Nepal is a country that belongs to Asia – Asia. It has no sea coast, and the capital of Nepal is Kathmandu. The country’s official language is Nepalese. The country’s economy is based mainly on agriculture, responsible for more than 75% of jobs in the country.
History
Archaeological evidence shows that Neolithic humans moved to the Himalayas at least 9,000 years ago.
The first written records date from the Kirati people, who lived in eastern Nepal , and the Newars from the Kathmandu valley. Stories of his exploits begin around 800 BC.
Both Hindu Brahmin and Buddhist legends relate the tales of Nepal’s ancient rulers. These Tibetan-Burmese peoples have a prominent place in ancient Indian classics, suggesting that close ties limit the region almost 3,000 years ago.
A crucial moment in the history of Nepal was the birth of Buddhism. Prince Siddharta Gautama (563-483 BC), of Lumbini, reneged on his real life and devoted himself to spirituality. He became known as the Buddha, or “the enlightened one”.
Medieval Nepal
In the 4th or 5th century, the Licchavi dynasty moved to Nepal from the Indian plain. Under Licchavis, trade ties with Nepal and Tibet China expanded, leading to a cultural and intellectual revival.
The Malla dynasty, which ruled from 10 to 18 centuries, imposed a uniform Hindu legal and social code on Nepal. Under pressure from inheritance struggles and Muslim invasions from northern India, Malla was weakened in the early 18th century.
The Gurkhas, led by the Shah dynasty, soon challenged the Mallas. In 1769, Prithvi Narayan Shah defeated the Mallas and conquered Kathmandu.
Modern Nepal
The Shah dynasty showed weakness. Several of the kings were children when they took power, so that noble families vied to be the power behind the throne.
In fact, the Thapa family controlled Nepal from 1806 to 1837, while the Ranas took power from 1846 to 1951.
Government
As of 2008, the former Kingdom of Nepal is a representative democracy.
Nepal’s president serves as head of state, while the prime minister is the head of government. A Cabinet or Council of Ministers fills the Executive Branch.
Nepal has a unicameral legislature, the Constituent Assembly, with 601 seats. 240 members are directly elected; 335 seats are granted by proportional representation and 26 are appointed by the Council of Ministers.
The Adala Sarbochha (Supreme Federal Court) is the highest court.
The current president is Ram Baran Yadav, the former Maoist rebel leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (aka Prachanda) is prime minister.
Official languages
According to the Constitution of Nepal, all national languages can be used as official languages.
There are more than 100 recognized languages in Nepal. The most commonly used are Nepali (also called Gurkhali or Khaskura), spoken by about 60 percent of the population, and Bhasa Nepal (Newari).
Nepali is one of the Indo-Aryan languages, related to the European languages.
Nepal Bhasa is a Tibetan-Burmese language, part of the Sino-Tibetan language family. About 1 million people in Nepal speak this language.
Other common languages in Nepal include Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Gurung, Tamang, Awadhi, Kiranti, Magar, and Sherpa.
Population
The population is essentially rural (Kathmandu, the largest city, has less than 1 million inhabitants).
Nepal’s demographics are complicated, not only by dozens of ethnic groups, but by different castes, who also function as ethnic groups.
In total, there are 103 castes or ethnic groups.
The two largest are Indo-Aryan: Chetri (15.8% of the population) and Bahun (12.7%).
Others include Magar (7.1%), Tharu (6.8%), and Tamang Newar (5.5% of each), Muslim (4.3%), Kami (3.9%), Rai (2, 7%), Gurung (2.5%) and Damai (2.4%).
Each of the other 92 castes / ethnic groups represents less than 2%.
Religion
Nepal is primarily a Hindu country, with more than 80% of the population adhering to that faith.
However, Buddhism (at around 11%) also has a great influence. The Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was born in Lumbini, in southern Nepal.
In fact, many Nepalese people combine Hindu and Buddhist practice; many temples and shrines are shared between the two religions, and some deities are worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists.
Minority minority religions include Islam, with about 4%, the syncretic religion called Kirat Mundhum, which is a mixture of animism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Sivaista, at about 3.5%; and Christianity (0.5%).
Geography
Nepal covers 147,181 square kilometers (56,827 square miles), located between the People’s Republic of China to the north and India to the west, south and east. It is a geographically diverse, landlocked country.
Of course, Nepal is associated with the Himalayan mountain range, including the world’s highest mountain, Mt. Everest. Standing at 8,848 meters (29,028 feet), Everest is called Saragmatha or Chomolungma in Nepalese and Tibetan.
Southern Nepal, however, is a tropical monsoon plain, called the Plain Tarai. The lowest point is Kanchan Kalan, just 70 meters (679 feet).
Most people live in the central mountainous region with a temperate climate.
Climate
Nepal is at roughly the same latitude as Saudi Arabia or Florida. Due to its extreme topography, however, it has a much wider range of climatic zones than these places.
