Sama-Chakeva festival begins across Mithilanchal region

The traditional Sama-Chakeva festival has commenced across the Mithilanchal region, marking a period of cultural observance centered on sibling affection. Spanning ten days from Kartik Shukla Panchami, the annual event involves women, daughters, and daughters-in-law gathering in public spaces, courtyards, and crossroads to play and sing. According to Pandit Ramkumar Shastri, a scholar of the festival, the opening day involves groups of sisters walking to fields or ridges outside their villages. There, they collect moist soil dug by their brothers' hands to mold various figures representing Sama and Chakeva. Cultural customs dictate that married women return to their maternal homes specifically to participate in the gathering. Those without brothers of their own frequently join neighbors and relatives to observe the traditions. Throughout the ten days, participants engage in collective singing and dancing while expressing wishes for their brothers' longevity, good health, financial prosperity, and general well-being. The community practices reinforce familial ties and interpersonal warmth across the region, according to local accounts. As the festival progresses toward its conclusion, the eleventh day—coinciding with the full moon night—features the ritual immersion of the figures. On this final day, participants repaint the sculptures, feed them curd and beaten rice, and allow brothers to break them gently before carrying them to a plowed field in the local forest accompanied by musical instruments and celebratory songs. Temple figures, such as Upendra Pathak, the chief priest of Jaleswarnath Mahadev Temple located in Jaleswar Municipality-1, note that the observances extend across districts in Madhesh as well as bordering areas in India. Local belief holds that performing the rituals strengthens the bond between siblings while ensuring long lives and prosperity for the brothers involved. The annual gathering brings families together, drawing distant female relatives back to their childhood homes for communal celebrations that have been passed down through generations. The combination of clay modeling, folk songs, and ritual immersion forms a distinct cultural touchstone for the entire region during the autumn season.