KMC Mayor Balen meets the French Ambasador to campaign “Kukur Tihar”
Newly elected popular Kathmandu Metro Mayor Balen Shah met the French Ambassador for Nepal,H.E. Gilles Bourbao in connection with promoting Nepalese art/culture in France & campaigned for the celebration of upcoming festival” Kukur Tihar” (Dog Festival) worldwide so French people also can be part of this mesmerizing festival.
Kukur Tihar is unique, one of its kind, annual festival originated and celebrated in Nepal. The festival falls hich falls on the second day of the festival of Tihar. This day, the Nepalese people celebrate & worships the man’s best friend “Dog” with their belief of pleasing “YamaRaj” the god of death according to Hindu mythology. The dogs are considered to be his messengers of the god of death and also worshipped as the Hindu god “Bhairav”.
According to mythology, Yama has two dogs—Shyama and Sharvara—who guard the door of hell. Therefore it is believed that by worshipping dogs one starts to see death positively, because a dog follows in the final journey. It is also believed that dogs will guard them against the torture in hell
According to ABC Science, dogs may have been first domesticated in Nepal and Mongolia.
During this festivity, Dogs are decorated with tika, flower garlands around their necks and offered variety of foods including meat, milk, eggs, and dog food. This festival is celebrated worldwide by the Nepalese diaspora.
In 2008. Asian Art in London celebrated the festival by creating a dog walk charity even. In 2015, Animal Nepal a local NGO working for the welfare of animals, used the occasion “Kukur Tihar” to promote awareness about dogs who became homeless. Kukur Tihar spread around Mexico in 2016 . Also in 2016, Kathmandu Metropolitan City with the help of Humane Society International and Jane Goodall Institute Nepal created a program to “humanely manage urban dog population”. An educational assessment by International Companion Animal Management Coalition has stated that dogs in Kathmandu were generally healthy and accepted by all the population..
In 2018, a dog named Kushal was named “The Best Dog of the Year” by Nepal Police on the occasion of Kukur Tihar as the dog helped discover the murderer of a 10-year-old girl.
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