Food

Nepali cuisine is as diverse as the country itself. Extensive use of spices and flavourings such as ginger, garlic, coriander, pepper, cumin, chilies, cilantro, mustard oil, ghee and occasionally yak butter is used. Daily staple Nepali cuisine consists of cooked rice (bhat) or a thick paste of maize or millet powder called dhedo, with some dal, or lentil soup, and vegetable curry and pickle, which is eaten twice a day. Between the two big meals snacks such as bread, chura (beaten rice), roti (flat roti made of wheat flour), curried vegetables, milked tea and other snacks are eaten.

Nepali Specials

Gundrook-Dheedo: is a sugar free dish made of wheat, maize and dried green vegetable. It is high on nutrition level and very popular in Nepal

Alu/Aloo Tama: means ‘Potato Bamboo Shoots’, which is a unique and classic Nepali dish. It is unique in the sense that bamboo shoots are used in very little quantity, unlike other Asian dishes.

Vegetable Pulao (Fried Nepali Rice): is served during parties and events in Nepali households. It has flavor of turmeric and cumin to it, and is served with curd and Manchurian.

Masu: is spiced or curried meat (usually chicken, mutton, buffalo or pork) with gravy. It is a main course dish served with rice.

Vegetable Thupka (Egg Noodles): is a seasonal dish which is part of Tibetan New Year celebration ‘Losar’.

Chatamari: is a flat bread made from rice flour with or without toppings (meat, vegetables, eggs and sugar).

Momos and Chhoyela: momos are dumplings filled with meat. Chhoyela are small pieces of meat steamed or barbecued and mixed with paste of garlic and other spices.

 

Traditional Nepali Food

Photo Source URL: http://chhayakhanal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/dal-bhat.jpg

 

Drinks

Tongba: is a special homemade wine of Limbu community.  It is made from fermented millet seeds that are put in wooden or plastic mug which is filled with hot water, and one sips through a bamboo straw as more hot water is added to make Tongba go down easily with greater impact and taste. It is usually consumed during winter season.

Rakshi: is a millet-based distilled alcoholic drink which is an important requirement at many religious rituals and social events. It is a homemade drink having antiseptic qualities.

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/nepal-food.html

Cultural Treasures of Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board.2009.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP5Ful4ZMqI VIDEO

For Nepali Recipes: http://www.nepalhomepage.com/society/recipes/

Costumes

 

Nepali costumes differ significantly with climate and regions. Tradionally, men wear a long shirt, or daura, and trouser, or suruwal. Daura-Suruwal is typically termed as ‘Labeda-Suruwal’ and the dress has several religious beliefs, like the daura has eight strings that serves to tie itself up around the body, since eight is the lucky number in Nepali mythology. Moreover, the daura has five pleats or kallis, signifying Pancha Buddha or Pancha Ratna, and the closed neck of the Daura signifies the snake around the Lord Shiva’s neck.

 

Daura-Suruwal

Photo Source URL:http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/communicate/blog/student//images/man_in_nepali_national_dress.jpg

 

Womenfolk wear blouse, or cholo, and cotton sari (Guneu). According to status, gold and silver ornaments are worn by Nepali women. Typical signs of married women are red/green glass bangles, potey (long red/green bead-necklace with or without gold decoration) and sindoor. Hindu tradition and culture forbids widows of this luxury.

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/nepal-culture.html

Cultural Treasures of Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board.2009.

Archaeology

Some of the important archaeological sites in Nepal are:

Tilaurakot: is located in the Terai region of Nepal, where Nepal’s first settlements were probably located. It is situated in Kapilvastu district in western Nepal, and used to be the capital of Shakya dynasty.

Gotihawa: the ancient ruins are located about eleven kilometers south of Taulihawa, the present district headquarters. To the north of the Gotihawa village, there is an ancient brick stupa and an Ashokan monolithic column. This site can be identified as the Nirvan stupa of Kakuchhanda Buddha(on of the previous Buddhas), whose hometown lies within one kilometer of this setup-pillar complex.

