The Feast of Bhishma

Bhishma’s Feast day, celebrated as a two day festival starting the day before the night of the first new moon in June, marks the end of summer and the start of the monsoon season. This is usually around the summer solstice.

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.

The feast has three parts, traditionally:

Preparation: from dawn on the first day until the evening meal is a time of remembrance and preparation. Morning prayers are said for the deceased, and special shrines are constructed of mementos and other tokens of dead kin, as well as the gods, using the small tokens to the gods that most Dunmari carry as well as mementos that often substitute for graves. But ancestors can also be honored by imbuing their story into anything, and special food is often prepared for this purpose, a kind of sweet milk fudge that can be shaped and even painted.

Families stop traveling on this day, and there are several ritual prayers that must be said at dawn and throughout the day. Time not spent in prayer or preparation is often used to tell stories of the dead, and many families have their own traditions around this. Meals during the day are generally small and spare. In some villages there are traditions around public oration or public remembrances of those who died in the past year, but not all.

Evening: at sunset, is the feast itself, which has three ritual parts. First, the story of Bhishma is told before food is eaten. Second, there are specific prayers said over the meal and after the meal, to tie the people into community with Bhishma and with Dunmar, its past and future. Part of this is tying individual family lines to Bhishma, and to the history of Dunmar.

After the last prayer comes the party. There are usually bonfires, and several traditional desserts and drinks – the aforementioned milk fudge, also a fried dough kind of dessert, and honey cake. A mildly sweet, slightly effervescent wine is also served in large quantities.

Next day: the following day is strictly a day of rest. No work is done. Families tell stories, there is music and dancing, and often informal competitions (music, storytelling, dancing). At sunset, any of the special wine or food that was not consumed is given to the ancestors, and the shrines are packed up again.