The men were carefully selected from a pool of applicants, the paper says, quoting one who had been one of the throwers for the past seven years. "Finally, it's my turn to be thrown!" he told the paper, completely covered in snow after rolling down the 16ft hill.
The centuries-old ritual of hurling bridegrooms into snow is alive and kicking in a Japanese town, reports suggest.
नेपाली समुदायमा आफ्नी चेलीलाई बेहुलाको घर पठाउनुअघि दाजुभाइले बोकेर गाडी चढाउँछन् । यो बेला बेहुली पक्षमा दुःख मनाऊ हुन्छ ।
तर, जापानका मात्सुनोया सहरमा भने बेहुली विदा हुनुअघि माइती पक्षबाटै हिउँमा फ्याँकिनु पर्दछ ।
मायानिची शिम्बुन अखबारका अनुसार बेहुलीलाई हिउँमा फ्याँक्ने अनिमात्र बेहुलाको घर पठाउने चलन छ । अहिलेसम्म सात जना बेहुलीलाई हिउँमा फालिसकेको बताउने एक स्थानीयबासी भन्छन् ‘आउँदो विहेमा पनि मैले नै बेहुली फाल्ने पालो पाएको छु ।’
यो परम्परा ३ सयदेखि ६ सय वर्षभन्दा पुरानो भएको विश्वास गरिन्छ । आफ्ना गाउँले तरुनीहरु अरुको अर्धाङ्गिनी बनेको बदला लिन स्थानीय तन्नेरी युुवाहरुले बेहुली फाल्ने चलन सुरु गरेको अनुमान गरिन्छ ।
The men were carefully selected from a pool of applicants, the paper says, quoting one who had been one of the throwers for the past seven years. "Finally, it's my turn to be thrown!" he told the paper, completely covered in snow after rolling down the 16ft hill.
The festival could be anything between 300 and 600 years old, and is believed to have been started by village youths enacting revenge against other men for "stealing their young women".
According to the Niigata Prefecture tourism guide, bridegroom-throwing is followed up by a visit to a shrine, where visitors paint each others' faces with ink made from sacred ashes, and pray for health and prosperity in the New Year