Sagarhawa: was excavated in 1896 and seventeen miniature stupas were found there. In the same general region, important sites of ancient civilization have been identified at Lumbini, Banjarhi, Nipaniya and Kadyatawa. This archaeological site is located about two kilometers north of Tilaurakot on the bank of the Banganga River.

Bhediari: is located nearly ten kilometers south of Biratnagar. Many important brick temples have been excavated and they appear to have been built during the Sunga period. A number of silver punch-marked coins have been found, but no stone or terra-cotta idols have been found.

Varahakshetra: is an important temple site located at the confluence of the Koka and Koshi rivers. This site belongs to the later Gupta period.

Narasingha Tappa: an idol of Vishnu was discovered here few years back. The idol belongs to the fifth or sixth century A.D., based on the Gupta art tradition and has been temporarily kept inside a local Shiva temple.

Janakpur:an idol of Uma lying over a bed and feeding a baby has been discovered at the Ram-Janaki temple complex near Janakpur. Many archaeological pieces belonging to the Karnatakas of Simrangarh from the 12th or 13th century A.D. have been found here. Influence of Malla art period of Kathmandu can also be seen.

Simarangarh: was the old city of the Karnatakas of Mithila and was built by King Nanyadeva in 1097-98 A.D. The ruins of the city extend over the area of sixteen kilometer and the whole area is surrounded by high kiln-burnt bricks.

 

Excavations at Jhapa district, Nepal

Photo Source URL: http://www.himalayanfootsteps.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Buddha.jpg

 

Sharma, Rashmi. Nepal and SAARC. New Delhi: Regal Publications, 2007.

For more information:  http://www.thamel.com/htms/archaelogy.htm

http://www.doa.gov.np/content.php?id=253

http://www.archaeological.org/lectures/abstracts/5907

http://www.himalayanfootsteps.com/archaeology-in-nepal/

 

Heritage Sites

Kathmandu Valley

The cultural heritage of the Kathmandu Valley consists of seven groups of monuments and buildings – Durbar Squares of Hanuman Dhoka (Kathmandu),Patan and Bhaktapur, the Buddhist stupas of Swayambhu and Bauddhanath and the Hindu temples of
Pashupati and Changu Narayan. These display the full range of historic and artistic achievements for which the Kathmandu
Valley is world famous.

Buddhism and Hinduism have developed and changed over the centuries throughout Asia. In Nepal, both religions prospered and
produced a powerful artistic and architectural fusion beginning at least from the 5th Century AD, with the three hundred year
period between 1500 and 1800 AD being its golden period. These monuments were defined by the outstanding cultural traditions
of the Newars. This is manifested in their unique urban settlements, buildings and structures with intricate ornamentation displaying
outstanding craftsmanship in brick, stone, timber and bronze that are some of the most highly developed in the world.

Pattan

Photo Source URL: http://www.nepaltrekandtour.com/pic/heritage_tour_b.jpg

Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha was born in 623 B.C. in the famous gardens of Lumbini. It became a place of pilgrimage
and Indian emperor Ashoka erected one of his commemorative pillars there. Apart from being a Buddhist pilgrimage centre,
the archaeological remains associated with the birth of Lord Buddha form a central feature.

The complex of structures within the archaeological conservation area includes includes the Shakya Tank, the remains within
the Maya Devi Temple consisting of brick structures in a cross-wall system dating from the 3rd century BC to the present century,
and also the sandstone Ashoka pillar with its Pali inscription in Brahmi script. Moreover, there are the excavated remains of
Buddhist viharas (monasteries) of the 3rd century AD and the remains of Buddhist stupas (memorial shrines) from the 3rd
century BC to the 15th century AD.

