Weave your own basket from kans and sikki grasses

The sikki grass (vetiver grass - Chrysopogon zizanioides), once found in abundance near water sources, has been vanishing and with it is declining the art of basket weaving from the golden splinters. And due to the easily available plastic containers, the basket weaving out of kans grass (Saccharum spontaneum) is also on the decline.

Vetiver grass (c) Forest and Kim Starr. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0

Sunset through Kaash (Kans Grass) by Flickr user Abhijit Kar Gupta. (CC BY 2.0)

Whenever I travel to my home in the southern plains of Nepal, the kans baskets (they call it dhama in the Tharu language) hanging by the roof always haunt me. All these baskets were woven by grandmother who passed away recently. Since we have been lowering our involvement in agriculture and storing the food items in sacks and drums, these beautiful baskets have been left useless. And the only thing I can do is, stare at them!

Kans baskets hanging by the roof in my house.

Tharu and Maithil women from the southern plains of Nepal have been weaving baskets of all shapes and sizes from the kans grass since ages and the art has been passed from one generation to another. The mothers and grandmothers have been teaching the young ones to weave baskets out of kans, considered useless and sikki, regarded pure.

So, how do they weave these baskets?

Once I sat with my grandmother and she showed me the basics of this craft. Let me share it with you.

First, all you need to do is collect the kans stems before they flower (they call it gabaha in the Tharu language). Take out the flowery filaments and leave the stems to dry. Since the stem is hollow now, it can be wound into any shape and size.

Kharhi, the base material for weaving basket.

Now trim the upper and lower parts of the stem. They can be used as the base material to wound the kans stem around. Also make sure to collect the kans grass from an earlier stage, before they start bearing flower inside. The stalks are usually hard at this stage and can be used as the base material for the baskets. People also use fistful of kans grass from this stage as a broom.

Soak the gabaha in water so that it becomes flexible. A rudimentary tool you’ll need besides the grass is a takuwa – a needle like equipment with a rounded end to hold on while weaving a basket.

Takuwa - a needle like equipment used to weave the basket.

Take a fistful of the kans grass and coil the gabaha around it. Then swirl it to give a round shape binding the framework with gabaha. And take the help of takuwa to make holes in the structure and put the gabaha inside the holes till it takes the shape a conical basket like the one in the below picture. Later you can add the base to this basket.

A basket without a base.

Keep on weaving and you’ll get a basket like the ones hanging by the roof in my house.

Now you must be curious how Tharus weave so beautiful baskets (called pauti and dhakiya) that are displayed during the Tharu festivals like the ones on the heads of these women from Sunsari district.

Tharu women holding sikki baskets (c) Madan Chaudhary/Tharuwan.com

It’s simple like weaving the basket from gabaha. First, you need to collect the sikki stems and tear them apart into two equal splinters and leave them to dry. Once dried, you can apply colours of your choice to them.

Now repeat the process of weaving a basket from kans grass. Soak the coloured sikki splinters in water and take a fistful of kans grass as base material. Then with the help of a takuwa wind the colourful sikki splinters around them. Slowly, your basket starts taking shape. To create the beautiful colourful patterns on the basket, you’ll need to coil the coloured sikki splinters on the basket with the help of a takuwa. But you’ll need to practice a lot to create those beautiful patterns.

Good luck with the weaving!

Read: A basket of nostalgia

Have you heard about these medicinal plants from the southern plains of Nepal?

Millions of medicinal and aromatic plants remain undiscovered, unknown and unused in our jungles and some even grow in our backyard. Most of the herbs used by shamans and witchdoctors are still not known to the outer world. While the old medics are aging they prefer not to share their knowledge with the young generation. And the sad part is – the young generation never takes these medicinal plants seriously. For them, popping the allopathic pills is much easier and effective than crushing the leaves and stems of obnoxious smelling medicinal plants and gulping the bitter juice. However, these plants are known for their healing properties and the good thing about them is – they don’t have any side-effects like the drugs made in the factories, except for few cases.