The southern Tarai Plain is tropical / subtropical, with hot summers and warm winters. Temperatures reach 40 ° C in April and May. Monsoon rains bathe the region from June to September with 75-150 cm (30-60 inches) of rain.
The central hill-lands, including in Kathmandu and Pokhara valleys, have a temperate climate, and are also influenced by monsoons.
In the north, the high Himalayas are extremely cold and increasingly dry with increasing altitude.
Economy
Despite its tourism and potential energy production, Nepal remains one of the poorest countries in the world.
Per capita income for 2007/2008 was only US $ 470. More than 1/3 of Nepalese live below the poverty line, in 2004, the unemployment rate was a shocking 42%.
Agriculture employs more than 75% of the population, and produces 38% of GDP. The main crops are rice, wheat, corn and sugar cane.
Nepal exports clothing, carpets and dams.
The civil war between Maoist rebels and the government, which started in 1996 and ended in 2007, severely reduced Nepal’s tourism industry.
Geographic location
Nepal, located in South Asia, borders the People’s Republic of China and the Indian Union. Its territory extends over 140,798 square kilometers and is very steep and more than half of the north of the country is wedged in the highest Himalayan peaks like Everest, 8,840 meters high, Kinchinjuga, 8,585 m, and Makalu, 8,472 meo Dhaulagiri, 8,170 m among other peaks.
The southern region of the country is composed of a low and fertile plain 25 to 40 kilometers long, called Terai that crosses the Mahabhart Lekh mountain range with altitudes that range between 1,500 and 2,700 m.
The Siwalik Mountains rise further south, although they only reach altitudes ranging from 250 to 1,500 m. Between these mountains, on the path called Terai inland, extends an exuberant jungle in which most of the fauna inhabits, today in serious danger of extinction.
The fluvial network is tributary of the Ganges and they emphasize the river Sarda, Karnali, Bheri, Trisuli and the Arun with its tributary the Sunkosi. The deepest lake in the country is Phewa Tal.
Fauna and Flora
Regardless of what it might look like, due to the heights reached in Nepal, the flora is exuberant and very varied, as well as its rich and diverse fauna.
The flora varies from the high altitudes of the Himalayas, which have six different types of vegetation to the subtropical valleys. You can stroll through woods full of magnolias, rhododendrons, whose tree variety is considered as the national flower of Nepal, conifers or pins, as well as among flowers of captivating colors and aromas.
Nepalese fauna is also surprising. At the highest altitudes you can contemplate oxen, snow leopards, wolves and vultures of the Himalayas, game and rooks. In the lower areas, thirty species of wild animals stand out, with tigers and rhinos as the most representative. In addition, there are numerous fish, eight hundred varieties of birds, dozens of classes of butterflies and innumerable insects. The typical animal of the country is the yak.
History
Nepal’s prehistory is not clear until the 8th century BC. Legend has it that the Kathmandu Valley was originally a beautiful lake in which the lotus flower floated from which a magical light emanated. The Chinese patriarch Manjushri decided, in the face of so much beauty, to drain the water from the lake so that the flower lands on the ground and used his sword to cut the wall that closed the valley and allow the water to come out.
In the place that the lotus posed, the patriarch built a temple, the Swayambhunath stupa and a small wooden village called Manjupatan. It is unknown whether this legend contains any truth. But the truth is that geologists proved that the Valley was in ancient times covered with water.
In the 8th century BC, Kirati Culture emerged with the invasion of these peoples who founded a kingdom in the valley in which 28 monarchs like Yalambar, the most famous of them, ruled. Kirati were avid merchants and livestock keepers.
Then came the Lichhavis from India and reigned from the 4th century to the 7th AD. The Takuris had Amshurvarma as their main monarch, succeeding them the Gupta Dynasty that managed to make this country an independent kingdom.
From the 13th to the 18th century, the Mallas that consolidated the hegemony of Nepal came to power. In the middle of century XIX, Jung Bahadur Rana was made with power assassinating the legitimate monarch, putting in his place an iron forehead named by him, constituting the hereditary position, that governed under the title of Prime Minister Rana. The Rana ruled Tibet for a century until, in 1940, a popular uprising ended this dictatorship.
In 1951 King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram returned to Nepal, who died four years later and was replaced by his son Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah. The country joins the United Nations. In 1959 a new Constitution is promulgated and the first elections of the country in which the Congress Party wins are celebrated.
However, a year later, the monarch ends the fledgling democracy by declaring the parliamentary system ineffective. From 1961 onwards, a system of directed democracy was proclaimed without political parties. In 1972 the king dies and is succeeded by his son Birendra who continues with the same policy as his father.
In 1980, a popular consultation ratified the king’s power while despising parliamentary democracy.
In 1983 the king nominated Nepal as a state of peace and received the support of 37 countries which in 1988 will already be 97 countries, with the exception of India and Moscow, which does not recognize this zone of peace.
In 1990 the king dissolved the Assembly and a new government was formed with KP Bhattaral as prime minister. The monarch presents a new Constitution in which multi-party democracy is established. In 1994 King Birendra Shah continues as Head of State and as head of government that runs the nation, Mohan Adhikari.
