the social fabric of many communities together. Different occupational castes—from the ritual master to potters, painters, and musicians—each have a role to play and are indispensable to the ceremony. Read on to learn more about the different artistic fabrications required for this ritual.

The main painting on cloth (paubha) made to commemorate the event is called janko paubha. In this painting the central image of Ushnishavijaya is enshrined in the dome of a stupa, which rests on a temple that has the image of Sukhavati Lokeshvara seated with his consort. Ushnishavijaya is a female symbol of long life and a healer of illness who bestows the realization of immortality by eliminating obstacles to a long life and purifying the three defilements of body, speech, and mind.

The images of Sapta Lochani Tara in white and Arya Tara in green flank the central image. White Tara is venerated for her ability to bless with the special gift of long life and rid the devotee of obstacles, while Green Tara enables liberation through the removal of obstacles that prevent devotees from reaching their goals. Sukhavati Lokeshvara, who is enshrined in the façade of the temple walls, is the god of the Pure Ream and worshiped so that the celebrated person or couple can achieve the Pure Realm in the future.

The images of the Five (Pancha) Buddhas in the top register of the painting represent the entire cosmos. The encircled deities are the nine planetary deities (nava grahas), and in the tenth circle is the person celebrating the janko (second from the right, seated on a lotus pedestal, while the others are seated on animal mounts).

The movement and position of these planets are believed to shape an individual’s personality, life events, and destiny according to the ancient science of astrology. They are thus venerated to bring about a balanced life for the people being celebrated.

Khadgapani in red and Vajrapani in blue, as dispellers of negative forces, are on either side of the temple. On each side of the central body of water is a narrative scene of the family’s participation in the ritual bathing and votive or fire offering in which various offering substances are burned in a specially constructed hearth (homa).

The lowest register visualizes the ritual procession with the people celebrating the janko seated in individual wooden chariots pulled by family members. The procession has a sweeper who cleans the path of the chariot, while a family member lays a white cloth carpet for the chariot to roll on, which becomes a sacred object. The chariot is paraded around the celebrant’s city. A music band plays traditional auspicious tunes to announce the arrival of the procession and provide a festive atmosphere.

Right below this visual narrative of the ritual is an inscription in Newar script, stating the date, time, place, and names of the person or couple celebrating the janko and the family members who performed the ritual.

After the ritual this painting is enshrined in the shrine room of the house as a commemorative image of the janko festival.

This Vajradhatu Mandala is painted on cotton. This painting symbolically represents the five tathagatas, or the five celestial buddhas, and accompanying bodhisattvas in their respective locations. The deities of this mandala are called upon for the well-being of the celebrated person or couple.

The framed mandala is placed flat on a short table, and below it is an intricate arrangement of terracotta pots, each painted to represent the 33 deities that inhabit this mandala.

Other symbolic mandalas, such as the Graha Mandala with Pancharaksha deities, feature the nine planets (nava grahas), also symbolically represented with different colored pulses in terracotta bowls. Pancharaksha are the five female protector deities. Because of safety concerns for the celebrated person or couple at this age, these deities are depicted as bringing protection and well-being.

These ritual pots are made by potters, purchased by the family celebrating the ceremony, then sent to the Chitrakar to be painted with water-based natural pigments. Each one bears an image that represents its function. Because he himself is a Chitrakar, Sunil painted the pots along with his family members for his parents’ celebration.

This clay image of a Buddhist stupa is a symbolic representation of the Buddha and his teachings. Kumale, the potter community, make such images. The vessel is made on the third day of the ceremony, when the daughters of the house go to a local potter. They go early in the morning, accompanied by traditional processional players (kabaja) with large trumpets (ka), to make their request. The potters make the vessel immediately, and it is then placed in a bamboo basket and brought to the ritual site.

Other items include the jo hasa, a bamboo tray on which to place the alimdya brought by the daughters of the house; ga hasa, a painted bamboo fan, used to light the fire for ritual cooking; and hasa, a circular bamboo tray painted with the Eight Auspicious Symbols and placed in the chariot below the cushion seat.

This category includes a banner of the Eight Auspicious Symbols, encompassing a conch shell (sankha), lotus flower (padma), endless knot (srivatsa), fly whisk (chamara), victory banner (dhvaja), pair of golden fishes (suvarna matsya), parasol (chattra), and overflowing pot (purna kalasa).

There are also banners of the four guardian kings of the cardinal directions placed at the corners of the chariot roof.

Bau khvapa are paper banners with faces of protector deities, and the nil vajra is a painting of a blue vajra that is placed on the forehead of the celebrated person or couple.

The chariot is made of wood, with four wheels so it can be rolled by pulling. The wheels are painted with the eyes of Bhairava for protection, and the seat is painted with the symbol of the swastika for auspiciousness. Two green horses are placed as if pulling the chariot, along with a symbol of the sun deity who is called upon for this ritual.

These old age ceremonies have the prefix to ratharohana, which means “mounting the chariot.” For each ritual, the chariot is different and tied to a particular deity. The elders are pulled in the chariot around town in a procession nearly identical to a deity’s festival. This is the most public part of the ritual.

The production of celebrations such as the bhimaratha tie the social fabric of many communities together. The ritual master, the potter, the painters, and the musicians all have a role to play and are indispensable to the ceremony.