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Nepal

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Nepal: history, religion, culture and festivals (a synopsis)



Nepal: (28 00 N, 84 00 E) Nepal is a landlocked ( boarder 1,236 km in north and 1690 km in south) country squeezed between two Asian giants, India and China. It occupies the total land area of 147,181 sq. km extending from east to West (0.03% of the world and 0.3% of Asia, It is 75 and 32 times smaller the size respectively of its northern and southern neighbours: China and india). The East- west length is almost 850 km and the maximum north-south spread varies from 250 to 100 km. Almost 4,000 sq km area of the country is occupied by various lakes, streams and rivers. The climatic condition varies from cool summers and severe winters in the north to subtropical summers and mild winters in south. Two third of the world famous Himalayan ranges and eight of the highest 10 world peaks in Nepal make it known differently to the world because apart from the Alpine climatic condition of the north, the mid hills and their mild temperature and the southern Gangetic plain known as the Terai are as hot as any other hotter palaces . The rough and rugged terrain, mountainous region, rivers, lakes and gorges and snow clad lofty peaks add to the exotic beauty of this nation and attract hundreds of thousands of nature lovers and adventurers annually, but these natural difficulties equally contribute in making much of the parts of the country inaccessible and its people cut off from the rest of the world in terms of the availability of basic amenities and various developmental prospect. Because of its unique location of being surrounded by the natural wall in the form of the world’s highest Himalayan ranges in the north, there has been a considerable natural affinity of Nepal and its people with its southern neighbour, India, culturally, socially , economically as well as politically. We can see and experience much of Nepalese social life to have come under the Indian influence for many centuries.

' History' History texts keep silence on the topic of the exact beginning of the time when people started to inhabit the place now known as Nepal. However, this part of the world has remained a confluence of two major human races and cultures - the Indo-European/Aryan and the Tibeto-Burman or the Mongoloid races – and the intricate blending of both their religions, cultures, life-styles and so many aspects of living and livelihood. The Mongoloid ethnic groups preceded inhabitation of the valley by entering through Tibet to Nepal with their unique skill in hunting and survival abilities, language, culture and religion before the first millennium. They began their settlements along the mountainous region and the high Himalayan foothills. Later towards the beginning of the second millennium, the movement of various Indo-Aryan race populations started to occur towards north perhaps in search of a cooler climate and trade or out of curiosity. Some others shifted northward in order to protect their religion and culture from the Muslim invaders in the succeeding centuries. These southerners had already developed their language and writing script so with their superior capabilities won over their early settlers. We don’t find any ethnic differences and clashes taken place among all those various tribal communities as is often found in the cases of early settlements. Instead, there arose a harmonious relationship among them and they started sharing and regarding each others customs, cultures and social practices which in the course of time gave birth to a uniquely co-existing Nepalese culture which features both Hindu-Buddhist traditions.


