Scranton (US) Bhutanese celebrate Teej

Bhutanese community in Scranton (PA), US celebrated the Teej – popularly called celebration of womenhood – with lithe dancing and traditional food last week.

Single women fast for one day, too, said the organization’s vice president, Om Timsina, in hopes that they will find good husbands.

About 120 gathered, and all the women dressed in red, colourful and bright. Many of the men wore traditional daura-suruwal (loose-fitting clothes) with Dhaka topi (soft cloth caps).

While young children scurried around the gathering room, dancers performed old Teej Festival routines as grinning relatives and friends took photos and video with camera phones.

“We want to preserve our culture, and we want to pass our culture on to our next generations,” said Krishna Rai, the organization’s president.

Bhutanese started coming to Scranton in 2009 as part of third country resettlement. Now, about 200 families live in South Scranton and the city’s Hill Section.