Page 180 - ENGLISH 10

On the ¿rst day of Jitiya, women take a bath in a river or a pond early in the
morning and formally start their brata. Before taking a bath, they put khari
(oil-seed-cake), special soil, on a leaf of sponge gourd and worship
Jimutavahana, and let it Àow on the river. They take the remaining oil

back home and massage their children with it. This khari is effused for
legendary ¿ gures Chilo (eagle) and Shero (fox) wishing them to take
brata (fasting) of Jitiya. The married women remember their female
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ancestors too. On this day, women scrub their house with cow’s dung to
make their house sacred. At mid night, they prepare ongthan or datkhat
(special food), and eat it before the cockcrow. They also eat ¿sh and millet

bread. They have curd, beaten rice and fruits as dar. Before eating datkhat, they
offer some food to the legendary ¿ gures Chilo and Shero.
The second day of Jitiya is called Upas. On this day, the married women
fast the whole day. They go to the river, pond and well and make an idol of
Jimutavahana made of kush (the holy grass), and worship the idol. The
devotees get together and the ones who know about Jimutavahana, narrate his
story. They neither drink a drop of water nor do they have some fruits during
Astami. During fasting hours, they sing and dance too. Their song is called
Darkatoni. Everyone, married or unmarried, can participate in singing and
dancing.
The third or last day of Jitiya is called
CDC Parwan. The women wake up early
in the morning and go to the river to take a bath. Then they return home and
perform puja. After puja, they offer some fruits, milk and curd to Jimutavahana, a
legendary deity, before they eat. Then only they take food and drink water.
Aftewards the women complete their brata then they sing and dance the whole
day.

Why do the women remember Jimutavahana, the eagle and jackal
during this festival? There is a popular story behind this. Jimutavahana had
saved the life of a baby eagle. By fasting the eagle ensured her offspring
had a long life, whereas the jackal's offspring had a short life because the
jackal did not fast. While celebrating Jitiya, women devotees make idols of
the jackal and eagle with sand or cow dung, and red crimson is applied on their
forehead. As the main part of the ritual, women worship nature. The celebration
of Jitiya strengthens good relationships between different ethnic groups and
creates harmony in a society. It creates social solidarity and helps the society
function.
1. Vocabulary in use

i. Read the text above, and ¿nd the synonyms of the following words

from the text.

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ENGLISH, Class 10 175