This October-November I tried convincing the shamans in the terai, the southern plains of Nepal and requested them to share their secrets. Achhai Tharu, a local shaman was happy to share his knowledge with me and he even took me to the places where he had secretly hid the magic plants!

Let me share the benefits of the medicinal and aromatic plants that he showed me.

Jethmal

Native basil. It has completely different and strong aroma. Resembling 'tulsi', the common basil, it has lot more medicinal properties. I met a young guy whose jaundice was almost incurable but drinking water left overnight with a handful of this herb made him healthy once again. Achhai Tharu, a local shaman said, "Soak the leaves and parts of this herb overnight and drink the water in the morning, it will keep your diabetes at bay." He also added that if you keep a bunch of this herb in a pot of water, it will turn the water into a medicine --- a frozen, colourless liquid. It cools the water if you put a little bit of this herb into it. When I asked its name, he said, "We call it jethmal." --------------------- #nativebasil #jethmal #maps #medicinalandaromaticplants #herbs #Nepal #ayurved

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 21, 2016 at 4:47am PST

Remedy for rabies

Right medicine to prevent rabies. Talking to shamans and herbalists in the southern plains of Nepal was an eye-opener for me. We hiked together to find medicinal plants that they've been using to cure different ailments since ages. This herb is applied to the wound caused by dog bites and also works even when bitten by wild animals like jackals and monkeys. Just crush it and apply the juice to the wound. It heals and prevents rabies. But they've been advising the patients to go for vaccination also in case a mad dog bites. Just to be sure. But the old man seemed to have forgotten the name of this plant. The nature has provided cure for every disease, we just need to identify the right plant. Isn't it? ----------------- #herbs #rabies #Nepal #medicinalandaromaticplants

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 28, 2016 at 4:46pm PST

Kalpnath

Bitter than a bitter gourd. This frail medicinal plant is known for its bitterness. Chew a leaf, munch its pods or try eating its stem --- all are bitter. But despite its bitterness this plant has medicinal properties --- it refreshes you and brings back the hunger --- to eat more. Just plant this in your flower pot and chew few leaves every day. It will keep you fit and healthy. It's called 'kalpnath' in the southern plains of Nepal. ------------------------- #medicinal #plants #maps #kalpnath #bitter #medicinalandaromaticplants #Nepal

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 22, 2016 at 12:59am PST

Now let me tell you a bit about some of the herbs that grow everywhere, in the fields and even in your background.

Dulfi

Have you seen this wild herb? Called dulfi locally in the southern plains of Nepal, this aromatic plant has a special significance during Dipawali, the festival of lights. The cattle owners grind these plants (Leucas aspera), filter the green juice with a piece of white cloth and administer it to the cattle. It's really tough to make the animal swallow this strong smelling juice. So, with the help of a long but narrow container made from bamboo twigs, the juice is poured into the nostrils of cattle. When I asked about its benefits, a farmer said, "It keeps the cough, cold and fever at bay." Interestingly, this plant extract is used to treat scorpion bites in the Philippines. And the flower juice can be used to treat sinusitis, headaches and intestinal worms in children! ------------------- #medicinal #aromatic #herbs #sinusitis #headaches #cough #terai #Nepal #leucasaspera #dulfi

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 10, 2016 at 7:02am PST

Dhutoor

Datura stramonium, called 'dhaturo' in Nepali, is considered toxic, hallucinogenic and can lead to death of the intaker. However, it can be used as an analgesic and asthma reliever. When I saw a handful of dhaturo seeds being dried on a rooftop, the lady said, "My sister in Kathmandu needs it every winter. She burns it in mustard oil and applies around her knee joints to keep the joint pain at bay." What a use of this neglected bush growing in the wild in abundance! --------------------- #dhaturo #datura #jimsonweed #devilstrumpet #devilsweed #herbs #medicinalplants #terai #Nepal

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 29, 2016 at 3:14am PST

Try eating these native veggies before they become extinct

I’m not a vegetarian but I love vegetables. And whenever I get to the southern plains of Nepal, I try to savour some of the native veggies. Especially, I yearn for that particular taste of these veggies cooked by the Tharus. The use of powdered linseed to the bauhinia leaves and drumstick beans and adding of baking soda to ‘naf’ leaves gives that ‘different taste’ to these vegetables.

