Teej is a festival celebrated by Nepali women in honor of her husband’s long life and their strong relationship until death in this life and all future lives.
Teej is observed to promote marital happiness, the well-being of one’s spouse and children, and the purification of one’s own body and soul. Teej is the most well-known festival among Nepalese women.
Significance of teej
Teej festival is considered to be one of the most auspicious festival of hindu. It is celebrated on the third day of Bhadra Sukala Paksha. It usually occurs in late August or early September. This festival honour and celebrates the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, as well as the day Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife. Parvati fasted and was austere for many years before being accepted as Shiva’s wife in her 108th birth. Teej mata is another name for Parvati.
This festival honour and celebrates the reunion of Shiva and Parvati, as well as the day Shiva accepted Parvati as his wife. Parvati fasted and was austere for many years before being accepted as Shiva’s wife in her 108th birth. Teej mata is another name for Parvati. Teej has long been celebrated as an important religious festival and ritual, particularly by Hindu women. It is a ritual in which women, mostly married women, fast and worship Lord Shiva for their husband’s health and happiness. Married women who fast for a full day and night, worship Lord Shiva, and break their fast with designated ‘pure’ foods are thought to benefit their husband’s health and longevity.
Teej then vs now
The festival is a occasion for women to share their experiences of subordination and oppression through songs, dance, and other forms of expression.
The most comfortable setting for such sharing was among friends and matri-relatives at the women’s natal home, which they would visit during the festival.
Songs were frequently loaded with stories of suffering experienced by married women in patrilocal households.
However, the preceding regime is changing. Teej now encompasses a number of’modern’ themes of expression. Today’s songs also address sexual relationships. Furthermore, urban women, in particular, wear new clothes and jewelry and exchange gifts with other women to demonstrate their economic and social status. Occasionally, instead of being limited to the home, celebratory gatherings have been held in restaurants.
There is undoubtedly a new focus on consumerism here. Teej has also evolved into a more social than religious occasion. As a result, the prominence of religious rituals is far less visible than it was previously.
