The Svanti Festival: Victory over Death and the Renewal of the Ritual Cycle in Nepal‪.‬

Introduction Religious and ritual life in Newar society is highly guided by calendrical festivals. We can say that the Newars spend a good part of their time to organise and perform these festivals. They are highly organised when it comes to organising ritual activities. Not only in Kathmandu but also wherever the Newars have moved and settled, they managed to observe their regular feasts and festivals, rituals and traditions. Almost every month, they observe one or another festival, feast, fast or procession of gods and goddesses. As we know, almost each lunar mouth in Nepal contains one or another festival (nakhahcakhah). All year round, numerous festivals are celebrated, processions of deities are carried out and worship is performed, (1) Although all major and minor feasts and festivals are celebrated in every place in many ways similar the celebration of these feasts and festival in each place may vary. Moreover, there are many feasts and processions of gods and goddesses in each place, which can be called original to that place. One of the most common features of all Newar cities, towns and villages is that each of them has its specific annual festival and procession (jatra) of the most important deity of that particular place. The processions of different mother goddesses during Pahamacarhe in March or April and Indrajatra in August or September, and the processions of Rato Macchendranath in Patan and Bisket Jatra in Bhaktapur are such annual festivals.