Bhutanese celebrate Teej in Adelaide
Bhutanese in Adelaide celebrated Teej, the greatest festival for women amidst a public cultural function on Saturday, 7 September.
Female members of the community carried out all the cultural performances while male members supported them technically. Males served the audience with free cultural food.
The function was jointly organised by Yuba Sansar, Bhutanese Youth Group, Bhutanese Ethnic School, Namaste Cultural Group with involvement of other active young girls under the coordination of Bhutanese Australian Association of South Australia.
The Teej festival has its roots in Hindu mythology. Hindu scriptures say the goddess Parvati launched a hunger strike, demanding she be allowed to marry Shiva, the man she loved. Her friends soon joined her with similar demands, and the young women came to be known as “hadtalika,” or protesting girls.
Parvati’s father, Himalaya, ultimately bowed to his daughter’s demands, and Parvati had a happy life with Shiva, according to the myth.
Today, the tone in which Teej is celebrated has changed, quite. It is the time when females gather for merry making, share food and exchange wishes.
All Photos by Steve Watts
