Nepalese folklore

Last updated

Yeti Yeti by Philippe Semeria.jpg
Yeti

Nepali folklore is a diverse set of mythology and traditional beliefs held by the Nepali people.

Contents

Folk beliefs

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kathmandu</span> Capital and largest city in Nepal

Kathmandu, officially Kathmandu Metropolitan City, is the capital and most populous city of Nepal with 845,767 inhabitants living in 105,649 households as of the 2021 Nepal census and approximately 4 million people in its urban agglomeration. It is located in the Kathmandu Valley, a large valley in the high plateaus in central Nepal, at an altitude of 1,400 metres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Nepal</span>

The current population of Nepal is 29,164,578 as per the 2021 census. The population growth rate is 0.92% per year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeti</span> Alleged ape-like creature from Asia

The Yeti is an ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. In Western popular culture, the creature is commonly referred to as the Abominable Snowman. Many dubious articles have been offered in an attempt to prove the existence of the Yeti, including anecdotal visual sightings, disputed video recordings, photographs, and plaster casts of large footprints. Some of these are speculated or known to be hoaxes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nepal</span> Country in South Asia

Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China to the north, and India to the south, east, and west, while it is narrowly separated from Bangladesh by the Siliguri Corridor, and from Bhutan by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious and multi-cultural state, with Nepali as the official language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mahendra of Nepal</span> King of Nepal from 1955 to 1972

Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, was the ninth King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until his death in 1972, which was due to a heart attack, as told in an interview by his personal physician Dr. Mrigendra Raj Pandey. Following the 1960 coup d'état, he established the partyless Panchayat system, which governed the country for 28 years until the introduction of multi-party democracy in 1990. During his reign, Nepal experienced a period of industrial, political and economic change which opened it to the rest of the world for the first time, after the 104-year-long reign of the Rana rulers, who kept the country under an isolationist policy, came to an end in 1951.

Music of Nepal refers to the various musical genres played and listened to in Nepal. With more than fifty ethnic groups in Nepal, the country's music is highly diverse. Genres like Tamang Selo, Chyabrung, Dohori, Adhunik Geet, Bhajan, Filmi music, Ghazal, Classical music, songs and Ratna music are widely played and popular, but many other less common genres are yet to be cataloged. Western musical genres like Rock, Metal, Hip-Hop, Rap, R&B also regularly feature on the Nepalese music charts. Most of the country's musical bands are based in the Kathmandu valley. Musical genres from Tibet and India have greatly influenced Nepalese music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rai people</span> Kiranti ethnic group Nepal, India and Bhutan

The Rai also known as Khambu and Jimee are ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity. They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal and in southwestern Bhutan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pokhara</span> Metropolitan city in Gandaki Province, Nepal

Pokhara is a metropolitan city in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province and the tourism capital of Nepal. It is the second most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, with 599,504 inhabitants living in 120,594 households as of 2021. It is the country's largest metropolitan city in terms of area. The city also serves as the headquarters of Kaski District. Pokhara is located 200 kilometres west of the capital, Kathmandu. The city is on the shore of Phewa Lake, and sits at an average elevation of approximately 822 m. The Annapurna Range, with three out of the ten highest peaks in the world—Dhaulagiri, Annapurna I and Manaslu—is within 15–35 mi (24–56 km) aerial range from the valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hinduism in Nepal</span>

Hinduism is the main and largest religion of Nepal. In 2006, the country declared itself a secular country through democracy, after the abolition of its monarchy. According to the 2021 census, the Hindu population in Nepal is estimated to be around 23,677,744 which accounts for at least 81.19% of the country's population, the highest percentage of Hindus of any country in the world. Vikram Samvat, one of the two official calendars used in Nepal, is a solar Hindu calendar essentially the same to that widespread in North India as a religious calendar, and is based on Hindu units of time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakhey</span> Demon in Nepalese Folklore

Lākhey is the dance of a demon in the carnival of God.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Majipa Lakhey</span>

Majipa Lakhey is a special lakhey in Nepalese folklore. He is also known as the Peaceful Bhairava. The dance of this Lakhey takes place only in the week of the full moon of the month of Yenlaa of the Nepal Sambat calendar. He is considered to be the protector of the children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirat Mundhum</span> Indigenous religion of the Kirati

