Yomari the special newari delicacy

Yomari

A yomari is a special Newari delicacy. It is a confection of rice-flour (from the new harvest) dough shaped like fig and filled with brown cane sugar(chaku) and sesame seeds, which is then steamed. 

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Yomari is the chief item on the menu during the post-harvest celebration of Yomari Punhi. On this full moon day,people of the Kathmandu Valley worship Annapurna, the goddess of grains, for rice harvest.



Groups of kids go around their neighborhood to beg yomari from housewives in the evening with the special song.
Sacred masked dances are performed in the villages of Hari Siddhi and Thecho at the southern end of the Valley to mark the festival.

Story behind celebrating yomari punhi

The festival is said to have started from Panchal Nagar(present day Panauti). Myth has it that Suchandra and Krita, a married couple, first experimented with fresh yield of rice from their field. The result was eventually distributed among the villagers. As it was liked by all, the food was named yamari.The name Yamari comes from two Nepal Bhasa words, "ya:" meaning "to like" and "mari" meaning "delicacy". So, literally, it is a delicacy which is very popular.