Barangja: The Magar community of Barangja in ward numbers 3 and 4 of Mangala rural municipality-3 celebrated the ‘Aagodeu’ festival. This annual event spans three days, commencing from Kukur Tihar, and is a significant cultural tradition for the community.
According to National News Agency Nepal, Yam Rokka, the Ward no. 3 chair, explained that the festival is a customary practice aimed at worshiping nature, with the hope of preventing fire-related disasters. The celebrations begin with Magar shamans performing pooja at a sacred site in Shilathur, Barangja. On the second day, a sheep is worshiped and sacrificed at the same location, followed by a ritual of lighting and dousing a fire. The festival concludes on the third day with the cutting and worshiping of colored stones.
The Aagodeu festival is a unifying event for the Magar tribes, including Pun, Gharti, Roka, Ramjali Rokka, Bajhange Roka, Gharti, and Budhathoki, residing in Barangja. Ward president Roka noted that this festival, believed to have origina
ted in the twelfth century, has been celebrated since the earliest settlements in Barangja.