Nepal

“ The numerous valleys among the prodigious mountains, of which Nepal in its extended sense consists, are inhabited by various tribes, that differ very much in language, and somewhat in customs. All that have any sort of pretensions to be considered as aboriginal, like their neighbours of Bhotan to the east, are, by their features, clearly marked as belonging to the Tartar or Chinese race of men, and have no sort of resemblance to the Hindus. ”

“ Poised on the natural bastions of the Himalayas, entered only by a few tortuous mountain passes, which could be, and have been, rendered impregnable by a handful of guerillas, it is not surprising that Nepal can lay claim to being a State which has been least affected in all India by modern Europeanization. By this it must not be understood that Nepal has not taken advantage of the many improvements that an enlightened age has demonstrated as being beneficial. ”

“ Lamas, Garudas, rows of metal deities, massive bronze bells, and all the artistic attributes of the Buddhist, Lamaist, and Hindu religions, floated before my eyes. All the arts of Nepal seemed to be gathered in this one small courtyard and pagoda, with its carved and painted wood and plates of burnished brass as a background ”

“ Formerly Nepal’s sovereignty extended over Kumaon, which we have already traversed, as far as the Sutlej River. The Nepal kingdom, as it stands now, is an elongated tract of country—mostly mountainous—some 500 miles in length, and less than 150 miles in breadth at its widest points. As everybody knows, it is situated on the southern slopes of the central Himahlyan range, [51] and borders with Tibet on the north, Kumaon (North-West Provinces) to the west, the Kali River, as we know, forming the boundary; the North-West Province and Bengal to the south, and Sikkim to the east. ”

“ Blessed with Nature's millions gifts and blessed by the blood sacrificed by our Heroes, we are independent and are immovable - standing :still with pride. Nepal - the land where knowledge shines, the peaceful nation consisting of Terai, Hills and Mountains - is indivisible. It is our beloved :motherland and we shall preserve its sovereignty at any cost. A melting pot of diverse races, numerous languages and religions, Nepal is rich in its large diverse culture. We are a progressive people :of the progressive nation and we don't look back - jai Nepal! ”

“ Nepal consists physically of two distinct territories: (1) the tarai, or strip of level, cultivated and forest land lying along the southern border; and (2) the great mountainous tract stretching northwards to Tibet. Along the northern frontier stand many of the highest peaks of the Himalayan range, such as Dhaulagiri (26,837 ft.) ”

“ I shall afterwards have occasion to show, that the various classes of Hindus, that is, of the natives of India, who have adopted the Brahmans for spiritual guides, have not in all periods composed a great proportion of the population, nor have even entered any part of the country as residents. At present, indeed, in most parts of the kingdom, except in Nepal itself, they, or converts to their doctrine, form a large proportion of the inhabitants; and the more recent the importation, I should expect the greater resemblance between the colonists and the inhabitants of the plains of India ”

“ Buddhism and Brahmanism flourish in the principal temples, which are wealthy and well supported. Numerous monasteries shelter the Buddhist priests. Commerce prospers, and trade is well organized and directed." In other words, the Nepal of fifteen hundred years ago bore in many respects a striking resemblance to the Nepal of the present day.
From the decline of the Thakuri rajas in the eleventh century, until towards the middle of the fourteenth century, the country came under the sway of several lines of rulers, when, in 1324, another significant event is recorded. ”

“ Nepal is an Independent State wedged in between India and Tibet, and occupies a parallelogram 450 miles long and 150 miles wide, running almost east and west. Clinging on the north to the Himalayas at their highest point, it slopes down at the south into the flat rice fields of Hindustan. In its small width of 150 miles it can boast of such diverse conditions as the eternal snows of Mount Everest and the hot languid temperature of the plains of India. ”

“ Girls of the Gurung tribe The studied isolation of Nepal, which allows no European to travel in the country except by special leave by the one main route to the capital itself, is a political move, and from whatever cause arising, which need not be discussed here, is, I go so far as to say, of distinct advantage to us, since it keeps a simple people removed from modern influences. ”

“ The ordinary old Indian cannot imagine such trim gardens, such an appearance of general finish, and such well-kept gateways and roads as are to be seen throughout Nepal, as a characteristic of ordinary Indian life. It should be understood that the Nepalese themselves, when referring to Nepal, mean the actual Nepal Valley, which comprises the plains surrounding the city of Khatmandu, in which are the ancient towns of Patan and Bhatgaon, besides several other large villages, one or two of which almost arrive at the dignity of towns. ”

“ The great main thoroughfare to the prosperous State of Nepal is enough, to put it vulgarly, to make a cat laugh. It is about as bad as a road could well be, but one arrives every four miles at a most pleasant and surprising tank, with a stand-pipe for water, and an excellent drinking-pond for animals, the intervening road being merely the jungle. ”

“ The story of the people, and all that is profound in their nature, is illustrated in the temples and shrines of the valley. A short account of the population of Nepal, and the influences to which they have been subjected, seems necessary before their picturesque circumstances, and particularly the full meaning of the artistic conditions of their environment, can be properly realized.
The people of Nepal resolve themselves into so many different tribes that any broad classification appears at first sight a somewhat difficult matter. ”

“ Formerly Nepal was divided into twenty-four principalities in addition to the Gurkha kingdom, but since the invasion by the latter of the entire country they have been divided into five provinces—viz. Gurkha, Malibam, Palpa, Pokra, and Khachi.
In the space at my disposal I cannot enter into the history nor go into a detailed description of the many tribes which inhabit Nepal, but generally speaking, in the aboriginal stock a Mongolian origin is evident, particularly in the population of the central zone, where recent Tibetan influence is marked ”