Myths and legends suggest that there used to be a huge lake in place of the present day Kathmandu Valley. Maha Manjushree, a bodhisatwa( near Buddha) came to the rescue of this place and cut open an outlet at Chobhar to let the water of the lake flow away and the lake dry up. There was now a fertile valley for human inhabitation. Manjushree helped people settle down in this newly acquired place and appointed a king to rule the subjects. However, some Hindu legends maintain that Lord Krishna killed the demon Banashur and rid the people of the demonic rule before he let the water of the small lake flow away. Some others are of the opinion that in fact the person who did this was the same but people started recognizing him differently depending on their faith inclination. There are more similarities than differences in these separate claims. After this early settlement gained massive momentum, a king was appointed from the tribe of Abhirs or the Mahishpals.The Mahishpals ( who tamed and kept water buffalos as their profession) and the Gopals ( the ones who tamed cows) have been traced as the earliest settlers and rulers of the Kathmandu valley according to various historical researches . But very little is known about their origin and descent. After them there started the rule of the Kirants founded by Yalambar, the first Kiranti king. They were ferocious archers ,warriors and herdsmen. They were the worshippers of Nature and believed in the multitude of Gods similar to many early believers and communities. They, probably, were influenced by the Shaivite sect of Hinduism as described in the Epic of the Mahabharat and the Himavatkhanda Puran. The Kirants were vanquished at the hand of the Likchavis who surged into the valley from the western side of present day Nepal, where they had started strengthening themselves from quite early on. The Likschavis were greatly learnt people in religion, economics and political system and soon established themselves as the best rulersof the contemporary time and implemented various types of social and political reforms. It is therefore the Likchavis’ time in Nepal is described as the Golden Age ( Swarna Yuga) of Nepalese History. Art, architecture, literature, performance art and social development experienced great forward movement during this period. Mananka (the first minted coins)was the coin issued for public transaction during Mana Dev’s rule He also got a number of medieval temples, palaces and monasteries constructed marking this time as a period of great cultural awakening. Sanskrit was the official language of the state and both Hinduism and Buddhism received state patronage during this time. The Likchavis were ably apt rulers, which is proved by the way they maintained balance in their foreign relationship especially with the ever expanding Chinese empire from the north. Anshuverma ,a Likchavi king offered his daughter Bhrikuti in marriage to a powerful Chinese Emperor, Tshrang Chan Gompo, and avoided the inevitable threat of the Chinese invasion in the kingdom of the valley. Bhrikuti is worshipped as the Green Star in some Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist traditions even now recognizing her as the Buddhist apostle in the true sense. Like everything good comes to an undesired end, the Likchavis’ rule too was short lived. The Mallas followed next as the rulers of the Kathmandu valley. They had familial ties with the Likchavis and came to succeed them as well. But after Yksha Malla bequeathed his state of the valley to his three sons proportionately in his will as his personal property, Nepal went through the historical spell of disintegration. Smaller states known as Rajya each ruled by its patriarch known as Rajautas came into existence throughout Nepal. The Malla period (Malla Kaal) started from the mid- sixteenth century and the major Malla rule centred in the Kathmandu valley which was now divided into three different kingdoms-Kantipur, Bhadgaun and Patan respectively to name Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur .The smaller states in the west and east were under the rule of various Thakuri kings. 

Nepalese society went through significant social transformation under the rule of certain Malla kings namely; Mahindra Malla , Jayasthiti Malla of Kathmandu and Bhupatindra Mala of Bhaktapur.Mahindra Malla was a democratic ruler who loved his subjects the most carrying out several welfare activities for them. King Jayasthiti Malla was a great social reformer who realigned the Hindu caste system of the valley based on merit and efficiency in the given field of work.  Most of the medieval art and architecture which has survived to date was the creation of the Malla period. The Malla period also saw the revival of Hindu mystic tradition and Buddhist tantric tradition of Mahayana sect. As a result of which there developed a new Newari culture in the valley which has combined the folk cultural traditions of both ritualistic Hinduism and Buddhism in a unique form. Therefore, many cultural practices and festivals observed by the people in the Kathmandu valley are not entirely the pure observances of either of the religions but partly of the both.The Malla period of Nepalese history saw its end when King Prithvi Narayan Shaha conquered the Kathmandu valley in 1768 and unified the diverse smaller states into a kingdom of Nepal.

Despite a lot of political instability and turmoil the Malla period of Nepalese history gave a tremendous impetus in the development of Nepali art, carving and architecture. Most of the creation of the Likchavi era could not survive the calamities through the history but what happened during the Malla period is still available in the valley for many to see and rejoice.

Modern Nepal

Modern Nepal was unified by the king of Gorkha ( one of the principalities known as a rajya in mid western Nepal) Prithvi Narayan Shaha in 1768,conquering more than sixty small principalities ruled by local feudal lords and local kings. The expansion and strengthening of the kingdom continued for the next two generations of kings after his death. Nepalese political boundary was extended far into the middle of four neighboring modern Indian states but this ambition soon came to a stop when the Nepalese soldiers came to confront the then world conquering British soldiers under the British Raj in India. After the initial two Anglo-Nepal wars( 1814-1815) and the final defeat Nepal was forced to sign on the Treaty of Sugauli in 1817 with British India. Nepal had to surrender more than one third of its land area of unified Nepal after this treaty and together with this the ambition of expansion also came to its premature end.

