"Every other day is a festival" - This holds certainly true for Nepal. The image you see above is my rendition of the colorful crowds at Nepalese New Year, one of the many festivals held throughout the year. But the year is already 2080! Nepal follows the Vikram Sambat solar calendar, which is 57 years ahead of our Gregorian calandar. To complicate things, the Newars (the original native people of the Kathmandu valley) follow their own calendar, celebrating their New Year in November, while the Tibetans have their own New Year, “Losar”, celebrated sometime in February.
"Every other building is a temple", or a shrine, pagoda, stupa. Since religious buildings are everywhere and religious practice forms a big part of daily life in Nepal, and is the reason for many of the festivals, let's dive into this topic right away.
Nepal is considered a sacred land, and it is home to some of the holiest sites for Hindus and Buddhists. The birthplace of Lord Buddha is in Lumbini, Nepal.
Buddhism originated from Hinduism. It adheres to the same principles of karma and reincarnation, however, it dispenses with priests as mediators, and castes.
Roughly 80 percent of Nepali consider themselves Hindus, 11 percent Buddhist, 5 percent Muslim, the rest other religions. But Hinduism and Buddhism in Nepal are very interwoven, with both creeds having incorporated aspects of each other. Shall we visit a few Hindu sites first?
On the outskirts of Kathmandu is Budhanilkantha, known for its giant statue of Lord Vishnu reclining in the cosmic sea. Five meters in length and from a single block of basalt, it is the largest stone carving in Nepal. Thousands of pilgrims attend the annual celebration of the awakening of Lord Vishnu from his long sleep.
Situated along the banks of the Bagmati river is Pashupatinath, another revered site. A sprawling complex with many mini temples, ashrams, it is the world’s largest Hindu temple. The temple is dedicated to Pashupati, an incarnation of Shiva. Pashupatinath is also the oldest Hindu temple in Nepal, and a gathering spot for "sadhus" (holy men).
Along the western ghats, the steps leading down to the river, are places for cremation. Each caste has their own location, the royal family at the northern end, then brahmins, then the lower castes.
The "antyesti" (last sacrifice) are the funeral rites, which typically means cremation for Hindus. Cremations are always performed near a river or on the riverbanks itself. Those who can afford it, go to special sacred places. Pashupatinath is one of them. It is believed that if you are cremated at a holy site, you have achieved “moksha”, the liberation from "samsara", the cycle of rebirth.
The population of Nepal is just over 30 million people (less than 10 percent of the US), in a small area that is roughly 1.5 percent of the US, about the size of Arkansas. The bulk of the people live in the central hilly region which includes Kathmandu and the Terai in the South. Once you leave this central region, the landscape changes dramatically, and the number of people dwindles accordingly.
After a short flight to Pokhara in central Nepal, we are traveling north to the "Ancient Kingdom of Lo", also referred to as the "Forbidden Kingdom". Forbidden, because access to it was completely off-limits to foreigners until 1992. Since then, only limited numbers of permits are issued due to its proximity to the Chinese border and accompaning political sensitivities. Mustang historically formed part of the Tibetan empire and is culturally still Tibetan. Not allowing foreigners for so many decades helped conserving its traditions and way of life.
For many centuries Mustang was a thriving region along the salt trail - the route that previously brought precious Tibetan salt and other goods to India. Economic activities came to a standstill after the cultural revolution in Tibet and the subsequent closing of the border. Mustang today has only one major road, the recently built north/south jeep trail along the former salt route. The course follows the bed of the Kali Gandaki river, a major tributary to the Ganges river. Crossing the Himalayas north on this road, you are flanked by Annapurna (26,538', 8,091m) to your right and Dhaulagiri (26,788', 8,167m) to the left. Eight of the world's ten tallest mountains are in Nepal, Annapurna being the 10th tallest, Dhaulagiri the 7th tallest.
