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Dashain
A red tika of rice and vermilion on the forehead and yellow barley shoots behind the ear, given by elders in Nepal.
The colours of Dashain
Dashain is the longest festival of Nepal, fifteen days in honour of the goddess Durga. On the first day barley seeds are sown in a dark corner of the house on a bed of sand. Kept from sunlight, they grow into pale yellow shoots called jamara. On the tenth day, the main day, elders mix rice, yoghurt and red vermilion powder into a thick paste and press it on the foreheads of younger relatives as a tika, tuck the yellow jamara behind their ears and give a blessing and money. The red stands for the blood that binds the family and for the goddess's power. Families cross the country for it. Kites fill the clear autumn sky, and children ride tall bamboo swings.
#C8102ETika redRice, yoghurt and vermilion pressed on the forehead.#D9D45AJamara yellowBarley shoots grown in the dark.#F8F5EARice whiteThe grains in the tika.#5AA9E6Autumn skyThe clear sky of the kite season.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Dashain" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.