However, in spite of being tasty and nutritious these veggies might become extinct. One of the main reasons of these varieties becoming extinct is simply the neglect of the young generation and the onslaught of hybrid veggies.  

Now let’s talk about these native veggies. Leave your comments below if you have not heard of these. 

Jhauwa
This native bean was found everywhere only a few decades ago. However, due to the itchy outer layer and the difficulty to cook, only few people grow this – and that too is limited to few climbers growing on its own in the farms.

Neglected but nutritious. This native variety of beans is on the verge of vanishing. Called 'jhauwa' in the southern plains of Nepal and 'kauso' in the hilly areas, these beans are tasty but you need to be cautious while plucking them. The outer coat of these beans is itchy and that's why it is used by the swindlers to snatch away the possessions of travellers. They throw the itchy powder over the travellers and while they start itching, the thugs run away with their belongings. To eat these beans you'll need to boil them first and peel the outer coating. Then you can cook the rest just like any other vegetable. Be careful not to eat too much of these beans. It causes dizziness. But it is full of protein and nutrition. Not a time to neglect these beans any more! ------------------------ #neglectedbutnutritious #beans #jhauwa #kauso #terai #Nepal #vegetables #picoftheday

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 21, 2016 at 12:06am PST

Pindar
These wild vegetables are getting scarce as the forest area is decreasing. Its trees are hard to find in the jungle these days and mainly brought to the markets by the firewood collectors and cattle grazers.

These are not #lemons. These are wild edible #vegetables called #pindar, #pirar, #pidar by locals in #terai #Nepal. These #Neglectedplants grow in the #forests in abundance but make to local #markets only in limited quantities. Called #pendaros in #SouthIndia, it's delicious and has #medicinal properties. But if you find it in the local market and want to cook, make sure to boil it first for few minutes, cut it into small pieces, take out the seeds and fry it properly. And if you want more information about it, search for Tamilnadia uliginosa. #Nepal #Madhesh #nutritiousbutwildplants #wildvegetables

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Sep 5, 2016 at 4:13am PDT

Munga
The drumsticks, in spite of manifold benefits, are rarely grown in a commercial scale.

#Drumstick tree, locally called 'munga', 'sahajan','swejan', is a wonder tree with nutritious drumsticks eaten as a vegetable. Moringa oleifera, is a fast growing, drought resistant tree. The pods are no less than #superfood. It has #Vitamin C seven times than that of an #orange, Vitamin A four times than that of a #carrot, #Calcium four times than that of #milk, #Potassium there times than that of a #banana, and #protein three times than that of #curd. According to #Ayurveda drumstick can cure 300 different #diseases. Still it is considered a poor man's #vegetable and no one cultivates it commercially.

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on May 17, 2016 at 9:01am PDT

Naf
The ‘naf’ leaves resemble the hollyhock leaves.

Slippery and gooey. This green leafy vegetable called 'naf' in the southern plains of Nepal, is found in abundance in local markets once the winter season approaches. It can be cooked like any other green vegetable but adding a bit of baking soda softens the leaves and adds that tangy taste to it. While its sibling with broader leaves and purplish pink flowers is a decorative plant and a common flower in the gardens, this variety is eaten widely in the terai. Slurping its curry along with rice is a delight. Try it when you're in the southern plains of Nepal! ------------------ #naf #greenvegetables #leafyvegetables #terai #decorativeplants #nepal

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 25, 2016 at 5:20pm PST

Koilar
The bauhinia or ‘koilar’ flowers are eaten widely in Nepal but their leaves are seldom eaten elsewhere except in the terai. Since the flowers and leaves need to be sourced from the nearby community and national forests, this delicious vegetable is not found in the market all the time.