Mustang can be separated into Lower Mustang, home of the Thakali tribes people, and Upper Mustang, belonging to the ethnic tribe known as the Loba. From their lifestyle to language, they both resemble Tibetans, and their culture and traditions date back to the eighth century when Buddhism reached Tibet during the Yalung Dynasty (237 BC - 842 AD). Religion and traditions then spread to Mustang.
Sacred to both Hindu and Buddhists is the Vishnu temple at Muktinath, right before the entry to Upper Mustang, and at 12,34 feet (3,800m) one of the world's highest temples. Thousands of pilgrims take the arduous journey each year to this highly venerated place in search of salvation. The last stretch of the journey sometimes is taken on horseback, or even on a stretcher.
The landscape along the Kali Gandaki river is stark and stunning. It is a vast and arid valley, distinguished by eroded canyons, vividly colored stratified rock formations and barren high-altitude deserts.
Mustang is a vast and arid area characterized by eroded canyons, colored stratified rock formations and barren high-altitude deserts. Mustang is not only culturally a part of Tibet. Geologically speaking, it is the southern extension of the Tibetan plateau, the highest and largest plateau on earth with an elevation between 10,000 and 16,000 feet (3,000-5,000 meters).
The Tibetan Plateau is known as the world's “third pole” because it holds the largest store of fresh water outside the Antarctic and Arctic. It is also the source of Asia's major rivers, which support billions of people downstream. On top of this, it is also very rich in minerals (copper, lithium, chromite, uranium, gold). But heavy mining in Chinese Tibet, coupled with global warming, is causing rapid desertification, and is turning the “water tower” into dust.
While the Tibetan plateau itself is mainly sedimentary rock – it used to be a sea – the enclosing Himalayas are a result of the collision of the Indian subcontinent with the Eurasian plate.
Besides pastel-colored dramatic landscapes, you also see thousands of ceremonial caves, some as large to have monasteries inside them.
"Every village has a monastery"- especially in Mustang. Mustang is an unbelievable Buddhist treasure trove. Centuries old monasteries, long destroyed in Tibet, continue to exist here. The richness in art and history, together with the ancient customs and rituals, evoke a great sense of timelessness and appreciation for this ancient culture.
I cannot write about Nepal without mentioning the 2015 earthquake that killed almost 9,000 people, destroyed over 500,000 houses and damaged another 250,000. It is hard to fathom the amount of destruction that occurred to this economically poor nation. Eight years of reconstruction later, rubble can still be seen everywhere. Many of the structures are still held up with poles and braces, many of these precious historical buildings are gone for forever. The ones restored gratefully display the name of the country or organization that helped.
Lo Manthang, the capital of Mustang and seat of the former royal family, is a walled city and constructed out of various types of specialized mud. Its finest monasteries are Thugchen Gompa with delicate Buddhist 14th century murals on the walls of its massive assembly hall, then Champa Lhakhang with its 50' tall image of the Maitreya buddha, making it the largest clay statue in Nepal.... As you can see, I could fill a book with a never-ending list of treasures of Mustang, but I will stop here in the hope that I conveyed the essence of this jewel to you. Mustang is certainly a journey worth making, both physically and spiritually. I hope to return to the region for a longer trek.
Additional reading/viewing (highly subjective selection):
- PBS Documentary "Lost Tibetan Treasures".
- Movie "Karma", a charming story involving two very different nuns.
- Kathmandu Documentary by Kah-Wai Lin.
- Series of six novels by Eliot Pattison that play during the early occupation of Tibet by China. (Skull Mantra, Water Touching Stone, Bone Mountain, Beautiful Ghosts, Prayer of the Dragon, Lord of Death).
- The classic "Lost Horizon" by James Hilton; also exists as a movie.
- Peter Matthiessen "The Snow Leopard".
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"Dhanyavaad" (thank you) for reading. If you want to see more of my work, check out my website and follow me on Instagram. Previous issues of my blog can be found here.
Credits:
All images by Hilda Champion unless noted otherwise.