Today is Bishwakarma puja in our shop.

K

Kami Sherpa

Joined
Aug 12, 1999
Messages
64
Namaste everybody!

I have a little information which may be interesting to you.

Today is no work but Bishwakarma puja in our shop. This means a special Kali puja along with a lot of additional prayer and cermony. Chickens and goats will be sacrificed and then, of course, cooked and eaten.

Every khukuri will be blessed, every piece of equipment will be blessed, even our four forges will be blessed. To tell you the truth there will be blood all over the shop but this is a most important ritual to the kamis and in their tradition it is simply something that must be done.

We will supply the animals to be sacrificed and will give bonuses to the kamis and their families who will be in attendance for this special annual religious ceremony.
You can be sure that some of the blessings will be sent this way to me, Bill Jwai, Yangdu who works so hard keeping books and packing, and to all of you who buy khukuris which give the kamis the work and good living they now enjoy.

I hope I have not offended anyone with this information. We may receive some pictures of this ceremony and if they are not too bloody I will ask Bill Jwai to put them here.

Namaste!



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Pala (Kami Sherpa)
Owner, Himalayan Imports
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
Namaskar!

I hope that the kamis and their families had a happy and successful Bishwakarma Puja!

I would certainly be interested in seeing any photos they might happen to send you, Kami Sherpa, but I would of course defer to your and Uncle Bill's judgment about whether to post them. Mostly I am just curious to know more about the meaning of the holiday ( I thought Bishwakarma was a surname) and how it is celebrated. I don't even know anything about regular Kali Pujas.

I would hope that no one on bladeforums would be offended by photos of an honorable people's religious practices.

Would you be willing to enlighten me as to the significance of the holidays, Kami Sherpa?

-Dave
 
Namaste Daveji:

First, I must tell you the reason that I cannot reply to you with Namaskar. It is a matter of the respect between the young and the old in Nepal. In our culture it is fitting and proper for the young to show respect to their elders. I am 70 and unless you are older then I would actually be in error if I addressed you with Namaskar rather than Namaste. Do you understand?

Dheri dhanyabad for your expression of interest in the Bishwakarma puja.

Bishwakarma is a surname for most of the kami caste in Nepal. All our kamis are named either Bishwakarma or Sunar, for example. It is the custom of these people to set aside this day to offer blessings and pay tribute to their gods. Not all Hindus, especially those of higher caste, consider this a day for worship but the kamis always have and do.

Although I am not of the kami caste and not a kami (even though my name is Kami) I respect the belief system of the kamis and Bishwakarmas so we observe this day as a day of worship and festivities in our shop.

I received email this morning from my son, Gelbu, who informed me that our puja in the shop was a huge success. The animals we supplied were cooked and eaten with great gusto and much rahksi (liquor) was consumed. Gelbu said that every kami got at least a little drunk and that they were exceedingly happy.

We also gave them a small bonus which probably helped in their happiness. I am very pleased they had such a good time and am a bit sorry I had to miss the celebration but I must get my work done on this side of the world, too.
 
Namaskar Kami Sherpa!

It was very kind of you to answer my questions about the kamis.

I am glad to hear that their holiday went well.

I have unfortunately never had the opportunity to study Hindu religion at any great length, but I have recently begun my final semester of college and have been lucky enough to get into a seminar on Tibetan Buddhism. First book we read was _HHDL_'s "World of Tibetan Buddhism" which was informative but also challenging to fully understand all that His Holiness has to say.

Hopefully I will understand better after more studying!


Namaskar and Namaste are the only Nepalese words I know. I learned Namaste on this forum and I learned Namaskar from a friend who went to Nepal for a few months after he graduated. He told me that Namaskar was the greeting used for elders and others of high status, so I said to myself "aha! I will try to impress Kami Sherpa and Uncle Bill by greeting Kami Sherpa with the formal salutation!"

Now that I know that you are 70 whereas I am only 23, I think I can see why it makes sense for me to say Namaskar and you to say Namaste.

Hopefully if I make it to 70 I will still say Namskar to you Kami Sherpa!

-Dave
 
Namaskar Pala and Uncle Bill,

Do people in Nepal use bhang or other forms of marijuana or hashish? and what is Nepali liquor like?

I am very glad that the Shop is blessed.


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Namaste,
Jeff Paulsen

"Oh, a magic khukuri. Why didn't you say so?"
 
Namaste Jeffji:

Marijuana which we call ganja is a common weed in Nepal. Up at my ranch every year I probably burn a million dollars worth (according to the US market for this stuff) so I can plant a corn and potato crop.

Local people do not use much marijuana or hashish which we choriz. These are mostly used by tourists.

Local liquor in Nepal is pretty harsh stuff. The Khukuri Rum is about 150 proof I think and the aila the Newaris make is more than that. I do not drink so I cannot give a personal opinion.

------------------
Pala (Kami Sherpa)
Owner, Himalayan Imports
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
Thank you Pala. It sounds like Khukuri Rum is strong stuff!

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Namaste,
Jeff Paulsen

"Oh, a magic khukuri. Why didn't you say so?"
 
The members are Mil.,LEO,and EMT.Generaly used to blood and guts.I doubt that you would offend anyone by posting the pics.We march to a different drummer,anyway.

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I can tell you that I am very sorry I was not present in shop 2 to take part in the Bishwakarma puja. With all that food, drink, singing, laughing and dancing I know it was a hell of a time. These are the things that make me miss that place so much. Despite their poverty the Nepalis knew how to be happy and have a good time.

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Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
Namaste Pala, Uncle Bill:

No offense here at all. As ghostsix mentioned, I guess a lot of us here have lived "other" lifestyles
smile.gif


I have always felt richer for it too.

I am happy to hear the shop is recieving it's blessing, and the Kami's and families a good day.

Also, I am pleased to now be able to number myself amoungst one of the HI customers. Looking forward to the arrival, thanks Bill.

 
:
hehehe.
I just noticed Jeff's post.
Way back when I was raising a few Airedale Terriers I was looking over my little bitch's pedigree.
A few generations back were a couple of names I found rather humorous.
One was "Kilo Ganja" and the other
"Ton'ne Ganja." I had a good laugh out of that as most people don't/didn't know what it meant.
They say that some of the best that ever was was called "Tulsa Tops",but I wouldn't know anything about that.
vbeseg.


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>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....;) hehehe.


 
Tulsa Tops, eh Yvsa? I would have thought all that came out of the midwest was Nebraska No-High ...
wink.gif


[This message has been edited by JeffPaulsen (edited 22 September 1999).]
 
Interestingly, Nepal had no drug laws because drugs had never been a problem there. Then the hippies of the 60's found out about this and invaded Nepal to partake of the drugs and cheap living. It became such a problem for both the US (sending ODed hippies back home) and Nepal (very poor behavior by hippies according to Nepal cultural standards -- such as fornicating in public)that anit-drug laws were eventually passed. They were just beginning to take effect when I landed on the scene.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
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