- Joined
- Mar 8, 1999
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- 1,760
Well, until I can sit down and type out the report from our trip to Dharan, I thought I'd relate the story of the gift we gave the bishwakarmas on behalf of you all - the forumites.
As part of the video shoot, everybody thought it'd be a good idea to show on the video how the khukuri-making equipment (tools, forges, steel, etc) is blessed. For that, we needed a Bhuddist priest and a large black goat (black because according to TB, they are tastier than white ones).
Said goat was purchased in town the night before the ceremony. Now, normally, the ceremony occurs during the Dashain festival, but since we were here now, it was decided that it would be okay to perform the Puja out of season. The next morning, a large stake was dug into the courtyard of the main production area. While TB sharpened the 24 inch Dragon Ang Khola (18 inch blade) with a chakmak, the priest applied a red chalky substance from the shrine onto the goat's head. Then, he proceded to douse the goat with water. As it was explained to me, he had to wait for the goat to shake off the water, which signified that it had accepted it's fate and was ready for the work ahead.
The rest was rather quick - one bishwakarma held the goat's head (via a rope attached to his horns) and another held the goat's hind quarters. The 24 inch Ang Khola, which had been made hair shaving sharp by TB and the Chakmak, passed through the goats neck quickly, and that was that.
Of course, the priest immediately picked up the goat's head (still moving) and ran from forge to forge, from tool set to tool set, and allowed some of the goat's blood to drip onto the tools, thereby blessing said impliments.
The rest of the morning was spent dressing the animal, weighing it, and everybody was in very good cheer. Those that wished to placed some of the chalk from the shrine on their foreheads and returned to their forges to continue their work. Before the crowd dispersed, I told everybody (with Lalit translating) that the goat was a gift from a bunch of guys called the forumites, and that the people back in America hold them in the highest regard - and that for them to be able to turn old rusty truck springs into fine works of art takes a talent like none other.
And so, on behalf of the bishwakarmas, I send to you, the forumites, their thanks for the gift of the Puja, the meal, and your support over the past two years. They ate well - so I'm told!
PS: This entire event was recorded on video, which will be available in a couple of months, once we are finished editing it. We'll post pics from the video (which was shot with a digital video camera) before then, though.
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Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
[This message has been edited by Craig Gottlieb (edited 05-15-2000).]
As part of the video shoot, everybody thought it'd be a good idea to show on the video how the khukuri-making equipment (tools, forges, steel, etc) is blessed. For that, we needed a Bhuddist priest and a large black goat (black because according to TB, they are tastier than white ones).
Said goat was purchased in town the night before the ceremony. Now, normally, the ceremony occurs during the Dashain festival, but since we were here now, it was decided that it would be okay to perform the Puja out of season. The next morning, a large stake was dug into the courtyard of the main production area. While TB sharpened the 24 inch Dragon Ang Khola (18 inch blade) with a chakmak, the priest applied a red chalky substance from the shrine onto the goat's head. Then, he proceded to douse the goat with water. As it was explained to me, he had to wait for the goat to shake off the water, which signified that it had accepted it's fate and was ready for the work ahead.
The rest was rather quick - one bishwakarma held the goat's head (via a rope attached to his horns) and another held the goat's hind quarters. The 24 inch Ang Khola, which had been made hair shaving sharp by TB and the Chakmak, passed through the goats neck quickly, and that was that.
Of course, the priest immediately picked up the goat's head (still moving) and ran from forge to forge, from tool set to tool set, and allowed some of the goat's blood to drip onto the tools, thereby blessing said impliments.
The rest of the morning was spent dressing the animal, weighing it, and everybody was in very good cheer. Those that wished to placed some of the chalk from the shrine on their foreheads and returned to their forges to continue their work. Before the crowd dispersed, I told everybody (with Lalit translating) that the goat was a gift from a bunch of guys called the forumites, and that the people back in America hold them in the highest regard - and that for them to be able to turn old rusty truck springs into fine works of art takes a talent like none other.
And so, on behalf of the bishwakarmas, I send to you, the forumites, their thanks for the gift of the Puja, the meal, and your support over the past two years. They ate well - so I'm told!
PS: This entire event was recorded on video, which will be available in a couple of months, once we are finished editing it. We'll post pics from the video (which was shot with a digital video camera) before then, though.
------------------
Craig Gottlieb
Gurkha House
Blade Forums Sponsor
[This message has been edited by Craig Gottlieb (edited 05-15-2000).]