Because of frequent squabbles and power struggle in the Nepalese palace, there bagan the infamous family rule of the Ranas in 1846, which continued in the kingdom for another 104 years. This family rule of the Ranas ( under this rule the prime- minister ship was empowered the most and the king was reduced to a titular head of the state. Only the Ranas had the right to be the prime minister and hold the important positions of the country). Although this was mostly the dark age of Nepalese history, this period, too, did not much interfere in people’s right to uphold religion and practice the customary observances. However, historians are of the view that the political rulers or the ruler race in Nepal have always remained Hindus throughout its history and Hinduism has always gained favour all along. Ethnic distribution As has been noted earlier the ruling clans in Nepal, mostly throughout its history, were Hindus and though they maintained considerable balance to regard Buddhism, too, under state patronage, it is argued that this way the purity of the latter got tainted in the so-called process of religious tolerance losing many of its original values. What we now find in the kingdom is that many of the festivals and gods or goddesses worshipped here are common for both the religious groups though some of them have been named differently. People of different religious faiths coming together to worship in the same temple regarding the god in different names may be unique only in this part of the world. Many Buddhist believers in the Kathmandu valley go to worship Ganesh ,Bhairab, Hanuman and Narayan ,the Hindu gods while many Hindus worship Manjushree , Kumari and share temples to pay homage to many others. Hindus also accept Buddha as the ninth incarnation of Lord Bishnu. Nepal is the only officially declared Hindu State in the world and according to the latest census in Nepal 86.2% of the population is of the Hindus and 7.8 % are Buddhist while 3.8 % follow Islam. The ethnic picture of the nation shows Brahman, Chettri, Tamang,Magar,Newar , Gurung, Rai ,Limbu, Thakali,Sunwar ,Danuwar and Sherpa in the mountains,mid hills and valleys and Tharu, Yada kurmi,Musahar,Rajputs,Rajbanshis, Satars, Dhimals and Maithili Brahman in the Terai as the major caste groups. Besides this, the Nepali diaspora (people of Nepali origin) now lives scattered all across the north –eastern and north western Indian states. It is believed that more than 10 million people of Nepalese origin population live in different Indian areas. Almost a quarter million, the largest outside Nepal and India, Nepalese origin people also live in present day Myanmar according to statistics. They largely follow the religions and culture practiced in Nepal and inherited from their predecessors.

Religion and culture Simply speaking religion is the belief in the existence of a god or gods and the customs, rituals, services, festivities and all other activities connected with the worship of them. In other words it is one of the systems of faith that are based on the belief in the existence of a particular god or gods. The modern world is replete with diverse religious beliefs but none of them do or can claim to be based purely on reason or scientific verification, in the sense that any sensible human being can see them to be true. They are usually based upon claim to revelation, enlightenment or particular disclosure of truth to some outstanding founding figures like the Buddha, Jesus and others. But in the course of history when various religious faith systems and their communities meet and interact they can clash or take in each others’ features accommodating many of them. Culture on the other hand is the way of life that comprises the customs and beliefs, art and social organization of a particular community, group or community in a way thinking art, music or literature as a group. Culture includes the series of festivals and celebratory observances the particular community indulges in or associates with.

