Sharada Navaratri
Every Autumn
Celebrating the nine incarnations of the Hindu Goddess Durga.
About the event
Sharada Navaratri is an important Hindu festival that celebrates the mother Goddess Durga. The festival is held over nine nights with each day revolving around one of the nine different incarnations of Durga. Different incarnations are associated with different themes such as beauty, bravery, vigour, intelligence and the protective instinct of mothers. There are many activities that occur over these 9 days with many regional varieties including festivals, worship, fasting, and folk dancing.
How to approach it
Any religious event is a chance for your students to explore a new culture or, if there are Hindu students present, to share in the celebrations of a classmate. If you have Hindu students that are confident enough you could encourage them to talk about their experiences of the festival. Either way, use this to stimulate your students curiosity for other cultures. For example, you could explore one of the most important myths of Durga in which she slays the demon Mahishasura. You could ask students to research the different incarnations of Durga, what they are associated with and how they are worshipped. Alternatively, you could explore the regional variations in celebrations showing the massive cultural diversity of the Indian subcontinent and the Hindu diaspora.
Conversation starter
Sharada Navaratri is the celebration of the Hindu mother goddess Durga. For nine nights, the nine different incarnations of Durga are celebrated in different ways by Hindus all around the world. See if you can find one of the forms that Durga takes and how she is worshipped. What values and themes are celebrated?