“ The more fertile part of what is called Nepal Proper, was chiefly occupied by the Newars, a race addicted to agriculture and commerce, and far more advanced in the arts than any other of the mountain tribes. Their style of building, and most of their other arts, appear to have been introduced from Thibet, and the greater part still adhere to the tenets of the Buddhs; but they have adopted the doctrine of cast, have rejected the Lamas, and have a priesthood of their own called Bangras. ”

“ Anyhow, I had no further annoyance all through my journey in Nepal, and found the few natives we saw quite attractive, picturesque, and kind.
After leaving the fort we travelled practically south-east over very rough country, my objective [48] being to visit and if possible climb one of the Lumpa peaks which towers in a majestic needle above most other mountains in the neighbourhood. Every now and then, when we got to some higher point of vantage, we got a beautiful view of it. ”

“ But in Nepal, unrecognized and apparently insignificant shrines and sanctified places encumber the ground—the streets are literally "paved with good intentions," for almost every other slab or stone is daubed with vermilion, and held sacred. In no country are there so many "sermons in stones" as in Nepal, and the uninitiated sightseer, with eyes aloft on carved balconies and perforated windows, is in constant danger of profaning these holy emblems with his uncompromising boots. ”

“ Gradually the buildings become larger and more important, and the decoration more profuse as the centre of the city is reached. Then a whole street of overhanging balconies and wooden colonnades comes into view, with doorways crowned by heavily carved tympanums of deities and devils, and lattice windows with peacocks cunningly carved posing in the centres, until we suddenly debouch into the durbar square and are confronted with the culminating effect of the combined arts of the Newars, probably the most entrancingly picturesque city scene in Nepal. ”

“ Inhabitants of other parts of the Nepal kingdom would almost invariably, if asked where they came from, name the district in which their village is situated, the reason for this being that historically the only part of the Nepal kingdom which can lay claim to the name is the actual valley which was the home of the Newars. The owners of the valley before this were conquered by the King of Goorkha and his followers some two hundred years ago, and to this day the greater number of the present inhabitants are of the Newar race. ”

“ All who take interest in things Himalayan must have at times had their curiosity whetted by the long narrow stretch of the great main Himalayan range included in the kingdom of Nepal, known and yet unknown; marching with our own dominion for no less than 500 miles; carrying on an extensive trade with us, and supplying us with 25,000 Goorkha soldiers, and yet, with the exception of the one main road to the capital at Khatmandu, quite unexplored by the European. ”

“ In Nepal Proper, the Parbatiyas are not near so numerous as the Newars. The valley of Nepal seems to be exceedingly populous; but when the natives, as usual, talk of 18,000 houses in Kathmandu, 24,000 in Lalita Patan, and 12,000 in Bhatgang, they certainly grossly exaggerate. The persons of all ages and both sexes may in these towns amount to such numbers, and in Kathmandu may perhaps somewhat exceed this calculation. There are, besides, in this small valley several other considerable towns, such as Timmi, Kirtipur, Dewapatan, Sangghu, and Thankot. ”

“ But what glories are contained in this Himalayan region from the border of Kumaon to Bhootan; the last great piece of true exploration left in India proper. Think of Nepal and its great rivers, the Karnali, the Kali, the Tirsuli, the Tamba, Dudh, Sun Kosi, and the Arun Kosis. All unknown as far as Europeans are concerned. ”

“ Cold can produce a change of temperament from the melancholic and choleric to the phlegmatic and sanguine, and heat acting on the human frame, is capable of producing a contrary revolution. Hence, rosy cheeks and lips are frequently observed among the mountain Hindus of Nepal, although they are very little fairer than those of Madras.
Such are the principal tribes that occupy the mountains subject to the dominion of Nepal, or rather of Gorkha. In the plains adjacent to the mountains, and subject to the same prince, are several other tribes ”

“ STONE TEMPLE IN THE DURBAR SQUARE AT BHATGAON.
association between Tibet and the Valley, and the intercourse between that country and Nepal, commercially, religiously, and also artistically, has been constant for many centuries. Tibet obtained much of its Buddhism from Nepal, when its king in the sixth century A.D. contracted a marriage with a Newar princess, and how much of the beautiful Lamaistic art of that country has been produced by Nepalese craftsmen, specially retained at Lhassa for this purpose, is a subject open to considerable discussion. ”

“ The journey to Nepal is one of intense interest. After travelling in a succession of small-gauge railways through the deadly dull plains of Upper Bengal, annoyed at every station by the babblings of Neolithic man in the person of Bengali ryots, one arrives finally at the back of beyond — Raxaul Station — saved at the eleventh hour from what the begging letter writer has called self-self-destruction, by arrival at the real comforts of the Residency Bungalow. ”

“ Through the winding streets of wooden houses a procession wends its way to do honour to the goddess Kali, and it is only natural that, while the men are engaged outside the city wall in military exercises, this portion of the festival should be the concern of the women of Nepal. And a most interesting sight is presented to the crowds of onlookers who line the streets and houses of the capital to view this little known feature of the Durga Black and white photograph of the back of the Durbar at Katmandu. ”

“ In textiles Nepal is singularly deficient, and except for the common cloth of the country, little or no weaving is undertaken. Certain woven and embroidered fabrics find their way into Nepal, but they are obviously of Chinese or Tibetan origin, and it does not seem that the Newars were ever in sympathy with this art. The more masculine materials of wood and metal were the favourite mediums of this craftsman, and with these he has left records in the Nepal Valley which show that he was one of the most gifted artists of his time. ”

“ Above all the Nepalese seem to cast their longing glances towards Tibet as the best field for their superfluous population; for Tibet, while possessing an area about twelve-fold that of Nepal, is far more thinly populated. They even seem to be prepared to go through the ordeal of war, if necessary, to secure that best outlet for their needy population, which cannot find sufficient elbowroom at home. ”