Teej Festival
TeejAn unique festival for women, Teej is primarily celebrated in Rajasthan, parts of Uttar pradesh and Bihar with both fasts and delicious feasts. Falling on the Hindu month of Shravan (August), it also celebrates the arrival of monsoon after a season of oppresive heat. “Teej” is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains.
Legend of Teej
The Spirit of Teej symbolises “ideal marriage” highlighting the legend of Goddess Parvati uniting with Lord Shiva after a penance of over hundred years. It is believed that invocation of Parvati’s blessings lead to marital bliss.
Rituals of Teej
Idols of Paravati are bedecked with new clothes, jewellery and worshiped. After a ceremonial worship at home, elephants are taken out in a ceremonial process escorted by camels , and horses.
Women undergo fasts, sing folk songs and dance in the name of Goddess Parvati. It is a belief that unmarried Women fasting will luckily find a suitable husband. Fasting married Women will also find their husband more faithful and bonds of love strengthened.
Three kinds of Teej are celebrated in Rajasthan.
Broadly,
» On Haryali Teej : The moon is prayed to.
» On Kajari teej : women gather to sing songs and a pooja of neem is performed.
Celebration of Teej
During Teej, swing ropes on the coutyards decorated with flowers are a common sight. Newly married girls return to their parents home, receiving clothes from their parents and other male kins. An ocassion to pamper for rural women by buying bangles, bindis bead-necklaces and having mouth-watering dishes. Celebration includes games such as turban-tying and bangle wearing competition.
Teej (Hindi: तीज) is a fasting festival for Hindu women of some parts of India and Nepal. It takes place in August or early September. It is celebrated for marital bliss, well being of spouse and children and purification of own body and soul. The festival is a three-day long celebration that combines sumptuous feasts as well as rigid fasting.
Falling on the Hindu month of Shravan (August), it also celebrates the arrival of monsoon after a season of oppresive heat. “Teej” is a small red insect that comes out of the soil during rains.
Teej in Nepal
The first day of Teej is called the “Dar Khane Din”. On this day the women, both married and unmarried, assemble at one place, in their finest attires and start dancing and singing devotional songs. Admist all this, the grand feast takes place. The jollity often goes on till midnight, after which the 24 - hour fast starts.
The second day is the fasting day. Some women live without a morsel of food and drops of water while others take liquid and fruit. On this day, they gaily dress and visit a nearby Shiva temple singing and dancing on the way. The Pashupatinath temple gets the highest number of devotees. At the Shiva temple, women circumambulate the Lingam, the phallic symbol of the lord, offering flowers, sweets and coins. The main puja (religious ceremony) takes place with offerings of flowers, fruits etc made to Shiva and Parbati, beseeching their blessing upon the husband and family. The important part of the puja is the oil lamp which should be alight throughout the night for it is bad omen if it dies away.
The third day of the festival is Rishi Panchami. After the completion of the previous day’s puja, women pay homage to various deities and bathe with red mud found on the roots of the sacred datiwan bush, along with its leaves. This act of purification is the final ritual of Teej, after which women are considered absolved from all sins. The recent years have witnessed alteration in the rituals, especially concerning the severity, but its essence remains the same.
Teej in India
Teej is celebrated in many parts of Haryana ,Punjab, Delhi , Rajasthan and Bihar. They worship Goddess Parvati. A day before this festival is celebrated as Sinjara wherein girls/ladies put on mehandi on their hands and eat ghewar/feeni and other sweets. On Teej, married women pray to Goddess Parvati for well being of their husbands. Idols of goddess Parvati are decorated and taken in aprocession in the streets accompanied by singing, music, and dancing.
Teej is also celebrated among the hindu community in north India. In this area women are also given bangles and bindiss. Swings are also put on trees for the entertainment of young girls.
When is Teej?
There are three different variations of Teej, namely – Hariyali, Kajari and Hartalika Teej. All the three Teej falls in different times and are celebrated with fervor and enthusiasm by womenfolk in India. Date of Teej Festival is decided according to the arrival of monsoon and hence it changes every year. There are special rituals and customs associated with every Teej. These traditions hold great importance for women celebrating the festival of Teej. Read on to learn about different dates of all the three Teej celebrations.
When is Haryali Teej?
Celebrate Haryali Teej on August 16, 2007, Thursday
Haryali Teej falls on Shukla Tritiya in the Hindu month of Sawan. The day heralds the onset of monsoon as a symbol of happiness, prosperity and love. As the name suggests, Haryali Teej is mainly related with greenery. It is commemorated for abundance of greenery and also a good harvest. Haryali Teej is celebrated in a grand way in the ancient ‘Banke Bihari’ temple of Vrindavan. Thousands of devotees congregate to worship Lord Krishna and Radha. Holy water is sprinkled over the devotees to welcome the monsoon season. At some places, womenfolk offer prayer to moon on the first day of Teej i.e. Haryali Teej.
When is Kajari Teej?
Celebrate Kajari Teej on August 30-31, 2007, Thursday-Friday
Kajli Teej is celebrated on Krishna Paksh Tritiya, the third day of the month of shravan. Kajli Teej is most popularly celebrated in a small district of Rajasthan called Bundi. In Bundi, Kajari Teej is celebrated on the third day of the month of ‘Bhadra’.
On this day, there is a community pooja of neem and a procession is carried on which has beautifully decorated idol of Goddess Parvati.
When is Hartalika Teej?
Celebrate Hartalika Teej on September 14, 2007, Friday
Hartalika Teej falls on the third day of the first fortnight of the month of ‘Bhadra’. It is the most important Teej of all and lasts for three days. On the second day, women keep Nirjara Vrat for the welfare and longevity of their husband. Evening prayers along with traditional singing and dancing are important part of Hartalika Teej celebration.
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