“Kukur Tihar” – The Dog Worshiping Festival of Nepal
Dogs are adorned as the best friends of humans all over the world throughout the history. However, in Nepal, people actually worship them to say thanks and show their respect to the ever-human-friendly beasts.
It's called Kukur Tihar or Kukur Puja (Kukur means Dog, and Puja means worshiping), held on the second day of Tihar, a festival celebrated in Nepal in autumn and the dates may vary but what does not change is that on that second day the protagonists are the dogs that are entertained by the Hindus of Nepal. You can see how they are treated in the photos Illustrating the this post. And they are not the only animals to be worshiped, crows and cows also have their day along the Tihar.
This is the day of "Adoration of dogs". The dogs are considered the messengers of Lord Yamaraj, the God of death and on this day they receive all kinds of delicacies to eat and flowers to adorn their neck to, thus, highlight the important link that exists between humans and dogs.
[The Hindu God of Death with is dog] - source
In the Dogster website , they also explain that dogs are also considered guardians of the doors of the afterlife. And they have an important role in the Hindu culture.
In the Mahābhārata , the god of virtue, Yudhishthira, refuses to enter heaven without being able to be together with his faithful dog, even preferring to give him his place rather than abandon him, and thus manages to convince the god Indra – the Lord of the Heavens.
Returning to the festival of Kukur Tihar, another detail that has seemed precious to me is that not only dogs with an owner are entertained, but also food and offerings are given to stray dogs.
Nepali police also pay tribute to their dogs; here you can see the video they have published in an online magazine.
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Here's another video of the festival:
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It's post is very cute. I love dogs, I have two at home and they are very spoiled, they are great companions. In the street I can find several of them, and we have a lot of affinity, they have something special, they also experience emotions and transmit this to the human.
you are absolutely right - i remember how my dogs showed their love towards me back home. i really miss that. I'll adapt one again whenever i get the chance. Thanks for stopping by and commenting so wonderfully :)
:)