A NEW DAWN after Earthquake: Local Community and Indigenous Practices

Monalisa Maharjan, PhD Student, CIDEHUS/ University of Évora, E-mail: monalisamaharjan@gmail.com

Summary When 7.8 magnitude of Earthquake hit Nepal on 25th April 2015, with the epicenter in Lamjung district (81 km northwest to Kathmandu), killed more than 8,000, injuring more than 22,000 with

immense damage to the physical infrastructure. Magnificent monuments and temples tuned to the piles of bricks and wood, got wide international attentions especially UNESCO World Heritage

Sites of Kathmandu Valley. The concern of local people towards their heritage in the time of tragedy was note worthy. That event underlined the importance of local community and indigenous

practices that have been ignored in the formal conservation practices. Just few months after the massive disaster, while many people the makeshift and coping the numerous aftershocks, the local

community of Kathmandu Valley managed to continue its traditional practices in from of festivals. This poster which is a part of PhD research tries to look after the importance of the local

community and indigenous practices which has been taken for granted despite local community being the real custodians.

Background

Kathmandu Valley taking advantage of its fertile soil and strategic location for trade, developed a strong base of art, architecture, rituals and festivals whose living example can be seen in the

Valley. Once the traditional festival comes alive in the ancient city of the Valley, it gives a sense of travelling back hundreds of years from now. This magnificent at and architectures survived not

only because of the building technologies, given Kathmandu Valley is seismic zone and every hundred year there has been a disastrous earthquake. But also due to the ancient traditional practices

called Guthi.

Guthi Guthi is a fundamental unit of social organization of Newars (indigenous people of Kathmandu Valley) based on caste, kinship and territory which are responsible for maintenance of the temples

and monuments, organizations of festivals as well as taking care of the everyday rituals, found to be present since 5th Century. Still Guthi is a major component in the Newar society, even with the

influence of globalization, modernization and urbanization. When the monuments were constructed and festivals were initiated, the patrons kept land and properties for the smooth operation of the

festivals including endowments from normal people as a piety. Change in the political situation brought changes in Guthi just in the recent centuries, major blow being the nationalization of all Guthi

land in 1964. This made Guthi are loos its traditional value causing ripple affects on the monuments and traditional landscape.

Picture 1: Historic Landscape dominated by monuments in Kathmandu Durbar Square before the

earthquake and in background can be seen the mushrooming high raise building. © Impact

Production

Picture 2: Traditional mask dance known as Devi Pyakha being performed during the

festival of Yenya Punhi which is organized by the indigenous association called Guthi. ©

Author

Picture 3: Chariot procession being carried out by the Guthi members during the

festival of Yenya Punhi. There are numerous Guthi and each Guthi has their own

specific role . © Author

Earthquake of 2015 and Yenya Punhi Festival

Earthquake of 2015 changed the traditonal landscape of Kathmandu Valley in an unimaginable way.

Many monuments and private houses within the valley were destroyed (see pictures on right). After

shocks continued frequently and even till date of making this poster, aftershocks keep waking up people

in the Valley. Lack of periodical maintenance in the monuments is being considered a major reason

behind such a massive damage. Just after humanitarian crisis, monuments got the immediate attention.

Local people helped in collecting the remains of the monuments for the reuse, most of them digging the

rubbles even with the bare hands. Still when government was busy solving the primary crisis, people

were one step ahead in helping with the destroyed monuments.

Just five months after the earthquake, indigenous people even organized the biggest festival of

Kathmandu city Yenya Punhi which is 7-8 days long with many sub-festivals within it and many indoor

rituals taking place a month before. Every part of ancient Kathmandu is seen celebrating with music,

processions and dance during this festival as in Picture 2 & 3. With the backdrop of fragile monuments

the Guthi members carried out the festival successfully. Considering the situation ome practical changes

were made during the festival apart from which all the other functions continued as usual.

Referências obrigatórias CIDEHUS - UID/HIS/00057/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007702)

Picture 4: Kathmandu Handumandhoka Palace which was

destroyed by Earthquake © Impact Production.

Picture 5: Temple turned into rubble in Patan due to Earthquake. © Shailesh Rajbhandari

Picture 5: Kathmandu Handumandhoka Palace which was destroyed

by Earthquake in support of wooden pillar © Amar Shrestha.

Findings -  Intangible heritage matters as much as tangible

to the indigenous people. -  The momentum of intangible heritage which was

started centuries back kept up its pace even during the disaster because of indigenous system i.e. Guthi

Conclusion

The disaster proved the importance of traditional practices and local community in order to

continue the heritage. After Nepal rectified UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of

the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2003 and is in the initial process of it, These types of

examples should be taken seriously before its too late. Culture worldwide now face the

risk of homonization. Also Guthi is at high risk because of changing dimensions within the

Newar society. It is high time to take of them and recognize the contribution it has been

making in the safeguarding of cultural heritage (both tangible as well as intangible

heritage).

People

Place

Practices Interconnected  

Figure  :  People,  Place  and  Prac4ces  are  interconnected  in  the  case  of  heritage  like  Kathmandu  Valley  ©Author  

Picture 7: Chariot procession during the festival of Yenya Punhi 2015. In the

background can be seen people climbing in the remaining plinth of the

temple. © Nabin Man Singh

Picture 8: Traditional army with the music during the festival of Yenya

Punhi 2015. In the background can be seen the fragile building in the

support of wooden poles. © Impact Production.

References Toffin, G. (2008). Newar Society: City, Village and Periphery (2nd ed.). Kathmandu: Social Science Baha. Slusser, M. S. (1998). Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley (Vol. 1-2). Kathmandu: Mandala Book Point. Regmi, M. C. (1968). Land Tenure and Taxation in Nepal (Volume IV.). Berkeley: University of California. Weise, K. (2015, September 2). Conserving continuity: Reconstructing monuments of cultural heritage in Nepal will need community involvement. Himal South Asian. Retrieved from: http://himalmag.com/heritage-sites-earthquake-nepal/#