Hinduism and Nepali culture

Unlike many other religions followed in the world Hinduism was not founded by a particular prophet or Guru or a sect leader like the Buddha, Jesus or Muhammad. Hinduism is neither a single religion believing in a certain god but it is a faith system which claims itself as Sanatana or Paramparagat Dharma ( a traditionally handed down religion)widely followed by people throughout the Indian sub-continent and as far as to Indonesia and Cambodia till the sixteenth and seventeenth century before the Muslim invasion and subsequent conversion. Hinduism, therefore , seems like a polytheic religion but still maintains that all the different manifestations are but the incarnations or avatars of the same god. This was exhibited by Bhagawan Krishna to his great devotee Arjuna in the Epic of the Mahabharata. There are various sects like; the Vaishnavas (Vishnu worshippers), the Shaivas( Shiva worshippers), the Shaktas (goddess Durga or Shakti worshippers) and several other sub sects. But they all regard the supreme authority of the Vedas(four) and Puranas (eighteen), Upanishadas (hundred eight) as the holy scriptures and “OM” as the main religious mantra. They believe in afterlife and rebirth, caste system, in the result of one’s action as Karma and respect cow as a holy animal and killing it as an act of sacrilege. An ordinary Hindu follower does not strictly subscribe to any of the sectarian propagation but worships all the gods and goddesses. A Hindu home has a small temple or a small room for the purpose of worship on daily basis. Early morning before the sunrise the main member or all the members of the house gather in the temple take part in the worship.This is known as Nitya karma( daily Puja )or Panchayan Puja (the worship of five gods and goddeses) which includes Shiva,Ganesh ,Bishnu, Devi or Durga and Surya (the son god) Hinduism and its followers observe a number of other rites, rituals and festivals including sacrificial rituals. Festivals and sacrificial rituals The social activity of celebrating festivals dates back to pre-historic times preceding the founding of any of the modern religions. Ancient hunting tribes celebrated after a big catch and later when our predecessors learnt the skill of farming, they prayed, sacrificed and invoked to call for the mercy of nature or herald a good harvest. Often these celebrations coincided with plantation and reaping occasions. The other mass prayers took place to avoid natural disasters or the wrath of the great unseen forces because life so much depended upon unimaginable ferocity of nature and its grace. If something calamitous occurred, the brute forces were to be appeased with the ritualistic observances or sacrifices. Ritual of exorcism included animal sacrifices and feasting to drive away demonic or evil possession. With the advent of modern religions any of such practices were considered immoral, barbaric and thus discarded. Still some world religions do recognize limited events of sacrificial rites.

Hinduism and Sacrificial rituals

As has been mentioned earlier, the Shaktas( worshippers of goddess Durga or Shakti) believe in sacrificial rites a part from tantric puja. These sect people believe in Shakti as the centre /source of all process (energy) from creation to catastrophe. Hindus are asked to believe( by their scriptures) that the ultimate objective of life should be the attainment of Moksha(salvation) and rid oneself from the cycle of frequent death and birth. Our physical body is just a tool for our spiritual quest and realization which will ultimately lead us to our integration with God. Gyan( knowledge) vairagya (dejection), Tapa (penance) and Samarpana (devotion) are the ways to salvation and at the root of all these is the notion of renunciation or self- sacrifice. The great sages of the ancient times proved their absolute submission to God by self sacrificing themselves. This involved an elaborate process of tantric ritual with chanting of mantras (secret holy veses from scriptures) so that the atma (devotee’s self) would release from the body and integrate with Paramantma (the Almighty). It was believed that this way the devotee did not realize any physical pain or affliction. Devotees are to accept the premises that the physical life has no significance but a tool for spiritual quest. In the course of time self-sacrifice was too much a demand and began to be replaced by animal representation. The animals chosen for sacrificial rites get redeemed of their sins and vices attain Moksha. Believing that beings with sinful prior life have to go through the infinite cycle of torturous births and deaths, sacrificial animals are not killed rather uplifted to higher life. Once we view our mortal life like a tool for achieving something far beyond, we tend to judge all the worldly good and bad from an entirely new perspective. The whole world view changes. The priest conducting the sacrificial ceremony and the karta devotee should maintain a high standard of purity and sanctity before preparing for this ritual. Physical and mental cleansing, detachment, abstinence, celibacy are the necessary pre-conditions for the devotee to be in the sacrificial Puja. Nepali Festivals

a. Dashain The occurrences of festivals in Hindu tradition are based on the count of Hindu Lunar Calendar. The count of months is calculated by solar movement in relativity of the earth movement but dates of the month and Tithis are based on lunar calendar. So such occurrences are flexible and don’t fall always on the particular dates of month. Hindus don’t celebrate all their festivals with equal importance throughout. For instance, Dashain is the greatest festival for Nepalese Hindus, but the south and western Indian Hindus celebrate Ganesh puja, Pungol, Holy, Onam , Dipawali as the greatest festive occasions. The occasion of Dashain is also celebrated as Navaratra(festival lasting nine nights) with the worship of Goddess Durga in many north Indian states like Gujrat, Rajasthan, U.P., Bihar and West Bengal. But animal sacrifice is seldom offered there.

