Story details
Cotton rakshas
Massendra Patel
We use red and gold cotton for rakshas - its part of the ceremony of Rakshabandi. Usually it comes in July, which is when the factories have their holidays in Leicester so it's always been popular here, because it's a good thing to have a celebration when there's a holiday! It's a symbol of the love between brother and sister. There are lots of different designs but they all use red and gold somewhere - they have a little design or a stone on the outside of the wrist, and two threads which can be tied.
A sister or young girl will give her brother a raksha - or if she doesn't have a brother, another man, even a stranger in the street - and tie it round his wrist. If you do it properly this is how it's done..Early in the morning the sister gets up and bathes, puts on clean clothes then prays. When her brother comes into the house she takes a steel tray with the raksha, a diva-lamp on it, something sweet to eat and some colour, and she asks the brother if he is ready to have the raksha tied on.
She puts a red mark on his forehead, a sweet in his mouth and ties the raksha round his wrist and says 'I ask God to take care of you and protect you all this year and every year of your life'. Then the brother gives her a sweet and promises to protect her all that he can for all of her life.
He can't take off the raksha all that day or it's very bad luck. In olden times you were supposed to wear a raksha until it fell off but most people keep them on for a little time, they get in the way and look dirty after a bit.
This story was collected through Plant Cultures workshops by Leicester Museum Service.