These Bauhinia variegata L. flowers are delicious to eat as a pickle or chutney. Called 'koiralo' in Nepali and 'koilar' in local language in the southern plains of Nepal, its tender leaves are eaten as a vegetable in the terai. And if garnished with linseed powder, it tastes superb! So, when you're in the terai of Nepal, make sure to eat the koilar pickles or curry of its tender leaves. It's lip-smackingly tasty! ------------------- #bauhinia #koiralo #koilar #terai #vegetables #flowers #beautifulflower #tastyfood #Nepal #pickles #curry

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 18, 2016 at 2:15am PST

Shama Chakeva – celebrating the brother-sister relationship in the southern plains of Nepal

With the changing times, the festival celebrations are changing throughout the world. And so is the state of ancient festivals that are on the verge of vanishing. But thanks to few enthusiasts, they are keeping the tradition live!

I am talking about Shama Chakeva, an important festival reminding the dedicated brother-sister relationship that was celebrated widely in the southern plains of Nepal both by the Tharus and the Maithils.

Though the grandeur of the festival is on a decline, few groups have been promoting it in different districts of terai.

This year, however, I was lucky to observe the little girls celebrating this festival.

Here’s how the Shama Chakeva festival is celebrated.

The sisters make clay statuettes of Shama, Chakeva, Sathbhainya, Chugla and a dog among others (characters mentioned in the story of Shama Chakeva).

Clay statuettes of Shama, Chakeva, Satbhainya among others.

Every night, they put the statuettes in a nicely decorated bamboo basket, put the basket on their heads and sing songs blessing their brothers and abusing the wicked Chugla. They gather at different houses and sing these songs till the full moon day.

Girls carrying their clay statuettes in bamboo baskets and women singing songs of Shama Chakeva.

Taking the Shama Chakeva to nearby pond.

The next day, their brothers help build small temple like floating baskets. Then the brothers and sisters gather on the bank of a pond and put the statuettes in the floating baskets after worshipping them and offering ‘prasad’ to them.

Displaying the clay idols on the bank of pond before offering prasad to them.

Displaying the clay idols on the bank of pond before offering prasad to them.

A little girl doing her final pooja before immersing the idols into water.

The statuettes are finally immersed into water. The children burn the moustache of Chugla and break the idol into pieces so as to punish the wicked Chugla.

Immersing the clay idols into water.

Here’s a short story on how the festival started.
 

Was lucky to observe the Shama Chakeva festival celebrated by sisters for their brothers. This little girl is feeding 'prasad' -- an offering to her clay idols before submerging them into water. The sisters make clay idols representing different colourful birds, Shama, Chakeva, Satbhainya, Chugla, and Brindavan -- the important characters of the story -- take them through the village alleys while women sing songs about Shama Chakeva, and finally immerse the idols into water. The story goes like this -- Shama was Lord Krishna's daughter married to sage Charudatta. Chugla made false stories about her making Krishna furious and thus turning her into a bird by his curse. When Charudatta gets to know about it, he worships Lord Shiva and also gets turned into a bird and both live happily as Chakeva and Chakevi. But Chugla lights fire to the forest to kill them. However, with God's grace it rains and both are saved. When Shamba, Shama's brother gets to learn about this after returning from Gurukul -- the school of earlier days, he worships Krishna and is able to make him happy and gets the blessing 'your sister will return on Kartik purnima -- the November full moon day'. From that time this festival is thought to have started. --------------------- #shamachakeva #terai #Nepal #festival #Tharus #maithils

A photo posted by Sanjib Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Nov 17, 2016 at 2:12am PST

Interestingly, the migratory birds start descending from Siberia and far-off places to the terai from November. And among them are the ruddy shelduck called chakheva!