Dashain is observed in the Ashwin Shukla Paksha (during the waxing fortnight in end September –October) in the beginning of autumn. This is the most pleasant time in Nepal after long drawn Monsoon rains and just before the harvesting season. The festival starts with the day of Ghatasthapana when a decorated urn filled up with holy water and five auspicious flower leaves is placed in the temple of goddess Durga. The seventh day is Phoolpati Day, meaning day of flower ceremony, when flowers are gathered from traditionally recognized places to the temples amid band celebration and state decoration all across Nepal. The sacrificial Puja begins from the night of Mahaastami (the great eighth day). There are two separate versions of myth attached as to how celebration of Dashain festival began. The first version is that in Treta Yuga (the second of the four ages)invincible demon Ravana to rid the world of his evils but he was blessed with certain powers that it was impossible to kill him easily. So Lord Rama had to invoke Goddesses Durga with worship for ten days and it was on the final day that Goddeses graced him empowering him with the abilities to slay the monster. People started celebrating this victory over the demonic power from this time onward, commemorating the last day as Vijay Dashami (the tenth day victory) and the next five days till the full moon night for continuous celebration. The second version also maintains that Goddeses Durga is in the center of this worship.In Satya Yuga( the age of truth) the demon Mahishasur ( with the body of the buffalo and head of the demon ) along with his legions of warriors was killed by goddess Durga on the tenth day. The goddess was invoked by all the gods who were defeated by Mahishasura and chased away from the heaven . Goddeses Durga emerged as the most powerful and invincible one having been empowered with the best of the weapons each of the gods possessed. She fought with immense prowess ever imaginable. Raktaviza,a demon who could come back to life when a tiniest drop of his blood dropped on the ground and a loyal warrior to King Mahishasur , was only possible to be slain after the goddess took the form of ferocious Kali who drank up all the blood of the demon. The Mahaastami night which is observed as the Kaalratri (Night of death or blackness) features the massive sacrificial worship carried out during Dashain. This sacrificial offering in the temples of goddesses continues to the day of Mahanavami, the day on which the goddess killed other main demons. The final day of Dashain ,Vijaya Dashami was the day the goddess got over Mahishasura abolishing the evil rule for ever. Elders and seniors put on Tika (the holy mark) on the forehead of their young or junior ones blessing them with long, healthy and bountiful life. In some communities this celebration is carried on for five days more marking the day on the full moon night. Jamara( the yellowish germination of wheat,barley and maize sowed in the soil kept at a dark corner of the house on the Ghatasthapana day and plucked to be used on the Tika day) is the specialty of Dashain. The social aspect of this celebration is also worth commendation. People far and wide or in foreign lands get back home on holidays to get reunited with their family members, relatives and friends. Dashain has a very special significance in army barracks and police cantonment complexes throughout Nepal ,India, Britain and Singapore where Gurkhas as soldiers have been employed. Dashain Ghar ( Durga temple) is elaborately decorated and sacrificial pujas are carried out signifying Goddess Durga as the source of Shakti( the power or energy). Weapons and armory are moistened or sprinkled with sacrificial blood during the ninth day puja.

