Diaspora Festivals: Dashain and Tihar in Resettlement Countries

Dashain (Vijaya Dashami) and Tihar (Deepawali or Diwali) are the two most important annual festivals celebrated by the Lhotshampa communities of the Bhutanese diaspora. Rooted in Hindu religious tradition and Nepali cultural practice, these festivals have been observed by Nepali-speaking Bhutanese for generations — in the villages of southern Bhutan before the expulsions, in the refugee camps in Nepal during the long years of displacement, and now in the cities and towns of the resettlement countries to which over 110,000 Bhutanese refugees have been relocated since 2007.

In the diaspora, Dashain and Tihar have assumed an importance that extends beyond their religious significance. They function as the primary communal gathering occasions for geographically dispersed Bhutanese communities, providing annual anchor points around which cultural identity is reinforced, family bonds are renewed, social relationships are maintained, and younger generations are introduced to their heritage traditions. The celebration of these festivals in Western settings — amid work schedules, school calendars, and regulatory environments unfamiliar with South Asian religious practices — requires creative adaptation while preserving the core spiritual and cultural meanings of each observance.

Dashain in the Diaspora

Dashain, the longer and more elaborate of the two festivals, is a fifteen-day observance that falls in September or October according to the Hindu lunar calendar. It celebrates the goddess Durga's victory over the buffalo demon Mahishasura, symbolising the triumph of good over evil. In traditional practice, Dashain involves elaborate rituals including the establishment of a jamara (barley grass seedlings grown in a dark room), animal sacrifices, the flying of kites, the playing of ping (bamboo swings), and the receiving of tika (a paste of rice, yogurt, and vermillion applied to the forehead) and blessings from elders.

In resettlement countries, Bhutanese American and other diaspora communities have adapted Dashain observances to their new environments in several ways. The jamara tradition has been maintained by many families, who grow barley seedlings in closets or basements in their apartments and houses. The practice of receiving tika from elders remains the emotional centerpiece of the festival, though the geographic dispersal of extended families — with relatives scattered across multiple states or even countries — often means that the in-person tika ceremony is supplemented by video calls in which elders offer blessings remotely.

Animal sacrifice, a traditional component of Dashain in both Bhutan and Nepal, has been largely discontinued or significantly modified in Western resettlement countries, where local regulations, apartment living, and shifting attitudes among younger community members make the practice difficult or unwelcome. Some families arrange for halal-slaughtered goat meat from local butchers as a substitute, while others have moved toward vegetarian observances. This adaptation is a source of debate within communities, with some elders viewing the decline of ritual sacrifice as a diminishment of the festival's religious integrity and others regarding it as an acceptable evolution.

Community organisations typically organise large communal Dashain celebrations on weekends near the actual festival dates, since the festival days themselves rarely coincide with Western weekends or holidays. These community events feature cultural performances, communal meals of traditional foods, tika ceremonies, and social gatherings. Venues range from community centres and church halls to rented banquet facilities and public parks. In cities with large Bhutanese populations — such as Columbus, Ohio; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; and Akron, Ohio — Dashain celebrations can draw hundreds or even thousands of attendees.

Tihar in the Diaspora

Tihar, also known as Deepawali or the Festival of Lights, follows Dashain by approximately three weeks and is a five-day celebration honouring different animals and deities on successive days: crows (kaag tihar), dogs (kukur tihar), cows (gaai tihar), oxen (goru tihar), and siblings (bhai tika). The festival is celebrated with oil lamps and candles, rangoli designs, sweets, and the singing of deusi and bhailo songs — roving caroling traditions in which groups go door-to-door singing and collecting donations.

Tihar has translated to the diaspora context with particular vitality. The deusi-bhailo tradition has been enthusiastically maintained in many resettlement communities, with groups of men (deusi) and women (bhailo) organising evening visits to Bhutanese households in their neighbourhoods, singing traditional songs, and collecting contributions that are often donated to community organisations or used for community events. In some American cities, deusi-bhailo groups have coordinated their routes and schedules to cover entire apartment complexes and neighbourhoods where Bhutanese families are concentrated.

The tradition of kukur tihar — honouring dogs with garlands and food — has found particular resonance in Western countries where pet culture is prevalent, and images of garlanded dogs shared by Bhutanese community members on social media have occasionally attracted wider attention as expressions of a cultural practice that aligns with Western affection for animals.

