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Nepal



Shaiva-devotees gather at the Hindu Pashupatinath Temple
Shaiva-devotees gather at the Hindu Pashupatinath Temple
Nepal religiosity
religion percent
Hinduism
  
 80.6%
Buddhism
  
 10.7%
Islam
  
 4.2%
Mundhum
  
 3.6%
Christianity
  
 0.5%
Other
  
 0.4%

The main religion of Nepal is Hinduism. Lord Shiva is regarded as the guardian deity of the country.[46] Nepal is home to the largest Shiva temple in the world, the famous Pashupatinath Temple, where Hindus from all over the world come for pilgrimage. According to mythology, Sita Devi of the epic Ramayana was born in the Mithila Kingdom of King Janaka Raja.[47] Buddhism was relatively more common among the Newar. But, differences between Hindus and Buddhists have been in general very subtle and academic in nature due to the intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. Both share common temples and worship common deities and many of Nepal's Buddhists could also be regarded as Hindus and vice versa. Gurkhas from Nepal are Hindu. Among other natives of Nepal, those most influenced by Hinduism were the Magar, Sunwar, Limbu and Rai. Hindu influence is less prominent among the Gurung, Bhutia, and Thakali groups, who employ Buddhist monks for their religious ceremonies.[45][19] Most of the festivals in Nepal are Hindu.[48] The Machendrajatra festival, dedicated to Hindu Shaiva Siddha, is celebrated even by Buddhists and it is the Buddhists' main festival.[49] As it is believed that Ne Muni established Nepal,[50] important priests in Nepal are called "Tirthaguru Nemuni".

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Culture

Main article: Culture of Nepal

Nepalese culture is diverse, reflecting different ethnic origins of the people. The Newar community is particularly rich in cultural diversity; they celebrate many festivals, well known for their music and dance.

A typical Nepalese meal is dal-bhat-tarkari. Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over bhat (boiled rice), served with tarkari (curried vegetables) together with achar (pickles) or chutni (spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients).. The Newar community, however, has its own unique cuisine. It consists of non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian items served with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Mustard oil is the cooking medium and a host of spices, such as cumin, coriander, black peppers, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, methi (fenugreek), bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chillies, mustard seeds etc., are used in the cooking. The cuisine served on festivals is generally the best.

Nepalese children practicing dance
Nepalese children practicing dance

The Newari Music orchestra consists mainly of percussion instruments, though wind instruments, such as flutes and other similar instruments, are also used. String instruments are very rare. There are songs pertaining to particular seasons and festivals. Paahan chare music is probably the fastest played music whereas the Dapa the slowest. There are certain musical instruments such as Dhimay and Bhusya which are played as instrumental only and are not accompanied with songs. The dhimay music is the loudest one. In the hills, people enjoy their own kind of music, playing saarangi (a string instrument), madal and flute. They also have many popular folk songs known as lok geet and lok dohari.

The Newar dances can be broadly classified into masked dances and non-masked dances. The most representative of Newari dances is Lakhey dance. Almost all the settlements of Newaris organise Lakhey dance at least once a year, mostly in the Goonlaa month. So, they are called Goonlaa Lakhey. However, the most famous Lakhey dance is the Majipa Lakhey dance; it is performed by the Ranjitkars of Kathmandu and the celeberation continues for one whole week that contains the full moon of Yenlaa month. The Lakhey are considered as the saviors of children.

Folklore is an integral part of Nepalese society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life, tales of love, affection and battles as well as demons and ghosts and thus reflect local lifestyles, cultures and beliefs. Many Nepalese folktales are enacted through the medium of dance and music.

The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main annual holidays include the National Day, celebrated on the birthday of the king (December 28), Prithvi Jayanti, (January 11), Martyr's Day (February 18) and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as dashain in autumn, and tihar in late autumn. During tihar, the Newar community also celebrates its New Year as per their local calendar Nepal Sambat.

Most houses in rural lowland of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs.

