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FUN CORNER
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WE -*- OUR -*- OURSELVES
Browsing this page one may know more about my family's association with Origin,Customs,Rituals,Believes.
Mithila is an ancient cultural region of South Nepal and North India lying between the lower ranges of the Himalayas and the Ganges River. The Nepal border cuts across the top fringe of this region. The Gandak and Kosi Rivers are rough western and eastern boundaries of Mithila
The Ramayana records a dynastic marriage between Prince Rama of Ayodhya and Sita, the daughter of Raja Janak of Mithila. The town of Janakpur, in the northern Nepali section of Mithila, is believed to be Janak's old capital. And Sita is a Mithila girl.
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Mithila - The Origin of this Family
India-)Bihar-)Madhepura -)Sukhasan( |
OTANGAR - The Ritual performed during Marriage in Mithila
In the artist's representation of the same rite, the container where the mixing is taking place is marked with handprints in mute identification with the container. . . just as the lineage goddess shrine is marked with handprints of the wife-worshipper.
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The PUREN
Faces in the six leaves of the lotus plant (puren) represent the bride, whose fertility is likened to lotus itself, rooted in the life source, the pond. This design was traditionally painted for the "second marriage," i.e., a repeat of the wedding ceremonies after the bride reached puberty and would go to live permanently with her husband. For "second marriage," the female faces in the lotus blossoms are painted open. Nowadays, since girls marry at a later age (16 or later), the custom of two complete marriage cycles is falling away. |
GAURI (wife of Shiva)
From about the age of six, girls are taught to identify with Gauri by praying this prayer to her every day:Waving branches and bringing garlands of sandalwood,Gauri comes.You keep the garland and just give me suhag. Why? Everyone says the same thing when asked: young girls worship Gauri to bring them a husband like Shiva. A major event at the wedding rites is when the bride brings her husband to Gauri, and does Gauri Puja again, showing Gauri the husband she is responsible for bringing.
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ARDHNARISHWAR
This Picture portrays the androgynous god, Shiva-Shakti, male-female in one body, transcending gender and dualism. According to Flaherty, "Ardhanarishvara is always regarded as a form of Shiva, not a form of Shiva and Parvati" (1980:317). Ardhanarishwar means "the lord (ishwar) who is half (ardha) woman (nari)." That is, Shiva is half-female. However, in 1996 and 1998 young Maithil Brahmans referred to this icon as "husband-wife equality"--a concept growing in familiarity, if not in practice. |
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Description of Product
The "Kohbar" painting is filled with rich imagistic detail, each contributing significance to the meaning of the whole.The dominant theme is pond life, filled with lifeforms and abundant in its productive powers. The painting seeks to insure fertility of the bride and groom who, as when a seed is dropped into a pond, should produce offspring abundantly. |
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Patna
Ganga in Patna from GOLGHAR |
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Chatt Puja
Almost all civilizations have worshipped the ‘sun god’..But it has a unique form in Bihar. Chatt Puja is the only occasion where the setting sun is worshipped.
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