Lumbini

Photo Source URL:http://d1vmp8zzttzftq.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Visit-Nepal-Beautiful-Lumbini.jpg

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/world-heritage-sites.html

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/121

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/666

Languages

Nepali (Khaskura bhasha) is the official language of Nepal and roughly half the population of Nepal speaks Nepali as a mother tongue, and many other speak it as a second language. It is also called Gorkhali/Gurkhali, “the language of the Gurkhas,

Traditions & Rituals

Religion is an integral and deep-rooted part of Nepali life which shapes the diverse traditions and rituals followed by people. Hinduism and Buddhism are closely connected in Nepal, and religion is not just a set of beliefs and accompanying rituals handed down from generation to generation; rather it is a complex intermingling of traditions, festivals, faiths and doctrines that have permeated every strata of Nepali society.

Religious traditions and rituals guide every important event in the life of a person from cradle to pyre. These rituals differ from community to community and different ritual experts have different roles in these rituals. A new born child undergoes Chaithi Nwaran, the naming ceremony (6thday of birth), and Annaprasan, the rice-feeding ceremony (5th or 6th months after birth depending on whether the baby is a girl or boy). The ‘coming of age’ ceremony (gufa rakhney for Newar girls at pre-puberty stage or gifting of Guneu-cholo– a set of adult female dresses); and the Bratabandha or Upanayana ceremony for boys is performed before he reaches teenage when his head is shaved and given the ceremonial loin-cloth and sacred thread to wear. Marriage ceremony contains very elaborate rituals that go on for more than a day. On the death of a person, funeral rites are performed by the family.

 

Nepali Bride-Groom

Photo Source URL: http://globalpressinstitute.org/sites/default/files/styles/520×265/public/GPINews_Nepal_YKK_Early%20Marriage%201.jpg

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/nepal-culture.html

Sharma, Rashmi. Nepal and SAARC. New Delhi: Regal Publications, 2007.

Cultural Treasures of Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board.2009.

For more information: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2013/02/26/172983863/in-hindu-ritual-nepali-women-are-banished-once-a-month

http://chhayakhanal.com/culture/hindu-funeral-cremation-death-rituals/

Cultural Festivals & Events

Festivals in Nepal bind people together of diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs into one nation. Most Nepali festivals are related to different Hindu and Buddhist deities and are not merely the annual spectacles, but also are a living part of their rich cultural heritage.

Month Festival
Jan-Feb
  • Seto Machhendranath Snan
  • Swasthani Puja
  • Maghe Sankranti
  • Basanta Panchmi & Saraswati Puja
Feb-March
  • Maha Shivaratri
  • Losar
  • Fagu Purnima or Holi
March-April
  • Chaitra Dasain
  • Ghode Jatra
April-May
  • Bisket Jatra
  • New Year’s Day
  • Red Machhendranath Jatra
  • Buddha Jayanti
July-August
  • Gunla
  • Krishna Astami
  • Janai Purnima
August-Sept
  • Gai Jatra
  • Teej
Sept-Oct
  • Indra Jatra
  • Dasain or Durga Puja
Oct-Nov
  • Mani Rimdu
  • Tihar or Deepali
Nov-Dec
  • Balachaturdarsi
  • Bibah Panchani
  • Yomari Punhi

Basanta Panchami and Saraswati Puja: is a day to celebrate the birthday of Saraswati, the Goddess of Learning. It falls between January/February and is regarded as a very auspicious day for marriages too. On this day, people from school students to scholars worship their pens and books to please the Goddess Saraswati. People pray and throng around the idol of Saraswati, especially in Swayambhunath and offer flowers, sweets and fruits.

Maha Shivaratri: or the night of Lord Shiva that falls sometime between February/March. On this day more than 100,000 of Hindu devotees from India and Southeast Asia gather around Pashupatinath temple, one of the holiest shrines of the Hindus in Kathmandu.