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See also

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Notes

  1. ^ Republic on Paper for Nepal - Nepal Monitor
  2. ^ "Royal flag" removed from palace in Nepali capital - People's Daily Online
  3. ^ According to Interim Constitution Nepali is only official language (article 5, point 2), other languages spoken as the mother tongue in Nepal are the national languages (article 5, point 1). According to article 5, point3, ALL LANGUAGES ARE ACCEPTED AS OFFICIAL LANGUAGES AT REGIONAL LEVEL. Besides, this part of article is about native names and NOT about official language. The constitution does not state that Nepal written in Devanagari is the official name. Nepal_Interim_Constitution2007
  4. ^ Gorkhapatra Corporation The Nepalese Perspective
  5. ^ W.B., P. 34 Land of the Gurkhas
  6. ^ The Ancient Period
  7. ^ W.B., P. 34 Land of the Gurkhas
  8. ^ Balfour, P. 195 Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia, :
  9. ^ The Ancient Period
  10. ^ Alone In Kathmandu
  11. ^ Prasad, P. 4 The life and times of Maharaja Juddha Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana of Nepal
  12. ^ Khatri, P. 16 The Postage Stamps of Nepal
  13. ^ W.B., P. 34 Land of the Gurkhas
  14. ^ Newa-Author:Shrestha, Moolookha Publication
  15. ^ Interim Constitution, Article 5, point 1
  16. ^ Interim Constitution of Nepal, Article 5, point 2
  17. ^ Nepali - UCLA
  18. ^ Interim Constitution of Nepal, Article 5, point 3
  19. ^ a b A Country Study: Nepal. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. Retrieved on September 23, 2005.
  20. ^ P. 17 Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective By Lok Raj Baral
  21. ^ P. 17 Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective By Lok Raj Baral
  22. ^ Li, Rongxi (translator). 1995. The Great Tang Dynasty Record of the Western Regions, pp. 219-220. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research. Berkeley, California. ISBN 1-886439-02-8
  23. ^ Watters, Thomas. 1904-5. On Yuan Chwang's Travels in India (A.D. 629-645), pp. 83-85. Reprint: Mushiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi. 1973.
  24. ^ Tucci, Giuseppe. (1952). Journey to Mustang, 1952. Trans. by Diana Fussell. 1st Italian edition, 1953; 1st English edition, 1977. 2nd edition revised, 2003, p. 22. Bibliotheca Himalayica. ISBN 99933-0-378-X (South Asia); 974-524-024-9 (Outside of South Asia).
  25. ^ Timeline: Nepal. BBC News. Retrieved on September 29, 2005.
  26. ^ Nepal votes to abolish monarchy - CNN
  27. ^ Nepal votes to abolish monarchy - CNN
  28. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7424302.stm
  29. ^ http://www.kantipuronline.com/kolnews.php? The pro-King Rastriya Prajatantra Party (Nepal), which has four members in the Constituent Assembly , however registered a dissent note. the Constituent Assembly gave 15 days notice to King Gyanendra to vacate the Narayanhiti Royal Palace, which will be soon turned into a public museum. The Constituent Assembly will now amend the Constitution and elect a President, along with a new Prime Minister. nid=148454
  30. ^ http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2008/may/may28/news18.php
  31. ^ "Nepal abolishes its monarchy", Al Jazeera, May 28, 2008. Retrieved on 2008-05-29. (English) 
  32. ^ http://www.mysansar.com/?p=2692
  33. ^ Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and India to set up FTA
  34. ^
    • Beek van der Peter ,Xavier Robert, Jean-Louis Mugnier, Matthias Bernet, Pascale Huyghe and Erika Labrin, “Late Miocene- Recent Exhumation of the Central Himalaya and Recycling in the Foreland Basin Assessed by Apatite Fission-Track Thermochronology of Siwalik Sediments, Nepal,” Basic research, 18, 413-434, 2006.
    • Berger Antoine, Francois Jouanne, Riadm Hassani and Jean Louis Mugnier, “Modelling the Spatial Distribution of Present day Deformation in Nepal: how cylindrical is the Main Himalayan Thrust in Nepal?”, Geophys.J.Int., 156, 94-114, 2004.
    • Bilham Roger and Michael Jackson,“Constraints on Himalayan Deformation inferred from Vertical Velocity Fields in Nepal and Tibet,” Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 99, 897-912, 10 July, 1994.
    • Chamlagain Deepak and Daigoro Hayashi , “Neotectonic Fault Analysis by 2D Finite Element Modeling for Studying the Himalayan Fold and Thrust belt in Nepal,” University of the Ryukyus,Okinawa, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 1-16, 14 July 2006.
    • F. Jouanne et al., “ Current Shortening Across the Himalayas of Nepal”, Geophys.J.Int. , 154, 1-14, 2004.
    • Pandey M.R, R.P Tandukar, J.P. Avouac, J.Vergne and Th. Heritier, “Seismotectonics of the Nepal Himalaya from a Local Seismic Network”, Journal of Asian Earth Sciences,17, 703-712,1999.
  35. ^ Bilham et al., 1998; Pandey et al., 1995.
  36. ^ Summerfield & Hulton, 1994; Hay, 1998.
  37. ^ [1]
  38. ^ Nepal's Lawmakers Abolish the Country's Monarchy
  39. ^ Official Website of Armed Police Force Nepal
  40. ^ China urges Nepal to act on Tibet - BBC News
  41. ^ Nepal Arrests Tibetan Protesters - BBC News
  42. ^ Nepal. Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation. Retrieved on September 23, 2005.
  43. ^ Nepal king's head spared on new banknotes. Retrieved on October 7, 2007.
  44. ^ Nepal: Economy. MSN Encarta. Retrieved on September 23, 2005.
  45. ^ a b Nepal. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on September 23, 2005.
  46. ^ Anthologia anthropologica. The native races of Asia and Europe; by James George Frazer, Sir; Robert Angus Downie
  47. ^ P. 28 Nepal is also the birthplace of Siddhartha Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. He is believed to have been born some 2550 years back in a place called Lumbini, a town south-west of Nepal, bordering India. Historical Studies and Recreations By Shoshee Chunder Dutt
  48. ^ Festivals of Nepal
  49. ^ P. 885 Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics Part 10 By James Hastings
  50. ^ Wright, P. 107, History of Nepal: With an Introductory Sketch of the Country and People of Nepal

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References

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External links

Nepal Portal
SAARC Portal
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Geographic locale
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Countries of Asia

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For dependent and other territories, see Dependent territory.

1 Partly or significantly in Europe.  2 The Republic of China (Taiwan) is not officially recognized by the United Nations; see Political status of Taiwan.
3 Partly or significantly in Africa.  4 Partly or wholly reckoned in Oceania.
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Countries and territories of South Asia

Bangladesh  · Bhutan  · British Indian Ocean Territory  · India  · Maldives  · Nepal  · Pakistan  · Sri Lanka

Sometimes included:  Afghanistan • Iran • Myanmar • Tibet
 
International membership

Coordinates: 26°32′N, 86°44′E




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