The Role of Rice in Nepali Culture

Akshataa ko tikaa, Akshataa ko raato tikaa

Appears in
Food and Flavours from Nepal
Food and Flavours from Nepal

By Jyoti Pathak

Published 2023

  • About
One could say that life starts with rice and ends with rice in Nepal. Not only is rice used as nourishment, it is integral in Nepali traditions, ceremonies, rituals, festivals, and religious observances. Rice is present in all stages of life including pregnancy, birth, a child’s first grain ceremony, marriage, and death.

Many Nepalese consider rice grains to be sacred. Some Hindu devotees start their day with a visit to their neighborhood temples and shrines at dawn. As offerings they bring a small copper or silver tray with akshataa (an uncooked and unbroken rice grain used in ritualistic worship to bring protection, energy, and prosperity to the devotee), vermilion powder, flowers, and incense known as poojaa saamagri.