Holi- Fagu Purnima: is festival of water and colours. It falls between February/March and is also known as “Phagu

Cultural Identities

Nepal is a melting pot of many races and tribes which can be broadly categorised into three major ethnic groups in terms of their origin: Indo-Nepali (Nepali Hindus such as the Brahmins, Chhetris and Thakuris), Tibeto-Nepali (Sherpas, Thakalis, Dolpalis, Mustangis, Newars, Tamangs, Rais, Limbus, Magars,Sunuwars and Gurungs) , and indigenous Nepali (Tharus, Chepangas, Rautes, Danwars, Dhimals, Majis, Darais, Sattars and Bodes). The first group, comprising those of Indo-Nepali origin, inhabited the more fertile lower hills, river valleys and Tarai plains of Nepal. This group can be further divided into two categories: first, those who fled India and moved to the safe sanctuaries of the Nepal hills several hundred years ago due to the Muslim invasions of northern India. The hill group of Indian origin primarily composed of descendants of high-caste Hindu families, mostly of Brahman and Kshatriya status. The other Indo-Nepali group are recent migrants who settled in the Tarai from northern India’s border states of Bihar and Bengal.The second major group consists of communities of Tibeto-Mongol origin inhabiting the higher hills from the west to the east. The third and much smaller group of indigenous Nepali comprised a number of tribal communities, such as Tharus and the Dhimals of the Tarai; and they may be remnants of indigenous communities whose habitation predates the advent of the Indo-Nepali and Tibeto-Mongol elements.

Each ethnic group in Nepal has its own identity and cultural heritage, with most groups having their own spoken language and script. Food, dress, ornaments, beliefs, customs, festivities, myths, legends, song and music of each group differs from another. They also practice different faiths, Hindus are in majority, followed by Buddhists. Islam and Christianity are also practiced in Nepal by a small but growing minority. Moreover, the caste system is an integral aspect of Nepali society, modeled after the ancient and orthodox Brahmanic system of the Indian plains, which did not exist in Nepal prior to the arrival of Indo-Aryans. Each caste is ideally an endogamous group in which membership is both hereditary and permanent. Caste identity plays an important part in social and cultural life of people in Nepal. This caste system was not strictly upheld by the Newars, the original inhabitants of the Kathamndu Valley and they have their own caste hierarchy, which is similar to the fourfold (Brahman/priests, Kshatriyas/warriors, Vaisya/merchants and Sudra/labourers)  caste system of the Indo-Aryans.  Newars are pioneers of urban culture in Nepal. The rich Newar culture has given Kathmandu its identity as the cultural capital of the country. Though Newars have contributed abundantly to the creation of Nepali culture, different communities and ethnic groups from the high Himalayas down to the southern Terai have added equally in enriching it.

http://nepal.saarctourism.org/people-of-nepal.html

http://welcomenepal.com/promotional/know-nepal/ethnic-mosiac/

Sharma, Rashmi. Nepal and SAARC. New Delhi: Regal Publications, 2007.

Cultural Treasures of Nepal. Nepal Tourism Board.2009.

 

Sculpture & Decorative Arts

Excavation in Maldives have revealed a number of statues in the region. Most of the Statues in Maldives are pre-Islamic and are associated with its earlier Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

Photo Source: Photo Source: Maldives National Museum

Excavation in in Ali Alif Atoll also revealed a Giant Buddha Statue, which had been carefully buried and preserved underground for nearly 800 years. (Pictured Below)

Picture Source: http://www.maldivesculture.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=166&Itemid=42

However, there have been a number of incidence of vandalism in Maldives. The destruction of the Gaint statue of Buddha found in the Thoddu is but one example. More recently in  February 2012, a group of Islamic extremists forced their way into the National Museum in Malé and attacked the museum’s collection of pre-Islamic sculptures, destroying nearly the entire collection of thirty Hindu and Buddhist sculptures dating from the 6th to 12th centuries. To read more about the incident please click here: http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=71,10753,0,0,1,0#.UfeeU41gc_8

The Maldives National Museum houses a number of impressive statues from Maldives’s past, for further details please click here:http://www.maldivesculture.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=16&id=68&Itemid=

Decorative Art in Maldives

Stone Carving: Corals have been used as a material in construction of mosque (see the details of the coral mosques of Maldives here), walls, tombstones and in mound. Raw corals are easier to work with and most cases corals are left in the sea and part by part are removed and taken to work with.

