Teej – The Festival And The History:
Teej is a fasting festival for Hindu women of some parts of India and Nepal. It takes place in August or early September. It is celebrated for marital bliss, well-being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul. The festival is a three-day-long celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting.
Generally falling on the Hindu month of Shravan (August), it also celebrates the arrival of monsoon after a season of oppressive heat. "Teej" is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains.
In Nepal, the first day of Teej is called the "Dar Khane Din". On this day the women, both married and unmarried, mainly of Khas ethnicity, assemble at one place, in their finest attires and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Admists all this, the grand feast takes place. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24 – hour fast starts.
The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the Lingam, the symbol of the lord, offering flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits etc made to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching teej is so hot their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night for it is bad omen if it dies away.
The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day’s puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all sins. The recent years have witnessed alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.
Teej is being celebrated just before one day of Ganesh Chaturthi. Married women do 24 hours nirjala fasting (without water or fruit) for the wellness of their spouse and married life.
