Nanda Devi Raj Jat

rdf:langString Nanda Devi Raj Jat

rdf:langString Nanda Devi Raj Jaat

rdf:langString In Chamoli, Nanda Devi Raj Jaat is organized once in 12 years.

rdf:langString Nanda Devi Raj Jaat

rdf:langString Hindus

rdf:langString After the havan - yagna is over, the sheep is freed with decorated ornaments, food and clothing's, and the other offerings are discarded

rdf:langString Varies per Hindu Lunisolar calendar

rdf:langString Cultural, Seasonal, Religious

rdf:langString hindu festival

rdf:langString The three-week-long Nanda Devi Raj Jat (नंदा देवी राज जात) is a pilgrimage and festival of Uttarakhand. India. The Raj-Jaat is celebrated in Chamoli Garhwal district, and traditionally only the deities of Garhwal Division took part in it. Sometimes, during the peaceful periods between the Kingdoms of Garhwal and Kumaun, the Goddess "Nanda of Almora" was invited and took part in the Raj-Jaat, while mostly there were separate Nanda-Sunanda fairs in Kumaun. Off late, after the formation of Uttarakhand, the state Government has been trying bring the people from Garhwal and Kumaun together for celebrations and fairs. Hence, in the Nanda Devi Raj Jaat held in the year 2000, the goddess "Almora ki Nanda" took part after 90 years and a number of other deities from Kumaun accompanied her. To facilitate this change, even the traditional route of the Yatra was tweaked and an additional stop with a detour was added, i.e. Nanadakesri. It is at this point, that the deities and devotees from Kumaon assimilate with the main Jaat. Now people from the entire Garhwal division-Kumaon division, as well as other parts of India and the world participate in Nanda Devi Raj Jat yatra Although goddess Nanda Devi is worshipped at dozens of places in Garhwal, as well as Kumaun, but the region around Mt. Nanda Devi and its sanctuary, which falls in the Chamoli Garhwal district, is the prime area related to Nanda Devi. In Chamoli Garhwal, Nanda Devi Raj Jaat is organized once in 12 years. The Jaat (meaning Yatra or pilgrimage) starts from Nauti village near Karnprayag and goes up to the heights of Roopkund and Homkund with a four horned sheep (called Chausingya-Meda in Garhwali). After the Havan-Yagna is done, the sheep is freed with decorated ornaments, food and clothing, and other offerings. An annual Nanda Jaat is also celebrated called as lok jaat. The Jaat procession goes through villages, where there is a recognized Nanda Devi temple. At Koti, a night halt of the participants takes place where a night-long worship and celebrations take place. Due to the heavy rain and cloudburst in June 2013 in Uttarakhand, which led to major loss of life and property and caused massive destruction to the region, the Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra from 29 scheduled to take place in August 2013 was postponed to the year 2014.