Can you relate this with the Shama Chakeva being celebrated in November and Shama and Charudatta turning into birds?

The dying tradition of painting evil eyes on the door entrance in Dashami

As Tharus embrace modernisation, many of their traditions are vanishing. And if not preserved on time, the young Tharus won’t even get to know about them!

Here’s one of the traditions of painting ‘Dain Jogin’ – an evil eye on the first day of Dashami in Eastern Nepal.

This pair of evil eyes is painted at the house entrance, tree trunks, pillars and on fruit bearing climbers and trees on the first day of Dashain festival, Ghatasthapana, called 'Kala Thapan' in Tharu language in Eastern Nepal. This is believed to ward off evil thoughts, devils and witches during the festival. ----------------------- #evileyes #Dashain #ghatasthapana #kalathapan #festival #terai #tharus #Nepal #easternnepal #culture #tradition

A photo posted by Sanjib Kumar Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Oct 22, 2016 at 6:45pm PDT

The evil eyes are replaced by these red and white patches on the seventh day of Dashami.

In the seventh day of Dashain, called Saptami, the evil eyes are replaced with these red and white patches of rice flour and vermilion. If you watch carefully, there are seven rows and seven columns of these patterns -- denoting the seventh day. These patterns are made by a wild plant's pods that I'll be posting later. These patterns are erased after the festival ends. There's an interesting connection to painting these patterns. Sangita Tharuni says, "The evil eyes are erased and replaced with these colourful patterns since the Goddess Durga gets her nayan (eyes) on this day." All the clay idols made during Dashain get irises in their eyes on this day. After this the idols are complete and are demonstrated for public viewing and worshipping. ------------------- #Dashain #tradition #terai #culture #tharus #easternnepal #graffiti #Nepal #beliefs

A photo posted by Sanjib Kumar Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Oct 22, 2016 at 6:59pm PDT

The pod of the plant that is used to create the red and white pattern is called ‘sakhari bakhari’ in local Tharu language. Thanks for identifying it @shankarian!

This wild plant has a special significance in Tharu households in Eastern Nepal. It bears yellow flowers and the 18 segmented pods that you're seeing are used as stamps to daub white and reddish patterns of rice flour and vermilion at both sides of an entrance during Dashain festival. ----------------------- #Dashain #whiteandredpatches #door #entrance #wardoffevil #wildflower #wildplants #easternnepal #tharu #culture #tradition #terai #Nepal

A photo posted by Sanjib Kumar Chaudhary (@sankuchy) on Oct 22, 2016 at 7:15pm PDT

Did Tiger Take the Rain?

I was surprised and happy to get an email from Dr Charles Norris Brown, an adjunct faculty from the University of Vermont. I had been leading the Year of the Tiger campaign in WWF before leaving the organisation to join SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. He wanted to write a book about conservation and tigers.

I connected him with WWF Nepal’s communication team and went with him to hear his plans at WWF Nepal office. His plans were just plans at that time. The communication team assured him of the support for his book – but it was not possible to fund his venture.

So, Charles and I, with support of my friend Shree Narayan Chaudhary went on a whirlwind trip of western Nepal. We were lucky to find support from many other friends in the field –Nandalal Rana and Bhaktaraj Rana among others.

We visited villages in Kailali, Kanchanpur and Dang collecting stories about tigers and conservation from Tharu elders. Charles had been clicking pictures and drawing sketches of little children while jotting down the stories in his notebook – told in Tharu language, translated in English by me.

Charles, on his return to the US, spent a sizable amount of his time writing a children’s storybook based on the stories collected from the western Nepal.

He again returned to Nepal the following year to meet with the communities once again and show them the draft of the book.

After several revisions, the book ‘Did Tiger Take the Rain?’ has come out in its present form. The book is being released this October by Green Writers Press.

