Kathmandu, 15 June: The Kham-speaking Magar community celebrated their major festival, Bhume, with great enthusiasm at Tundikhel in Kathmandu.
After performing rituals worshiping the land and nature, men, women, and children from the Magar community celebrated the festival by dancing to five different traditional musical instruments played during the event.
While addressing the “Bhume Festival 2082” organized at Tundikhel, Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation, Badri Prasad Pandey, stated that Bhume is not just a cultural tradition but a festival with scientific significance.
Minister Pandey said, “The tradition of worshipping the land is not merely an ancient belief—it is a scientific matter as well. Due to climate change, glaciers in the Himalayas are melting, floods and landslides are increasing, and the entire ecosystem is under threat. In such a context, land worship conveys a message of respect for nature and sustainability.”
Leaders of the Magar community say that the Bhume festival is celebrated to prevent natural disasters like floods and landslides during the monsoon season, and to pray for a good harvest and protection of lives and property.
The festival is also observed as an auspicious time to begin new ventures and plan work for the year. Bhume (also called Bhumya) is widely celebrated in areas with a large Magar population, such as Rolpa, Rukum, and Dang.
According to a report from Musikot, the Bhume festival is being celebrated with great enthusiasm in East Rukum, where the Magar population is predominant. Currently, Bhume dance—also known as “Bal Puja”—is actively taking place in Magar settlements across the district.
Chandra Rasailee of Bhume Rural Municipality shared that Bhume dance is ongoing in Sisne, Putha Uttarganga, and Bhume rural municipalities. Every year on the 15th of Jestha (around late May), the ritual begins with the ceremonial collection of bukiko phool (wild flowers) from the hills for Bal Puja. The dance, which starts with this ritual, typically continues until the 1st of Asar (mid-June). In some areas, people even spend the night in the hills at the end of Jestha or beginning of Asar, returning to the village with flowers and tree branches to celebrate with dance, music, and animal offerings.
The Bhume festival is also believed to be a time for the Magar people to come together, forget their troubles, and find happiness. The Magar community worships the Earth (Bhumi) as their principal deity.
It is widely believed that once the Earth is worshipped, the deities are pleased, preventing famine and disasters, and bringing happiness to all beings on Earth. The Bhume dance is performed in lines with both men and women participating, and it attracts not just adults and the elderly but also a significant number of young people. Dressed in traditional attire, they dance in harmony to the rhythms of traditional instruments, celebrating their cultural heritage.
