Abstract: The festival of Holi—also called Phaguwa in the Bhojpuri language—is considered the harbinger of spring in parts of Nepal. In this article, I describe the festival of Holi as it is celebrated in Barwa, a village in southern Nepal. While Holi is largely celebrated as a “festival of colors,” I argue that foodways and musical practices add essential intercaste dynamics to the festivities. I discuss how communal agency and reciprocity in the face of sociopolitical neglect brings communities together in a multisensorial celebration, while also highlighting intercaste dynamics. I embrace the poetics and performance of autoethnography as a means of processing memories and recent ethnographic experiences that continue to shape my understanding of this festival, the Terai (southern Nepali plains), and its peoples.
Suyash Kumar Neupane (Thu,) studied this question.