Cover of the book 'Did Tiger Take the Rain? Used with permission.

In his website, Charles writes:

[…] But it is not the fate of the tiger itself that raises concern. Like the ubiquitous canary in the mine, what happens to the tiger is intimately connected with what happens to the habitat in which it lives, and the habitat in which the tiger lives is, in its turn, finely connected with the sustainability of the human biosphere. As the children in the book note: we all breathe the same air.

The problem addressed by the book is that a dry and hot climate could be the result of the cutting of the forests which upsets the naturally occurring precipitation cycles. The solution: to stop cutting the forests or at least be certain that new forests are allowed to thrive. The challenge is to produce a children’s book that shows both determination in the face of obstacles as well as the hope that efforts will bear fruit in a practical way. The strategy in this book is to share a story around raising a question, then actively seeking an answer and finding a way to resolve the problem through action. The book aims to develop a story that will help children from different cultures share a means to become empowered to take action that will hopefully make the world a better place. […]

Charles, an anthropologist by profession, was an artist from young age. He earned his PhD from Lund University in Sweden in Sociology and Social Anthropology. His post-doctoral work took him from India, to Borneo, to Appalachia, and to Canada where his focus was (and still is) on people of the forests and on their place in the health of the ecosystem.

He says:

[…] The message of conservation needs to focus among communities – the people who live near the forests (and its animals such as the tiger) as well as those far away. All of us share this world with the tiger – and not only the tiger. We share this world with all living things. We breathe the same air. We feel the same wind. How could I combine my approach to anthropology with my art to create messages for children? […]

Thus, the book ‘Did Tiger Take the Rain?’ was born.

Read an excerpt of the book from Amazon.

The benefits of miracle tree 'Moringa'

The recipes and cuisines vary from place to place and get customised according to the tradition and culture. The teraibasi (the inhabitants of southern plains in Nepal), especially the Tharus, have developed unique cuisines of locally available ingredients. The recipes have been adopted by others with the passage of time but still the dishes cooked by Tharus have something special about them. For instance, they have been using flax seeds (linseed powder) to garnish the curry of snails (ghonghi), drumstick and bamboo shoots which is not common among other communities. And that makes the curry more delicious!  

While the locally available vegetables are not a big hit among Nepalis in general, slowly they are gaining popularity. One of such neglected but nutritious vegetables is drumstick.

Moringa flowers and pods

Drumstick, locally called 'munga', 'sahajan','swejan', is a superfood in the West. Moringa oleifera, one of the most useful trees, lie unattended and uncared at most of the places in the southern plains of Nepal. Nobody cares to propagate this immensely useful tree. Instead, they are uprooted and thrown away if they grow near a house – to ward off the army of caterpillars munching on the juicy leaves.

The tree branches, however, are used as bio-fences. The branches grow into trees quickly and the plant needs not much water or soil nutrients to grow. The branches can be easily lopped off and the leaves are also used as fodder for the goats. And the goats like it!

Our folks in Terai never thought of cooking the leaves although they are used in soups and curries in neighbouring India. It was always thought as poor man’s diet – only the fruits, resembling drumsticks are cooked and eaten. However, it’s becoming popular these days with the demand from urban centres. The young fruits called jokiya in local language due to its jonk (leech) like shape are lip-smacking. The ripe fruits that take triangular shape on their maturity have hard seeds and one needs to get rid of them before cooking. But still the drumstick curry is finger-licking delicious.

The wonder tree Moringa oleifera is a fast growing, drought resistant tree. The pods are source of all vitamins and minerals. It has Vitamin C seven times than that of an orange, Vitamin A four times than that of a carrot, Calcium four times than that of milk, Potassium there times than that of a banana, and protein three times than that of curd. According to Ayurveda, drumstick can cure 300 different diseases.

And still it is considered a poor man's vegetable and no one cultivates it commercially!

What a pity!