Lubhoo – so close yet so unique
There is an interesting folklore
explaining how Lubhoo, which in Newari means “Golden plate” got its name. It is
believed that there was a homosexual resident who worshipped Maha Laxmi and
Gobhrateshwar Mahadev to resolve his confused sexual orientation. After three
years of devoted worship, the Gods were finally happy and granted the worshipper
the body of a “complete man”. Knowing no bounds for his ecstasy upon this, the
devotee is said to have offered both the deities plates made of gold, and hence
named the place “Lunbhoo”, meaning the same.
Around six kilometres east of Lalitpur is
Lubhoo,
a village so rich in culture, history and camaraderie that it will take your
breath away.
There is an interesting folklore explaining how Lubhoo, which in Newari means
“Golden plate” got its name. It is believed that there was a homosexual resident
who worshipped Maha Laxmi and Gobhrateshwar Mahadev to resolve his confused
sexual orientation. After three years of devoted worship, the Gods were finally
happy and granted the worshipper the body of a “complete man”. Knowing no bounds
for his ecstasy upon this, the devotee is said to have offered both the deities
plates made of gold, and hence named the place “Lunbhoo”, meaning the same.
The Lubhoo people have their own unique Jatras and festival, the most famous
being the Maha Laxmi-Maha Bhairav Jatra observed in the month of Baishakh
(April-May). This is the time of the year when the whole of the Newari community
of Lubhoo gets out of their daily monotonies to celebrate in a truly carefree
fashion.
The two chariots garaged inside the temple of Maha Laxmi are loaded with the
gold-plated masks of the deities that are housed in the same. While one of the
chariots is used to carry a set of Maha Laxmi, Ganesh and Kumar statuettes, the
other carries another set of Maha Laxmi, Ganesh and Kumari. The chariot is the
hoisted by drunken revelers to make a complete tour of all the houses in the
locality, followed an elaborate Bhoj (feast), which is an essential part of the
merrymaking.
Bringing the Maha Laxmi closer to your home is believed to bring you auspices of
peace and prosperity. And so is the existence of the Maha Laxmi Temple in the
sunny vicinity of simple but very social people.
In fact, there is another temple further up the location of the main Maha Laxmi
Temple that houses the mother of Goddess Maha Laxmi. During the Jatra or
procession, the statuette of the daughter divinity is mounted on the same Raths
or chariots and taken to her mother's temple so that the mother-daughter meeting
can take place, makring the climax of the carnival.
The temple's religious architectures date back to the Malla periods, according
to stone inscriptions. The head of the Maha Laxmi temple is called the Thakali
and is also the eldest member of the community's Guthi (guild, trust). The current Thakali and curator of the holy
place is 86-years-old Rudra Lal Shrestha who informs that there are altogether
five layers of gold-plated masks of the above mentioned deities enshrined in the
temple. As soon as the existing one gets even a slight damage, the figurines are
covered by yet another layer of the masks made of precious metals and plated by
gold. There is also a tall white temple of the Gobhrateshwar Mahadev built in
the same style as that of the Krishna Mandir of Patan, that makes for an
interesting piece of structure to study as well as revere.
The settlement in the 730 acres of land of Lubhoo mostly has the dominance of
Bahuns in the outskirts and an ethnic Newari community of usually Shresthas,
Maharjans, Rajthala and Gubhaju in the main town area. A special feature of this
area is that almost every house has cottage handloom and cloth making activity.
So in totality, the whole of Lubhoo is a major textile producing area that sends
products to local garment factories and tourist areas like Thamel. Some houses
still have the traditional wooden handloom whereas some residents own textile
factories powered by electric looms. Actually, farming is the main source of
income while cloth weaving is a part and parcel of their daily life.
18 december 2004 - 29 januari 2005 -
Terug in Kathmandu / fietsen naar
Sundarijal / Balaju-park 24 november - 17 december 2004 -
Streetdance / Bungamati & Khokana / goede doel
6 november - 23 november -
Pokhara, Jomson-trekking,
Annapurna-gebergte
23 oktober - 5 november 2004 -
Changu Narayan, Phutung, Pokhara
12 oktober - 23 oktober 2004 -
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kinderhuis
5 oktober - 12 oktober 2004
verslag week
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28 september - 5 oktober 2004 -
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kinderhuis) 21 - 28 september 2004 -
Verslag 2 - o.a. Bouddhanath,
Kirtipur en Indra Jatra festival
15 -21 september 2004 -
Verslag 1 - o.a. aankomst in Nepal,
Swayambhunath en kinderhuis
Kirtipur /
Tatopani
/ Gosainkund
Lake
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