RITES AND RITUALS PERFORMED IN NEPAL
Ritual is a
ceremonial or symbolic act given importance by repetition. Rituals often
accompany rites of passage and religious performances. On the other hand Rite, in religion, is any specific ritual or action central to acts of worship or to a
person's life, such as rites of passage for baptisms, weddings, and funerals,
or the rite of dedication of the bread and wine in the Christian Eucharist. Rite
is a solemn ceremony or procedure customary to a community, especially a
religious group.
Some of the rituals and rites performed in Nepal are as follows:
- Jatkarma- Feeding ghee or honey to a newly born baby during pre-natal period.
- Chhaithi- Performed at the sixth day of the birth of a baby.
- Nwaran- Name giving ceremony on the eleventh day of birth.
- Annaprasan- Providing other food except mother's milk after 5 or 6 months.
- Chhudakarma- Ceremony of cutting the child's hair for the first time.
- Bratabandha- Providing special Vedic Mantra by Guru.
- Wedding- Marriage ceremony
- Chaurashi- Ceremony performed at the age of 84.
- Baitarni Pooja- Performed before the death of a person.
- Antesthi- The last ritual after death