July 30, 2008

Woman doing "puja," or worshipping at the wheel of the chariot.

Friends,

Last night I attended part of the festivities associated with the Rato Machindranath, which is a huge, wheeled chariot that is hauled for a number of weeks through the streets of Patan (the city adjoining Kathmandu, and where I live) by men with long ropes. As it goes through the neighborhoods, the power must be shut off, and electric lines taken down, and in each area, the local people pray. Traditionally the farmers pray for rain. If the structure falls over in one's neighborhood (which it does often—luckily the streets are narrow and usually it doesn't go very far; it just leans against a building). But sometimes it falls forwards or backwards, all the way to the ground, and people are injured and some even killed. These events are considered to be very inauspicious. Today is the final rite when an official demonstrates a very old vest to the crowd, showing everyone that it still exists. I don't remember the story behind it.  

Flames are an important part of worshipping in Hindu/Buddhism.  Whole families take part in the worship.

We went last night to see how the final night is celebrated. There were many people, candles, and small lamps everywhere. It was quite smoky with interesting fragrances, such as yak butter, which is the fuel for the lamps, and incense. Different groups were chanting, small bells clanging, and priests were incanting. People prayed and lit candles or lamps. There was a group of women who would periodically go into a trance-like state in which their heads shook and their hands quaked. This occurred during chanting by a priest and just after inhalation of some type of smoke.

The number of festivals that are practiced in Nepal is amazing. In October and November we have a series of holidays in which there are days for worshipping crows, dogs, vehicles, brothers, and self. And Kathmandu has a “living goddess,” a young girl from a certain family background, chosen when she is 4 or 5, who after selection lives and is worshipped as a goddess until she menstruates (or falls and gets cut (i.e., bleeds). At that point she reverts to being a normal person (though it is believed that her husband will be short-lived, so it is difficult for her to marry) and another young girl is chosen to replace her. When Nepal was a kingdom, the king would go to her each year to be given permission and blessed to reign for another year. Although Nepal is a republic—last week when the president was sworn in one of his first actions was to go to the kumari (the living goddess) to be blessed.

The many different ethnic groups in Nepal each have their own beliefs and practices, and often a different language. For example, Rato Machinranath is a Newari festival limited to the people of the Kathmadu Valley. Other festivals are equally limited to specific ethnic groups. There are only 22 million people in Nepal, and only half of them speak Nepali as their first language. There are 23 different people groups in Nepal.

And so the events of the last two years are quite amazing. Two years ago, through mainly peaceful demonstrations, the people overthrew the king, who had illegally taken over the government. (An analogy would be Queen Elizabeth’s throwing out Prime Minister Brown and taking over the executive powers of the government.) This April, an election was held for a Constituent Assembly to run the county for two years while the Assembly writes the new constitution. The first action of that Assembly was to declare a republic, i.e. to banish the monarchy. This is pretty amazing considering that the king is traditionally thought of a reincarnation of a Hindu god.

It is an exciting time for the church in Nepal. Before 1990, it was illegal for a Nepali to be Christian. Many of the older Nepali pastors have spent months to years in prison for converting their countrymen. After 1990, although Nepalis were allowed to be Christian, Nepal was a Hindu kingdom, and Christian organizations, including churches, could not register. Now, Nepal has been declared a secular country. The church is growing and becoming more active in greater Nepali society. Christian leaders are playing a national role in inter-religious fora working for peace, reconciliation, and social justice. We are working with Christian leaders, helping them to understand how to work with others to forgive. After ten years of civil war, there have many atrocities; some are still going on. The war may (we pray) be over, but forgiveness and reconciliation have only begun, and the unique Christian perspective is for healing at this time.

In Rupendehi, one of the clusters where we work, our peace-building team (led by Joe Campbell, who has had many years of experience in Northern Ireland) has been building the capacity of the District Christian Society of Churches to act as the mediator between a Hindu and Muslim community—one community now living as refugees, having been driven out by the other. Dialogue is happening, relationships are being built. Leaders from the three communities were to come to a meeting to share what their respective scriptures say about forgiveness. They expected about 20 people. Two-hundred people showed up, as did the riot police. But the police were not needed, and all left the meeting knowing more about each others’ faith.

Please pray for Nepal, particularly for the leaders of the political parties—that they put aside party politics and put the nation and the people first. Pray in particular for the Maoists leaders. It is very likely that they will actually be running the government. And as they have had no experience at this, no doubt it will be a challenge. 

And pray for UMN (United Ministry to Nepal) that we may continue to serve. We are seeing changes in the government at the local level that are not good signs. Difficult days may be ahead in that we may be “encouraged” to work in ways that are against our methodology. That will require tact, persistence, patience, and sensitivity.

Thank you,

Beverley

The 2008 Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 90