Culture of Nepal

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Culture of Nepal
Culture of Nepal
Society
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Symbols
Hindu
festival at a traditional home.

The culture of Nepal encompasses the various cultures belonging to the 125 distinct

drinks
.

Dance and music

Main articles: Music of Nepal and Dance in Nepal
Women in cultural costume at Ubhauli Kirati festival 2017 at Gough Whitlam Park, Earlwood
Nepali traditional Pahadi dress used for dance

costumes. The Dishka, a dance performed at weddings, includes intricate footwork and arm movements.[3] Accompanying music and musical instruments change in tune with the themes, which revolve around topics like harvesting of crops, marriage rites, war stories,love, and several other themes and stories from everyday life in the villages. The Tharu stick dances and the peacock dance are also performed.[4]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Nepal

As many as 123 languages are spoken in Nepal according to

Doteli (3%).[5]

Nepali, written in Devanagari script, is the official national language and serves as lingua franca among Nepalese ethnolinguistic groups.

Religions and philosophy

Procession of Nepali Hindu Wedding; Groom being carried by a bride brother or relatives
Buddhist monastery
in southern Nepal.

The 2011 census identified 81.6% of the population being

Kirant religion. Christianity
is practiced officially by less than 1.0% of the population.

Hindu and Buddhist traditions in Nepal go back more than two

ducks
. Cows are very sacred animals and are never considered acceptable for sacrifice .

Festivals and celebrations

Main article: List of festivals in Nepal
Senior offering Dashain Tika to junior
Costumed Hindu girls of Kathmandu during festival time in Nepal

Several of the

Maha Shivratri and Chhechu are widely celebrated important festivals of Nepal. New Year's Day of the lunar calendar Nepal Sambat
occurs in November. Several Jatras take place throughout the year and public holidays are declared in some regions.

Other important festivals include

drinks and smoke charas.[8] Sherpas, mostly located at higher altitudes and in the Mount Everest
region, celebrate Mani Rimdu, for the good of the world.

Most festivals include dancing and music, and a variety of special foods are consumed during festivals and on special occasions.

The Sagan ceremony is the ritualized presentation of five food items (boiled egg, smoked fish, meat, lentil cake and rice wine) to a person which is done to bring good fortune as per Tantric tradition.

Architecture and archaeology

Main article: Architecture of Nepal
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
, gilded bronze, Nepal, 16th century CE
A 1905 painting of Nepalese woman

Nepal Sampada Sangha (Nepal Heritage Society) has compiled an inventory of 1,262 significant architectural and archeological sites in Nepal outside Kathmandu Valley.[9]

Sports

The government declared volleyball as the national game of the country. Before it used to be dandi biyo.

A Cabinet meeting held at the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's residence in Baluwatar took the decision. The Ministry of Youth and Sports had put the proposal to declare volleyball as the national game. Nepal Volleyball Association had been demanding that the sport, which is played in all 75 districts of the country, should be the national game.

National Sports Council's former Member Secretary Yubaraj Lama had initiated the process of deciding the national game, while the current Member Secretary Keshab Kumar Bista had recommended for the national game.[10]

Gallery

  • Procession of Nepali Pahadi Hindu Wedding
    Procession of Nepali Pahadi Hindu Wedding
  • Nepali Pahadi groom
    Nepali Pahadi groom
  • Procession of Nepali Hindu Wedding
    Procession of Nepali Hindu Wedding
  • Nepali Pahadi Hindu marriage at Narayangadh, Chitawan
    Nepali Pahadi Hindu marriage at Narayangadh, Chitawan

See also

References

  1. ^ "2011 Nepal Census Report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 April 2013.
  2. S2CID 170652980. Archived
    from the original on 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  3. ^ Gubhani, Juhee. "Re-Visiting the Question: Are Rājopādhyāyas Newārs of Nepal?".
  4. ^ McDonnaugh, Christian. "The mythology of the Tharu: aspects of cultural identity in Dang, West Nepal" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2020-07-29. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  5. ^ "Major highlights" (PDF). Central Bureau of Statistics. 2013. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2013.
  6. ^ yukesh0007 (2019-05-22). "Festival around Nepali New Year". Soul of Himalayas. Archived from the original on 2020-01-29. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
  7. ^ "Buddha Jayanti". We All Nepali. Archived from the original on 2015-05-05. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  8. ^ "Maha Shivaratri". We All Nepali. Archived from the original on 2015-05-20. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  9. ^ Bhandari, Bishnu, ed. (1997). Inventory of heritage sites in Nepal. Kathmandu: IUCN Nepal. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  10. ^ "Volleyball declared national game | the Himalayan Times". 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2019-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-07.

Further reading

  • Kramrisch, Stella. "The Art of Nepal and Tibet." Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin 55.265 (1960): 23–38.
  • Hutt, Michael. Nepal: A guide to the art and architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. Kiscadale Publications, 1994.
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Nepal: a catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art collection. Univ of California Press, 1985.
  • von Schroeder, Ulrich. Nepalese Stone Sculptures. Volume One: Hindu; Volume Two: Buddhist. (Visual Dharma Publications, 2019).
    ISBN 9783033063815
Folktale collections

External links


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