Click image to zoom

Nepal’s Indigenous Kirat Community Celebrates Udhauli Festival With Sakela Dance

A member of Nepal's Kirat community takes part in the mass celebration of the Sakela-Udhauli festival in Lalitpur, Nepal, on December 4, 2025. Hundreds of Kirati community members gather in Lalitpur, dancing and praying to the god with the onset of the harvest festival, which is also known as Udhauli. Kirant men and women clad in traditional attire observe the festival by beating drums, cymbals, imitating the activities of birds and other animals, and exchanging greetings with each other. This festival is celebrated by worshiping land and ancestors in hopes of getting better crops, health, and property. Kirat Mundhum, the holy book of Kirat, mentions that the year of 365 days is divided into two phases: Ubhauli (going up) and Udhauli (going down). In old days, people used to move uphill and downhill during these seasons. Ubhauli is celebrated every year on Baishak Sulka Purnima, on the same day as Buddha Purnima/Buddha Jayanti in the Nepali month of Baishak (April-May). Traditionally, during the summer, the Kirat people move uphill to avoid the heat and malaria. They perform Ubhauli rituals before they move and during that, they worship their ancestors and nature for better health and crops. Traditionally, the Kirat people climb up to the mountains in summer to avoid the heat and malaria (epidemic) after performing the Ubhauli rituals. During these traditional rituals, they worship their ancestors and nature, seeking better wealth and crops. At the start of winter, with similar rituals for Udhauli, they move down the hill. (Photo by Subaas Shrestha/NurPhoto)

Photo Details

Related Keywords