The+Lifestyles+and+Culture

Federal Republic of Nepal - Lifestyle & Culture

Government and lifestyle


 * Kings and dynastys of Nepal.**

Excavations have shown that the Kathmandu valley has been inhabited for at least 9,000 years. In 563 BCE in Lumbini a prince of the Shakya dynasty was born. His name was Siddhartha Gautama Buddha, and modern Buddhist texts tell us about his life as a teacher and how he became the founder of the Buddhist religion.

The Licchavis, 450-879 The Thakuri Kings, 602-1200 The Malla Dynasty, 1200-1768 The Shah Kings and the Unification of Nepal, 1786-1846 The Ranas, 1846-1951
 * Eras of Rule**

The British were very influencial in India and in 1814 a border dispute with the British East India Company led to war. Although Nepal technically lost the war and had to give up some of the land they had been using along the base of the Himalayas or the Terai as it is called, they were never colonized.
 * War Against the British**

One of Nepals most famous exports has been their hardy and tenacious mountain warriors called the Gurkhas. These guys fought within the ranks of the East India Company's army to start with and when they proved their loyalty during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, the British Army created their own elite regiments. The courage of the Gurkhas is legendary and they have fought on the British side in both world wars and in the Falklands and Iraq. In exchange for their help Nepal has been assured of its independence and guaranteed duty-free transit of commodities through India.
 * The Gurkhas**

Until 1990, Nepal was governed by a king, what is called an absolute monarchy. This means that the king has absolute control over every aspect of his subjects lives and his rule is inherited or taken by the strongest leader. In Nepal this was often a challenge because there were so many different kinds of people living there with different languages and different religious beliefs. In 1990 King Birendra agreed to relax this absolute rule by the monarchy and created a parliamentary monarchy. This meant the king was the Head of State but the prime minister became the head of government and a council of ministers called the Cabinet voted on important decisions that used to be made by the king alone. Decisions like who is allowed to go to school?, how old you have to be before you can work?, can unmarried women inherit their parents land? Governments in Nepal have tended to be highly unstable; no government has survived for more than two years since 1991, either through internal collapse or parliamentary dissolution by the monarch. That means the king doesn’t like being controlled or was voted down, so he sacks his Cabinet and gets a new lot. Political parties agreed to keep the monarchy (king) to help provide a stable government and to give the culturally diverse Nepali people an important symbol of national identity.
 * Parliamentary Monarchy.**

On Friday the 1st of June, Crown Prince Dipendra allegedly shot and killed severel members of his own family including the king and queen, his own mother and father, before turning the gun on himself. The Nepalese royal massacre occurred at the Narayanhity Royal Palace and as a result ten people died, King Birendra and Queen Aiswarya among them and five were wounded. Prince Dipendra became de jure king for three days before he died in a coma. To this day there are still some who don't believe the murder/suicide story and feel that the royal family was murdered by Maoist insurgents.
 * The Royal Massacre.**

On 23rd of December, 2007, an agreement was made for the monarchy to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic. This meant no more king and the prime minister became the head of state thus ending 240 years of royal rule in Nepal. The government announced a public holiday for three days to celebrate the country becoming a federal republic.
 * Abolition of the monarchy.**

In 1854 a Hindu legal document called the //Muluki Ain// was created that defined the caste system in Nepal. Social groups (such as priests, butchers, tailors, blacksmiths or those with the same language or from the same area) were put into five broad categories according to how closely they followed the rules of the Hindu religion. At the top were the ‘Wearers of the holy thread’: //Bahuns, Chhetris,// Rajputs, and various Newar castes. Physical contact with a person from a lower caste is considered to dirty their reputation, so a high-caste person will not eat with a low-caste person, or accept water from him, although he may help himself. Members of higher castes may assume certain privileges, like being able to push into line at the shops and some caste groups can be recognized by the way they dress or by their surname.
 * The Caste System.**
 * 1) Non-enslavable //matawali// (alcohol drinkers): Magar, Gurung, some Newar.
 * 2) Enslavable //matawali//: Limbu, Kirat, Tharu, Bhote; Sherpas, Tamang and others.
 * 3) Impure but touchable: Newar service castes, butchers, washermen, tanners and Europeans and Muslims.
 * 4) Impure but untouchable: Parbatiya (blacksmitsh, tanners, tailors) and Newar service castes (fishermen and scavengers).

The Nepal Home Page Directory Online> [|http://www.info-nepal.com/firstpage]

Religion Interestingly a town called Lumbini in southern Nepal is to be believed to be the birth place of Buddha in 624BC. At that time Lumbini was considered part of India but due to the boundaries of Nepal shrinking and expanding throughout history because of changes in the kingdoms of the past, Lumbini is now within the Kapilavastu district of Nepal. However Hinduism developed as the official religion of Nepal with Buddhism being brought back to the country by migrants from Tibet.

Although Hinduism is the official religion of Nepal, its practice within the country is unique as many of the beliefs are combined with those of Buddhism.  Hinduism There is much discussion regarding the founder and origins of Hinduism. It is said to be at least 5000 years old. The name Hinduism may have various origins, the exact origin is still unknown.

The sacred text of the Hindu religion are known to be the oldest known scriptures. the Veda is the oldest and was written more than 3500 years ago. Veda meaning wisdom is written in four parts;

Each of the Vega are written in four parts: Samhita, Brahmana, Aranyaka and Upanishad. These sections address worship and devotion.
 * Rig-Veda - the main scripture written for the different gods for controlling nature
 * Sama-Veda - was written form of the melodies,
 * Yajur-Veda - documents the rituals of fire
 * Atharva-Veda - deals with magical spells.

Hindus beleive in one God, this god Brahman is a formless spirt in which appears in Deities symbolising the Creator (Brahma), the Preserver (Vishnu), and the Destroyer (Shiva). There are of course many other Deities that Hindus worship and families often pass down the tradition of worshiping one Deity.

Some beliefs in the Hindu religion are:
 * the soul of a person is eternal and when a person dies their soul takes a new body. This is called reincarnation. The soul can take on the body of any human, animal or plant.
 * Brahman is the eternal spirit, the sun, the heavens, the universe, the creator of all life.
 * All Hindus have religious and social duties.
 * There are four states of human awarness.

 [] Aproximately 90% of all Nepaleese practice the Hindu faith with Buddhism being the other main relgion within the country. Temples within Nepal are used by both religions and often the two share and celebrate festivals and events together.

Throughout the year Hindus celebrate many different festivals

 * **Vasanta Panchami** - Jan / Feb - //Last day of Winter / first day of Spring.//  //.// Divali - Festival of lights [|www.tribuneindia.com/ 2003/20031025/chd.htm]
 * = * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Pongal** - Jan/Feb -//Harvest Festival.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Mahashivaratri** - Feb / March - //To honour Shiva the destroyer of Evil.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Holi** - Feb / March - //Celebrations of the legend of Holi.//
 * **Ramanavami** - March / April - //Birthday of Lord Rama//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Ratha Yatra** - June / July - //Celebrate the journey of the chariot.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Raksha Bandhan** - July / August - //Festival of Brothers and Sisters.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Janmashtami** - August / September - //Celebrating the Eigth Day of Birth.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Ganesha Chaturthi** - August / September - //Birthday of Ganesha God success.//
 * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; text-align: left;">**Divali** - October / November - //Celebration of the goddes of good fortune and wealth.// ||= [[image:Divali.jpg]]

[] || Back Forward References <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 7pt;">This unit was developed by Nicole Lewis, Amanda McGregor and Jason Horton