Tihar Tihar is another of the great festivals celebrated by Nepali Hindus with much fun and frolicking a part from its religious significance. It falls with in twenty days of Dashain and is also known as Yamapanchaka( the five days of death god Yamaraj).Begining in the end of Kartik Krishna Paksha( waning fortnight in the month of kartik- end September to November beginning). It is believed that during these five days Yamaraj (the Death God) takes leave of his duty and goes to visit his sister Yamuna. During the festival people also pays homage to different Yamadutas ( messengers or angels to death god)like the crow( the first day) and the dog( the second day) with the worship and offering of delicacies. Cows are considered holy by all Hindus and especially worshipped on the third day of Tihar ( the moonless night) because they ,too ,are considered to help the spirit of the dead to wade across the terrible Vaitarani river on their journey to hell or heaven this evening starts Deepawali, the light festival.The fourth day is Laxmi Puja and the goddess of wealth and prosperity is worshipped on this day and night. The whole villages and cities glimmer in light when people celebrate Deepawali the day with colourful light firecrackers and The fifth day is Bhai Tika and on this day sisters put on Tika on the forehead of their brothers wishing their longevity, prosperity and success. Besides its religious aspect, children and youths do indulge in activities like Bhailo and dhaushi going house to house chanting celebratory songs asking of donations in the form of money, grains and delicacies. People do offer what they can without hesitation as Dana ( donating or offering) is regarded as the best of virtues in Hindu practice. Adults and Elderly people indulge themselves in playing dice or traditional games of gambling, which is considered legal during the Tihar time only. Buddhism'''' Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism, was born of queen Mayadevi and King Suddhodhan in Lumbini of western Nepal more than 2,500 years ago. Buddhism which is known as Buddha Dhamma is founded on the principle of Non violence. The whole of human society is doomed to endless suffering and frustration due to desires, greed, and hatred and ignorance as the universal marks of human nature according to Buddhism. Buddhism has mainly two sects: a. Hinayana or Theravada (accepting Buddha’s teachings as ultimate and unchangeable) and b. Mahayana (accepting Buddha’s teachings with some modifications). The later has sub sect like Vajrayana ( the Tantric or mystic sect which believes tantras as the shortest rout to salvation). Buddhist monks and nuns live in communities called Sangha and vow not to kill, steal, have improper sexual relations and lie or be intoxicated. The simple Buddhist understanding is that life is full of (Dukka)sorrows and mankind has to strive for nirvana ( salvation).through the complex path of renunciation of all worldly desires because the root cause of all our sorrows is the grasping desire.

Buddha Jayanti He was born, enlightened and also attained Nirvana (salvation) on the same day of Vaishakha Shukla Purnima ( the full moon night in the first month of Hindu calendar). So this day is highly regarded in Nepal with day long Pujas in Buddhist temples and Monasteries. Followers of both Buddhism and Hinduism throng to the holy shrines on this day amid the holy recitation from Tripitaka, The Buddhist Holy Scripture. This is a national holiday in the kingdom of Nepal.


It is said that Nepali people have more festivals in a year than there are days available. This remark amply suggests that they do have numerous festive occasions to observe. A number of other festivals are particularly observed by certain people of different ethnic origins. For example, the Newars of the Kathmandu valley, both Hindus and Budhhists, Commonly take part in celebrations of many other festivals which are typical to Newari community only. These include Gathemangal, Indrajatra, Gaijatra, Ghodejatra, Bhairabh Puja, Hanuman Puja and so on The Terai People have festival celebrations like: Chhath , Holy and Diwali similar to the north Indian Hindu communities. Chandi Naach and Dhan Naach are the community festivals celebrated in the far eastern region while Gaura parva is celebrated by the people of far western region . These festivals are associated with the plantation and harvesting occasions. Festivals observed according to Tibeto-Buddhist tradition include Lhoshar. Tibetan day of New Year. Sherpas celebrate Mani Rimdu as their festival.


Although the tradition of celebrating festivals has its direct attachment with a certain religion or the other, what we find different in Nepalese system of festive celebrations is that they have been shaped and developed by people of contrasting origin and backgrounds and accepted as fundamentally unique culture over the centuries across Nepalese hills and valleys. With new types of awareness emerging about different ethnic identities during the last two decades, people of different communities have sought ways to realign, converge or take a departing move from the respective positions traced by their ancestral ethos. 


  Krishna Paudel.
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