By Laxmi Chaudhary
Janakpurdham, Nov. 16: Women of Janakpur have been celebrating Sama Chakewa, one of the important festivals of the Maithili community residing in southern Nepal that marks the affectionate brother-sister relationship.
Sama Chakewa is a festival of love and bonding between brothers and sisters that is marked for 11 days.

During the festival, women sing various folklores, collect clay and make the clay idols of Sama Chakewa and paint them with various colours.
Carrying the same idols and oil lamps in bamboo baskets, women across the Janakpurdham sing a chorus in Maithili language and dance across junctions, public spaces and temples through the festivity.
They will sing and narrate the story related to the legendary characters called Samal and Chakewa, wishing for long life to their brothers for 10 days from today.

The festival begins on the day when the Kharana rituals of the Chhath festival are observed and concludes on the full moon day.
Reflecting the ancient social, family rites and traditions of Mithilanchal, this festival is a form of folk drama in which female narrators and characters depict earthy human, animal and bird figures.
The Sama Chakewa festival is considered to be a unique cultural heritage, embracing the deepest aspects of human sensibility.

Among the various religious and spiritual cultural festivals celebrated in Nepal, the most popular festival ‘Sama Chakewa’ is celebrated from Shukla Panchami to Purnima in the Nepali month of Kartik, said Rina Kumari, a local who is marking Sama in Janakpurdham-6.
He said, “On the second day of the festival, sisters make the clay idols of Sama Chakewa. There is a tradition of singing songs wishing for longevity of the brothers.”