Photo Source: http://www.handicrafts.mv/web/images/hist/4.jpg

Laajehun (Lacquer Work): Laajehun is made from the combination of juices from trees. The use of lacquer travelled to Maldives via China and Japan. Over the year’s Maldivian craftsman have mastered the use of lacquer and use it for a variety of purposes, and this is applied to a number of objects that inspire the decorative art tradition of Maldives, these include: Wood and metallic, Skin and bone of animal and birds, egg shells, paper products, glass, mud products.

 
on Maldives Culture
Read More…

Handicrafts

Maldivian craftsmanship had a regional reputation of excellence. Traditionally handicraft in the Maldives includes mat weaving, embroidery (kasabu boavalhu libaas), coir making and lacquer work, with each island and atoll specializing in one of the many handicraft traditions. As with many developing countries, industrialization and the cheap foreign products have furthered the degradation of the local handicraft industry. Highlights of some handicraft products from Maldives are given below:

Laajehun (Lacquer Work): Laajehun is made from the combination of juices from trees. The use of lacquer travelled to Maldives via China and Japan. Over the year’s Maldivian craftsman have mastered the use of lacquer and use it for a variety of purposes. Besides aesthetic, lacquer has traditionally been used as a protective coating on wood to maintain its quality. Below is a list of objects that lacquer work is usually done on:

  • Wood and metallic
  • Skin and bone of animal and birds
  • Egg Shells
  • Paper products
  • Glass
  • Mud products

Lacquer work is usually divided into two parts: Lacquer preparation, and Lacquer application known as Laa hingun. There are various ways of applying lacquer to the object.  For more information on Maldivian Lacquer work please click here:

 

Photo Source: http://www.handicrafts.mv/web/histdet.php?id=1


Thun’du Kunaa: Thun’du kunaa or mat weaving is another prominent feature of Maldivian craftsmanship. Mats are usually made of fine pattern grass or kunaa from G.Dh. Gadhdhoo. These elaborate grass mats make for elegant gifts. Only a knife (used for splitting screw-pine leaves) is used for making kunaa besides the loom of wood with the reed of split bamboo. Kunaa weavers cultivate their own grass and collect the leaves and roots which are used for dyeing. The mats are woven using hau. After the hau is dried it is stained with natural dyes which vary from fawn to black and yellow. The rush is then trimmed and strips are then woven on a horizontal loom.


Photo Source: National Handicraft Center Maldives, http://www.nhc.gov.mv/images/img_pro_5.jpg

Feyli Viyun: Feyli Viyun, handloom, has been a central part of the Maldivian dress as far back as 1340s. During the monarchy Feyli was worn both by men and women. Traditionally, Men wore the materials on formal occasions while women wore it both formally and informally. Feyli is made from cotton or ‘ui’.

One of the ways to categorize Feyli is on the basis of their measurement and is as follows:

  • Boly Feyli: Worn by both men and women. The special feature of the bolu feyli and the artistry of the weaver is shown by the different designs made on the feyli with Kasabu (needlework using gold and silver thread)
  • Thinfatheege Feyli: Usually worn my men.
  • Hatharufatheege Feyli: Usually worn my women as a wrap around.

While the traditional centers of this craft were the islands such as Dhevvadhu, Fodhdhu and Kachcheymidhu, in recent time, it is Feyli from Baa Atoll Eydhafushi that usually has the best craftsmanship.
Coir Rope:
Coir rope is spun from the fiber extracted from coconut husk after it has been in the sea for few weeks. The fiber is then pounded to separate the fiber stands. Once the strands have dried they are twisted by hands to produce coarse rope of the needed thickness.

Basketry

The woody skeleton of the coconut palms and the hard portion of spine of palm frond are used in basketry. This craft continues to be used as household items such as covers for food; sieves and winnowers. The use of basketry has evolved to make ecofriendly waste baskets, elaborate shades for lamps.

Stone Carving

Corals have been used as a material in construction of mosque (see the details of the coral mosques of Maldives here), walls, tombstones and in mound. Raw corals are easier to work with and most cases corals are left in the sea and part by part are removed and taken to work with.