Nepal is a South-Asian federal republic with a small area landlocked between China (North) and India. It is famous for the Himalayas, an attractive natural heritage and diversity and a rich cultural heritage with the finest tradition of art from the historic era. It is the remarkable birthplace of Lord Buddha.
Capital city Kathmandu could have been inhabited at least since 300 BC according to archaeological findings. Its indigenous inhabitants are the Newa people, also called Newar. Kathmandu was formerly called Nepal Valley as the kingdom of Newa until 1768. In Nepal bhasa or the language of the Newa, Nepa still refers to what is present-day Kathmandu. This strongly supports a popular belief that the country's name has been derived from Nepa valley.
Nepal bhasa has been recognized as a Tibeto-Burman language and is written in Ranjana script. Derived from Brahmi script, Ranjana is often scribed in Tibetan manuscripts especially if they are translations from Sanskrit text. Records have it that Nepalese artists and artisans were highly honored in China in the past. It was the traditional school of Newa draftsmen from Kathmandu and their frequent art commissions in Tibet that contributed substantially in the present stage of Tibetan Thanka painting.
Nepal
Although Nepal is predominantly a Hindu country, it has strong affiliation with both Hinduism and Buddhism. Its geographical location rightly explains its role in history as a transit channel for both the worlds leading central Nepal to nurture a unique culture of Kathmandu city as the melting pot. The recent discovery that Newa Buddhists of Kathmandu are the only living Buddhist tradition in practice has attracted the attention of international research community lately.
Over an epic period of more than two millennia, that the serene security of the valley has nourished Newa tradition to sheer abundance is not surprising at all. Despite the infamous 1349 invasion by Shamshuddin Iliyas which destroyed most of the art samples of Kathmandu, the remnants of this great civilization has still secured the valley's status of a World heritage site since 1979. ... Further readings
Golden Gate, 18th Century
Bhaktapur Durbar square
Photo: Yasmine Bhattarai
Samyak Puja, Bhaktapur
Photo: Arpan Shrestha
Patan Durbar square
Photo: Yasmine Bhattarai
Patan Durbar square
Photo: Yasmine Bhattarai
© yantrakala, 2009