Nepalese Farmers Get Muddy At The Ropain Festival

DIVE into the middle of a hearty mud war celebrating the coming of the rice planting season

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The Ropain Festival on National Paddy day celebrates the coming of the rice plant in Nepal

Photographer Claudio Sieber ventured to Pokhara, Nepal to capture the joyful revelry on Nepal’s National Paddy Day.

The event takes place every year on the 15th day of Asar as Nepali people commemorate the return of the monsoon season by splattering themselves, and each other, with mud

The event includes mud wrestling, tug of war and mud-ball fights

The 35-year-old photographer said: “I’ve spent a good amount of time in Pokhara, so locals told me all about it. Getting dirty on purpose, who could resist observing that?

The Ropain Festival that takes place on the 15th day of Asar - the end of June

“The Rice Planting Festival usually begins from the first week of Ashar - the end of June.

“It’s time for sowing the seeds of rice along with some merry making by singing Ashara Jhyaure - the monsoon song - which enumerates the joy and sorrow of farmers while they splash muddy water on each other.”

Photographer Claudio Sieber dived into the festival to capture these beautiful images

The Ropain Festival was named a national holiday by the Nepalese government in 2005 and the Pokhara locals did not hold back.

Muddy games of tug of war, mud wrestling, mud-ball ball fights, as well as plough and plant competitions, were all on offer in Pokhara and Claudio was also dragged into the festivities by the ecstatic revellers

The Ropain Festival is celebrated by eating curd, beaten rice and Chyang, a local drink made from fermented rice

He said: “Shortly after arriving I got a Bindi, a red dot commonly worn on the centre of the forehead by Hindus, and a flower wreath

Claudio said: “I’ve spent a good amount of time in Pokhara, so locals told me all about it. Getting dirty on purpose, who could resist observing that?"

“Also, some traditional dressed Nepali girls captured me, placed me in their circle and sang the monsoon dong for me.

“But since I decided to capture the festival, I avoided having a mud bath!”

All visitors are invited to join in the mud madness

All visitors are heartily invited to join in the mud madness but, for the farmers, the event is not just an occasion for frivolity.

The festival is a crucial time of year for every Nepali as they start to plant all of their new rice crop seedlings for the next season.

The event is not just for fun is a sign of the crucial time of year for the rice farmers

Claudio said: “Nepali women are responsible for planting the rice and men to plough the field.

“The Ropain Festival is celebrated by eating curd, beaten rice and Chyang, a local drink made from fermented rice, with a belief that it will cure all kinds of sickness.”