Kirat Mundum, also known as Kiratism, or Kirati Mundum, is an Indigenous religion of the Kirati ethnic groups of Nepal, Darjeeling and Sikkim, majorly practiced by Yakkha, Limbu, Sunuwar, Rai, Thami, Jirel, Hayu and Surel peoples in the north-eastern Indian subcontinent. The practice is also known as Kirat Veda, Kirat-Ko Veda or Kirat Ko Ved. According to some scholars, such as Tom Woodhatch, it is a blend of shamanism, animism, and Shaivism. It is practiced by about 3.17% of the Nepali population as of 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dapcha Chhatrebangh</span> Village in Bagmati Province, Nepal

Dapcha Chatrebangh, or Dapcha, is a village near Mount Gaurishankar in Namobuddha Municipality in Kavrepalanchok District in Bagmati Province of central Nepal, about 15 kilometres southeast of the district headquarters of Dhulikhel. It is a ridgetop settlement, and was previously on the trade route that led to Kathmandu.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yomari Punhi</span> Newari festival marking the end of the rice harvest

Yomari Punhi is a Newari festival marking the end of the rice harvest. It takes place in November/December during the full moon day of Thinlā (थिंला), the second month in the lunar Nepal Era calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banjhakri and Banjhakrini</span> Shamanic deities of the Tamang people of Nepal

Banjhākri and Banjhākrini are shamanic deities in the tradition of the Kirati people of Nepal and Sikkim, Darjeeling, and Kalimpong in India. They are a couple, and possibly different aspects of the same being. They are supernatural shamans of the forest. In the Nepali language, ban means "wilderness", jhākri means "shaman", and jhākrini means "shamaness". Banjhākrini is also known as Lemlemey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Himalaya Airlines</span> Airline based in Kathmandu, Nepal

Himalaya Airlines, is a Nepalese airline operating from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal. Himalaya Airlines was founded in 2014 as a joint venture between Yeti World Investment Group and Tibet Airlines. It launched operations in May 2016 with a single Airbus A320. The airline currently flies to eight destinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dance in Nepal</span> Aspect of Nepalese culture

Dance is a performing art form consisting of purposefully selected sequences of human movement. Dance (Nepali: नृत्य/ नाच) in Nepal comprises numerous styles of dances, including folk, ethnic, classical to modern dances. Lakhey is the dance of a demon in the carnival of God. Durbar Square, a historic plaza in Kathmandu, Nepal, facing ancient palaces and adorned by Hindu temples, is always full of eager crowds on the last day of Indra Jatra, the festival celebrating Indra, the Hindu king of heaven. In this divine stage, Lakhe the demon dances among gods and deities relentlessly and carelessly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pimbahal Pond</span> Artificial pond located in Lalitpur, Nepal

Pimbahal Pond is an artificial pond located in Lalitpur, Nepal. According to Nepalese folklore, the pond was built by Lakheys, a type of demon. In 1967, the Nepalese government tried to turn the pond into a market, but received local resistance. Pimbahal Pond was destroyed due to the 1934 Nepal–India earthquake and the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. But was rebuilt after those incidents.

Murkatta is a headless ghost with eyes and mouth in chest and carrying its head tucked under its arm. Murkatta is mentioned in various Nepali culture and traditions. They are considered as the spirits from the dead.

References

  1. Pratt, Christina (1 August 2007). An Encyclopedia of Shamanism Volume 1. The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. p. 54. ISBN   978-1-4042-1140-7.
  2. 1 2 3 Höfer, András; Shrestha, Bishnu P. (1973). "Ghost Exorcism Among the Brahmans of Central Nepal". Central Asiatic Journal. 17 (1): 51–77. JSTOR   41927012 . Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  3. Gaenszle, Martin; Bickel, Balthasar; Banjade, Goma; Lieven, Elena; Paudyal, Netra P; Rai, Ichchha Purna; Rai, Manoj; Rai, Novel Kishore; Stoll, Sabine; Yadava, Yogendra P (2005). "Worshipping the king god: a preliminary analysis of Chintang ritual language in the invocation of Rajdeu".{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Nepal Ghost Tour : Scary and Haunted Places Tour in Nepal – Nepal Spiritual Trekking Blog" . Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  5. "Beware, the Kichkandi is Coming". fridayweekly.com.np. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  6. "Majipa Lakhey Aaju, the Demon who Cares". ECS NEPAL. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  7. Wilson-Howarth, J. (2013). A Glimpse of Eternal Snows: A Journey of Love and Loss in the Himalayas. BRADT TRAVEL GUIDES. Bradt Travel Guides. ISBN   978-1-84162-435-8.
  8. "This Man Searched for the Yeti for 60 Years—and Found It". National Geographic. 19 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.