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Nepalese
people are mainly divided into two distinct
groups, the Indo-Aryans and the Mongoloids.
Kathmandu Valley is the spiritual and cultural
meeting point of all these groups.
Religious practices are an important part
of the lives of the Nepalese people. Mythologies
of various Hindu gods and goddesses abound
in this country and cultural values are
based on the philosophies of holy books
like the Swasthani Gita, Ramayana etc.
Women and children visit neighborhood shrines
at dawn to offer worship to the gods. Holding
plates of rice, flowers, and vermilion powder,
they perform puja by lighting incense, ringing
the temple bell, and applying tika, a red
paste, on their foreheads. Passers by stop
at temples and show their reverence to the
gods by spending a few minutes praying.
Occasionally, groups of men sit near temples
playing music and singing hyms until late
night.
In Nepal, Hinduism and Buddhism are the
two main religions. The two have co-existed
down the ages and many Hindu temples share
the same complex as Buddhist shrines. Hindu
and Buddhist worshipers may regard the same
god with different names while performing
religious rites.
Though Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in
the world, many other religions like Islam,
Christianity, and Bon are practiced here.
Some of the earliest inhabitants like the
Kirats practice their own kind of religion
based on ancestor worship and the Tharus
practice animism. Over the years, Hinduism
and Buddhism have been influenced by these
practices which have been modified to form
a synthesis of newer beliefs.
As a result, visitors to this country may
often find the religious practices in Nepal
difficult to follow and understand. But
this does not prevent one from enjoying
the idifferent traditional ceremonies and
rituals of Nepalese culture. It is indeed
a totally new experience of religious fervor. |
| Thousands
of gods and goddesses make up the Hindu
pantheon. Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva are
he three major Hindu gods who have heir
own characteristics and incarnations. Each
god has his own steed which is often seen
kneeling faithfully outside that god's temple.
Symbolic objects are carried by the multiple
ands of each deity which empowers them to
perform great feats. |
| Sakyamuni
Buddha is the founder of Buddhism who lived
and taught in this part of the world during
the sixth century BC. The great stupas of
Swayambhunath and Bouddhanath are among
the oldest and most beautiful worship sites
in the Kathmandu Valley.
The spinning of prayer wheels, prostrating
pilgrims, collective chants and burning
butter lamps are some Buddhist practices
often encouithtered by tourists. A slip
of paper bearing a mantra is kept inside
the wheels so that prayers are sent to the
gods when the wheel is spun. Scenes from
the Buddha's life and Buddhist realms are
depicted on thangka scroll paintings which
are used during meditation and prayer ceremonies.
Many Buddhist followers are seen performing
these practices in Swayambhunath, Boudanath,
and at other Buddhist sites around the Valley.
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