Fattening Room and Bara Tayegu

The article “Where Fat is a Mark of Beauty” by Ann M. Simmons shows how a culture defines beauty. The Nigerian girls are supposed to be fat in order to look pretty while for us Nepalese girls we are supposed to be slim in order to look nice. When I was going to America my mother told me to maintain a healthy diet and to avoid fast food. She came here on Christmas and she was really upset when she saw me since I had gained weight. Whenever I used to eat she used to tell me to stop eating so much. This shows how my culture is different from Nigerian culture.

But there some similarities too that I found between these cultures. Like the tradition of “fattening room” where teenaged Margaret Bassey Ene has a mission to get fat by being secluded in a room where she just eats, sleeps and gets fat. According to my Newari custom, girls from age 8 to 13 before the onset of menstruation are confined in a room for 12 days. We call this ritual “Bara Tayegu” in Newari and “Gufa Rakhne” in Nepali. During these 12 days all we do is eat, play and dance inside the the room. We are not supposed see men and sun or daylight so they put the us in a dark room with no windows or covered windows. But unlike the Nigerian culture, female visitors are allowed to enter the room.

The Nigerian girls get body massages with chalk powder and heavy red palm oil to make them look attractive. Similarly, during “Gufa” I got my face, hands and legs massaged and scrubbed with “kwo” which is a mixture of gram flour, ground fenugreek seeds and hot mustard oil. This was supposed to exfoliate and nourish our skin and make us look fair and beautiful.

After the end of fattening room process the Nigerian girls are supposed to get married. Similarly, on the 12^th day the Newari girls are dressed up with traditional clothes and they put on make-up. Then they are brought out from the room. A priest performs some rituals and says prayer which may last an hour then we are married to the sun. It is a happy occasion and just like the Nigerian culture the relatives gather and bring gifts. In the end we have big celebration with dance, music and feast.