Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Celebrations for Tihar started yesterday in Nepal, a five-day religious feast that unites the country's Hindu and Buddhist communities as they celebrate the affinity of man with nature.

Madhsudan Tiwary, a Hindu priest told AsiaNews: "The festival is known as Yamapanchak and it celebrates the co-existence of human beings with all living things in nature. In these days, Hindu and Buddhist families perform special rituals to seal the relationship between human beings and the crow, dog, cow, and mountain. This rite has been celebrated thus for millennia."

Tiwary said: "The first day is dedicated to the Kaag (crow) as per religious traditions. The crow is regarded as the messenger of Yamraj, the lord of death. Popular belief has it that one commits a sin if he eats without worshipping the crow on the first day of Tihar."

The second day "is dedicated to Kukur Pooja (dogs). People offer food to both domestic and stray dogs on this day to ensure good fortune. The third and fourth are dedicated to Gai, the cow, and Laxmi, goddess of wealth. The last day is observed by offering prayers to mountains which we also consider as living entities."

Throughout the festivities, "brothers and sisters visit each other's houses and pray together. They apply red vermillion on each other's foreheads to show fraternal love and solidarity."

Deepak Tamang, a Buddhist scholar, said "most Nepalese Buddhists celebrate this festival. This is a cultural ceremony where sectarianism disappears; it is a manifestation of the inherent symbiosis between nature and human beings."

However, "the tragedy is that although we celebrate love and co-existence, we continue to kill each other. In the past 10 years, the whirlpool of violence in the country has killed over 13,000 people and this must stop as soon as possible."

Ravindra Gurung Masih, a Pentecostal pastor and member of the Good Hope Church shares the same view. He told AsiaNews: "We Christians don't observe these rituals but I personally appreciate the Hindus' and Buddhists' affinity for animals that they show during this festival."

He continued: "But this culture of love is not echoed outside religion: we are helplessly watching the massacre of the innocents. I believe that beyond these

rituals, sincere prayers to the Almighty can save us from this bloodshed."