Art and culture
In architecture, the pagodas, typical of Nepal, stand out, consisting of a multi-storey temple with overlapping roofs that are usually covered with patinated bronze copper. Stupas are sacred sites of great size that hold the relics of the gods, while shikaras are built on a square base, on which the weight of the building is supported by pillars.
Nepalese sculpture is very beautiful and delicate. The motives of these pieces are, generally, religious and magical. The wooden sculptures are beautiful.
The main instruments of music are drums, flutes and harmonies, although in monasteries the sounds emitted by the huge metal horns, smaller trumpets, bone flutes, cymbals and snails are typical. These sounds join the human voice that emits different sounds in the form of barking, weeping, grunting and wailing. More popular is the one interpreted with the damiyen, instrument similar to the ukelele and that is the most used for the dances.
Folk dance can be seen in any corner of Nepal. Dancers usually carry small bells on their feet that accompany the music, the steps are varied and very cheerful. These dances vary depending on the tribes and can be simple or very complicated, such as those interpreted by women with metal plates in their hands on which they are placed on.
There are also dances with masks typical of Bhaktapur in which battles between gods and evil forces are represented. The dancers of Nawa Durga also cover themselves with masks but, in this case, they are venerated because they are believed to be possessed by the gods they represent.
Although it is not usual to find them today, there are still troubadours who travel all over Nepal telling stories, accompanied by a four-string viola made of a single piece of wood. This one is touched with a small arc to which small bells are subjected. If you have the opportunity, be sure to listen to their narrations.
Nepal
Capital: Kathmandu
Language : Nepal
Currency : Nepalese Rupee
Climate: Polar in altitude
Time zone (UTC): +5: 45
attractions
Bhaktapur
The most medieval of the Kathmandu valley cities, it has stunning architecture from the end of the 17th century. The main attractions can be seen on a walking tour, through Durbar Square, with its temples, statues and columns.
Another square, Taumadhi Tole, has the largest temple in the valley, Nyatapola, and Til Mahadev Narayan, a place of pilgrimage. One of the main attractions, however, is the day-to-day life of families, which includes drying the beans in the sun, artisans at work, or even children’s games.
Dakshinkali
The Dakshinkali temple is dedicated to the six-armed goddess Kali, consort of Shiva, in the bloodiest incarnation. Twice a week, Nepalese bring buffalo, chickens, ducks and other animals, which are beheaded and offered to the goddess. Blood is dredged through a canal, and collected for use at parties, especially in October, at the Dasain festival.
Patan
The city has many temples and skilled artisans. This is revealed in its buildings, mainly in Parça Durbar, in Newari architecture, including the Royal Palace and the Jagannarayan Temple. Nearby are the Buddhist monastery, Golden Temple, and the oldest temple, built in 1392, the Kumveshawar Temple.
One foot on the most spectacular trails on the planet, the other in sublime temples. Or rather, the two feet, the rest of the body and the whole soul, sometimes on the trails, sometimes in the temples in one trip. This is the experience of those who decide to cross the planet to visit Nepal , a kingdom nestled in the hillside of the Himalayas and surrounded by India and China, in south-central Asia.
Population
Nepal’s population is a mix of related and unrelated ethnic, religious and tribal groups. These are divided into three main divisions. First are the Newar, a people who have their ancestry back to the oldest known history in Nepal. A second group consists of Hindus who came from India, during and after the 1200s.
Nepali, the official language of Nepal, is an Indian language brought by the first Hindu immigrants. Third are tribes that originated mainly in Tibet and Mongolia. They include the Tamang, the Kiranti, the Magar, the Gurung, and the Sherpa.
The Newar live throughout the extensive Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal. Most are farmers, traders, or government officials. The tribal groups that came from the north a long time ago are mainly Buddhist.
The Gurungs, known outside Nepal as Gurkhas, live west of Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The Gurkhas are famous as the tough mercenary soldiers who served in both the British and Indian armies for almost two centuries. Also known are the Sherpas, a people resistant to mountaineering whose villages are located high in the Himalayas. Sherpas raise cattle and yaks, and some serve as porters and guides for mountain climbers.
Lifestyle
The typical Nepalese village is made up of two-story stone or clay brick houses, which are grouped on the slopes above flat valleys or above irrigated terraced fields. In most areas, rice is the staple food. Occasionally, mixed dishes of vegetables and fish or chicken are served.
Tea is the most popular drink, and among Sherpas, it is taken with salt and butter.
Clothing is varied and generally colorful. Blouses and long skirts are worn by women, while men wear knee-length tunics and tight pants.
For Nepalese, who are mainly farmers, family life provides its own entertainment and excitement. Weddings feature elaborate celebrations. At harvest, men and women perform the traditional rice dance. In October, when herds are brought down from the highest valleys for the winter, each Gurung man brings the head of a ram that he killed to the clan party.