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Festivals

Festivals play a major role in Dunmari culture. They are not just religious celebrations, but moments when the normally widely dispersed community comes together. There are usually markets, games, and other community events around the religious rituals. A few major festivals are celebrated by communal gatherings, including sometimes the return of wandering communities to fixed temples, but many others are celebrated in smaller groups or marked by private household rituals and prayers. The cycle of Dunmari festivals and feast days runs from January to January, with the new year marked on January 22nd.

The major festivals of the religious cycle are:

  • The Festival of the New Dawn, on January 23rd. This marks the beginning of the new year and a new cycle of the seasons. The first day of the new year, in the Dunmari reckoning. Strongly associated with Laka. Traditions include a pre-dawn vigil, often including magical rituals to invoke Laka’s blessing for the past and the future, and a procession/mystery play/recitation of the history of the Dunmari people from creation until today.

  • The Night of Whispers, celebrated on the first new moon of the year, following the Festival of the New Dawn, usually in February. Traditionally seen as a time when the gods are far away, and lost spirits haunt the night. Prayers for lost souls, and remembrance of those who have faded away, are common. Sometimes associated with Adra, who some Dunmari claim was born on the first new moon of the year.

  • The Festival of Rebirth, on the first full moon after the vernal equinox, usually in early April, marking the beginning of summer. A feast day celebrating Jeevali’s resurrection. This is one of the most important festivals of the the year, and is almost always associated with large communal fairs and celebrations around temples, and the coming together of dispersed communities. Strongly associated with Jeevali and Bhishma.

  • The Feast of Bhishma, starting the night before the third new moon after the Festival of Rebirth, usually in mid-June and marking the end of summer. A celebration of Bhishma’s ascension to godhood, as well as the founding of Dunmar. The first day is a day of remembrance, the second is a pure celebration, a feast and party holiday, usually celebrated with family and kin, not necessarily involving travel back to villages or temples. However, it was a time when the Mystai of Bhishma gathered for their annual council and gathering. This is usually around the summer solstice.

  • Day of Renewal, celebrated on the day following the first arrival of the monsoon. A day marking Jeevali’s tears, the sacrifice and renewal of the land they represent. No fixed date, but this festival is acknowledged on the day following the first monsoon rains of the season.

  • Jaankar, the Feast of Chidya, celebrated on July 21st and 22nd, marking the end of the month of the summer solstice. A celebration of life, of the next generation of animals, and also of wildness and spontaneity. Celebrated for two days, first by ceremony and thanks for the next generation and the life of horses, lambs, and the other animals on which the Dunmari depend, and then from sundown to sundown a wild party. 

  • Aagirvala, or the Festival of Aagir’s Spear, celebrated on the first full moon after the autumnal equinox. A day to mark victory in battle, but also remember and acknowledge the viciousness of the war of conquest of the Dunmari, and remember those killed in anger.

  • Feast of the Harvest Veil, celebrated 35 days before the Day of Atonement, on November 16th. Celebrates the harvest, associated with special food and when animals are slaughtered before the dry seasons / winter, associated with feasting, including nighttime celebrations of light and dancing. Begins the period of preparation for the Day of Atonement: each week following the Feast of the Harvest Moon is marked by one of the five siblings, in order of Chidya, Aagir, Jeevali, Laka, and finally Sonkar.

  • Day of Atonement, or the Feast of Sonkar’s Blessing, celebrated on Dec 21st, the day of the winter solstice. A day of prayer, atonement, and judgment before Sonkar, which starts the last month of the year which is seen as particularly holy and a time when many gather when food is plentiful after the bounty of the rainy season. The month of the winter solstice, from Dec 21 - Jan 22, is known as Pralakar and is associated with prayers of forgiveness and reflection, as well as community and family. It is a holy month.