Nepal (
नेपाल) (
Nepali:
नेपाल [neˈpal](
listen)), officially the
Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked
sovereign state located in
South Asia. It is located in the
Himalayas and bordered to the north by the
People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the
Republic of India. With an area of 147,181 square kilometres (56,827 sq mi) and a population of approximately 30 million, Nepal is the world's 93rd largest country by land mass
[6] and the 41st most populous country.
Kathmandu is the nation's capital and the country's largest metropolis.
Nepal has a rich geography. The mountainous north has eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including the highest point on Earth,
Mount Everest, called
Sagarmatha in Nepali. It contains more than 240 peaks over 20,000 ft (6,096 m) above sea level.
[7] The fertile and humid south is heavily
urbanized.
By some measures,
Hinduism is practised by a larger majority of people in Nepal than in any other nation.
[8] Buddhism, though a minority faith in the country, is linked historically with Nepal. Many Nepali do not distinguish between Hinduism and Buddhism and follow both religious traditions. There are 3 different buddhist traditions: Himalayan Buddhism, Buddhism of Kathmandu Valley (mostly
Mahayana and
Vajrayana), and also the
Theravada Buddhism.
A
monarchy throughout most of its history, Nepal was ruled by the
Shah dynasty of kings from 1768, when
Prithvi Narayan Shah unified its many small kingdoms. However, a decade-long
Civil War by the
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and several weeks of mass protests by all major political parties led to the 12 point agreement of November 22, 2005. The ensuing elections for the
constituent assembly on May 28, 2008 overwhelmingly favored the abdication of the Nepali monarch
Gyanendra Shah and the establishment of a
federal multiparty representative democratic republic.
[9] The first
President of Nepal,
Ram Baran Yadav, was sworn in on July 23, 2008.
Languages
Nepal's diverse linguistic heritage evolved from four major language groups:
Indo-Aryan,
Tibeto-Burman,
Mongolian and various
indigenous language isolates. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) are
Nepali (49%),
Maithili (12%),
Bhojpuri (8%),
Tharu (6%),
Tamang (5%),
Newari/
Nepal Bhasa (3.6%),
Magar (3.4%),
Rai (2.8%),
Awadhi (2.5%),
Limbu (1.5%), and
Bajjika (1%).
Derived from
Sanskrit,
Nepali has roots in Sanskrit and is written in
Devanagari script. Nepali is the official national language and serves as
lingua franca among Nepalis of different ethnolinguistic groups. Regional dialects Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Maithili and rarely Hindi are spoken in the southern
Terai Region. Many Nepalis in government and business speak English as well. Dialects of
Tibetan are spoken in and north of the higher Himalaya where standard literary Tibetan is widely understood by those with religious education. Local dialects in the Terai and hills are mostly unwritten with efforts underway to develop systems for writing many in Devanagari or the Roman alphabet.
Culture
A typical Nepalese meal is
dal-bhat-tarkari.
Dal is a spicy lentil soup, served over
bhat (boiled rice), served with
tarkari (curried vegetables) together with
achar (pickles) or
chutni (spicy condiment made from fresh ingredients). The
Newar community, however, has its own unique cuisine. It consists of non-vegetarian as well as vegetarian items served with alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Mustard oil is the cooking medium and a host of spices, such as cumin, coriander, black peppers, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, methi (fenugreek), bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chillies, mustard seeds, etc., are used in the cooking. The cuisine served on festivals is generally the best.
The
Newari Music orchestra consists mainly of percussion instruments, though wind instruments, such as flutes and other similar instruments, are also used. String instruments are very rare. There are songs pertaining to particular seasons and festivals. Paahan chare music is probably the fastest played music whereas the Dapa the slowest. There are certain musical instruments such as Dhimay and Bhusya which are played as instrumental only and are not accompanied with songs. The dhimay music is the loudest one. In the hills, people enjoy their own kind of music, playing saarangi (a string instrument), madal and flute. They also have many popular folk songs known as
lok geet and
lok dohari.
The Newar dances can be broadly classified into masked dances and non-masked dances. The most representative of Newari dances is
Lakhey dance. Almost all the settlements of Newaris organise Lakhey dance at least once a year, mostly in the Goonlaa month. So, they are called Goonlaa Lakhey. However, the most famous Lakhey dance is the
Majipa Lakhey dance; it is performed by the
Ranjitkars of Kathmandu and the celebration continues for the entire week that contains the full moon of Yenlaa month. The Lakhey are considered to be the saviors of children.
Folklore is an integral part of Nepalese society. Traditional stories are rooted in the reality of day-to-day life, tales of love, affection and battles as well as demons and ghosts and thus reflect local lifestyles, cultures and beliefs. Many Nepalese folktales are enacted through the medium of dance and music.
The Nepali year begins in mid-April and is divided into 12 months. Saturday is the official weekly holiday. Main annual holidays include the National Day, celebrated on the birthday of the king (28 December), Prithvi Jayanti (11 January), Martyr's Day (18 February), and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals such as
dashain in autumn, and
tihar in late autumn. During tihar, the Newar community also celebrates its New Year as per their local calendar
Nepal Sambat.
Most houses in rural lowland of Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework and walls of a mud and cow-dung mix. These dwellings remain cool in summer and retain warmth in winter. Houses in the hills are usually made of unbaked bricks with thatch or tile roofing. At high elevations construction changes to stone masonry and slate may be used on roofs.
Nepal's flag is the only national flag in the world that is not rectangular in shape.
[71] According to its official description, the red in the flag stands for victory in war or courage, and is also color of the
rhododendron, the national flower of Nepal. Red also stands for aggression. The flag's blue border signifies peace. The curved moon on the flag is a symbol of the peaceful and calm nature of Nepalese, while the sun represents the aggressiveness of Nepalese warriors.
Source: Wikipedia
