The Tongue-Piercing at Bode

The Rite

In the settlement of Bode, close to Thimi, the second day of the Nepali new year brings one of the Valley's most severe observances. A man from the community has his tongue pierced with an iron needle roughly ten inches long, which has been left soaking in oil for a month beforehand. He then parades through the settlement carrying the mahadwip — a large semi-circular twelve-pronged oil lamp, lashed to a bamboo frame and borne on his shoulders — accompanied by musicians and by a crowd.

Preparation and the Vow

The role is taken by a man who has undertaken a vow, and it is an undertaking rather than a performance. It is preceded by fasting and by a period of isolation, with restrictions on eating and on contact observed in the days before; local belief holds that the tongue will not bleed if those restrictions have been properly kept. Families in Bode hold the roles hereditarily — the piercing itself is performed by a designated community office — and the same structures organise it year after year.

The Needle Comes Out

The circuit ends at the Mahalaxmi temple, where the needle is drawn out in the presence of the Pancho Ganesh chariot. The rite is understood to be borne on behalf of the whole settlement — a protection sought against misfortune for Bode rather than merit sought for the individual —, and the same man may take the vow more than once.

Where It Sits

Bode's rite belongs to the cluster of observances filling greater Bhaktapur at the turn of the year rather than to Bhaktapur's own chariot procession. Nearby Thimi has its Sindur Jatra on the same new-year days, when crowds throw orange vermilion powder over each other and over the palanquins. A visitor with one morning must choose; they run concurrently and are several kilometres apart.

Watching

The circuit is on public streets and is watched openly by the whole settlement, but this is a vow being kept, not an attraction. Photograph with restraint, stay out of the procession's path, and follow the crowd's lead on where onlookers stand.