Chitwan : Today, the Chepang community is celebrating the Chhonam (Nwagi) festival. Chhonam, also known as Nwagi, is the principal religious festival of this community, observed every year on the 22nd day of Bhadra.
The Bagmati Provincial Government has declared a public holiday in honor of the national festival of the Chepang community, Chhonam (Nwagi).
Recently, a decision was made during a provincial council meeting to grant public holidays in three districts. Based on the residence of the Chepang community in Chitwan, Makwanpur, and Dhading, a public holiday has been granted in these three districts.
This year as well, the Chepang community is celebrating the Chhonam (Nwagi) festival collectively. Lakshman Chepang, the secretary of Nepal Chepang Association and the chairman of Ichhakamana Rural Municipality-6, Bagmati Province, provided information about the festival’s preparations.
According to him, the Chepang community celebrates Chhonam by not plowing the fields and refraining from worshiping ancestors for a new harvest and food. On this Chhonam festival day, offerings of new crops and fruits, including rice, pindalu, oranges, and ghirauala, are made to the land and ancestors. The festival is also considered a day to consume new food.
The Chepang community in Nepal numbers around 84,364 individuals, with the majority residing in Chitwan, approximately 35,000 of them. The Chepangs are primarily found in the northern part of the Rapti River, along the eastern slopes of the Mahabharat mountain range, covering the western part of Makwanpur, northern part of Chitwan, and southern part of Dhading districts.”