Deepawali or Kulayan Puja

The custom to worship and pay respect to ones main or the guardian God or deity is called Deepawali or Kulayan Puja. This puja is performed in -the month of April-May either on a Sunday or on a Thursday.

On this auspicious day all the members of Hindu family gather together at a common house and worship their Kul by offering fruits, delicacies made of newly harvested crops and by making animal sacrifices of duck, lamb, goat etc.

It is believed that the Kul Puja prevents all untoward incidents and all troublesome factors of the family and Laxmi, the Goddess of wealth, showers 'blessings upon the family members. The rituals and the consequences of this puja have been described in detail, in a book entitled Kulyan Tantra.

It is assumed that the Newar King Bhuwan MalIa and King Subarna MalIa of Nepal first started Deywali Puja for maintaining peace in the Kingdom and to bring about the prosperity of the entire subjects.

Actually Maneshwari Devi of Kantipuri and the Devi of Bhadrakali used to be worshipped during Kul Puja, but with the passage of time different other Gods and Goddesses of their choice began to be worshipped. Of late the Sikkimese have developed an apathy towards this custom and as a result Kulayan Puja is hardly seen being observed in the state

Goath Puja

Sikkim was covered by dense forests during the time of our grand parents. They were expert and well groomed in farming and rearing animals. They reared yak and other cattles in the Northern highlands. Then a male used to marry more than one wife and used to take pride in begething many children

The importance attached to children, specially sons, and the forest was so high that even the popular usage of the time said, "Jasko chora Ushaiko dhan, jasko bhaishi ushaiko ban", meaning the wealth belonged to him who possessed many sons and the forest belonged to him who possessed buffaloes

Goat dhup is the puja meant for deity who guides and multiplies the cattle heads. Goat means the shed where cattles are kept. The ancestors who used to build such sheds in the jungle, used to mitlch their cattles and make curd, butter, cheese etc. in the jungle itself. In short, they entirely depended. upon their cattles for their livelihood, therefore, to save their cattle was of prime concern for them. Therefore, these forefathers used to gather in their cow sheds to perform Goat Puja in order to appease the deities of the forests and the Kul Deo so that, they believed, no harm came upon them and upon their cattles.

This puja is normally performed in the warm and pleasant day in the month of April-May, by offering incense and hawan of Khir. The evil spirits of the jungle are also offered similar items to satisfy them. The Brahamin and Kamja Kumaris, minor unmarried girls, are properly fed and generously donated on this day.

The puja finally ends with the distribution of prasad to all the members present on the day. It is performed once annually.