The culmination of Tihar, bhai tika, is a day on which sisters apply ceremonial tika to their brothers and pray for their long lives, receiving gifts in return. Like the tika ceremony of Dashain, bhai tika can be complicated by the geographic separation of siblings across different cities and countries, prompting virtual observances alongside in-person ones.

Community Gathering Spaces

The celebration of Dashain and Tihar in the diaspora has required communities to create or secure appropriate gathering spaces in environments where public halls, temples, and outdoor venues are not readily available for South Asian religious observances. Different communities have developed different solutions to this challenge.

In cities with established Hindu temples — whether operated by Bhutanese communities or by the broader South Asian diaspora — these temples serve as natural centres for festival observances. Some Bhutanese American communities have established their own temples or prayer halls, while others participate in observances at temples shared with Nepali, Indian, and other South Asian communities. Community centres operated by resettlement agencies have also served as important venues, as have rented halls, school gymnasiums, and public parks.

The question of dedicated community space remains a significant aspiration for many diaspora communities. Owning a community centre or temple provides not only a venue for festival celebrations but also a permanent physical home for cultural activities, language classes, elder gatherings, and youth programming throughout the year. Several Bhutanese community organisations across the United States have undertaken fundraising campaigns to purchase or lease dedicated community spaces.

Significance for Identity Maintenance

The continued celebration of Dashain and Tihar in the diaspora serves multiple functions in the maintenance and negotiation of Bhutanese Lhotshampa identity. For the first generation — those who experienced life in Bhutan, the trauma of expulsion, and the long limbo of the refugee camps — these festivals are tangible links to a homeland from which they were forcibly removed. The smells, tastes, sounds, and rituals of Dashain and Tihar evoke memories of childhood celebrations in the villages of southern Bhutan and of the resilient festival observances maintained in the camps despite conditions of deprivation.

For children and young people raised in resettlement countries, Dashain and Tihar provide some of the most concentrated and memorable experiences of their heritage culture. Young people who may speak only limited Nepali and who navigate predominantly Western cultural environments in their daily lives often describe the festivals as occasions when they feel most connected to their Bhutanese identity. The sensory richness of the festivals — the application of tika, the taste of sel roti and momo, the sounds of deusi-bhailo songs, the warmth of extended family gatherings — creates powerful associations that sustain cultural attachment across generations.

The festivals also serve as occasions for the broader public in resettlement countries to encounter Bhutanese culture. Multicultural festival events, media coverage of community celebrations, and the participation of Bhutanese communities in civic life during their festival seasons have contributed to greater visibility and recognition for the Bhutanese diaspora in their adopted countries.

Adaptations and Evolving Practices

As the Bhutanese diaspora matures — with communities now having been in resettlement countries for nearly two decades — the observance of Dashain and Tihar continues to evolve. Hybrid practices have emerged that blend traditional elements with new influences. Social media has become an integral part of festival celebration, with community members sharing photos, videos, and greetings across platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok. Live-streamed festival events allow participation by those who cannot attend in person.

Some communities have also begun incorporating elements of civic engagement into their festival celebrations, such as voter registration drives at Dashain events or food drives for local charities during Tihar. These innovations reflect the community's growing integration into the civic life of their adopted countries while maintaining the cultural and spiritual core of their festival traditions.

The challenge of timing remains a persistent issue, as the lunar calendar dates of Dashain and Tihar rarely align with Western weekends. Communities have generally resolved this by holding the main communal celebration on the nearest weekend while encouraging families to observe key ritual moments — particularly the tika ceremonies — on the actual dates, even if this means doing so quietly at home on a workday or school day.

References

1. Hutt, Michael. Unbecoming Citizens: Culture, Nationhood, and the Flight of Refugees from Bhutan. Oxford University Press, 2003.
2. Benson, Odessa Gonzalez. "Refugee Resettlement Policy in an Era of Neoliberalisation." Social Service Review, vol. 90, no. 1, 2016, pp. 59-91.
3. Cultural Orientation Resource Center. "Bhutanese Cultural Profile." https://coresourceexchange.org/
4. Poudel, Keshav. "Festival Celebrations Among Bhutanese Refugees in the United States." Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, vol. 18, no. 2, 2020.