Gathemangal

The festival of Gathemangal is celebrated in the memory of mythical demon Ghantakarna’s death. His body was painted in red, blue and black and he wore a pair of bells on his ears who spread havoc amongst the people. Ghanta meaning ‘bell’ and Karna meaning ‘ears’. This effigy is erected in the center of a rough tent-like structure and one man disguises himself as Ghantakarna by smearing himself with white paint and roaming around the area collecting blessings from the people. Then the effigy is then dragged from the erected area with the man disguised as Ghantakarna on it, to the nearby river bank and dispose in to the river representing the victory of locals over the demon god.

The festival of Gathemangal or Ghantakarna Chaturdasi, like most of the Nepali festivals, is an example of the victory of good over evil.