The wood carvings of Newari temples are fantastic.
However, like the statues in ancient Greece, the pillars originally were painted. I recently came across a temple where the paint had been refreshed:
Color
Chungsi Cave
On his way to founding the Lo Gekhar Monastery, Guru Rinpoche stopped at Chungsi Cave. He meditated here sometime “early in the 8th century,” says the internet, and a small monastery was later established in the cave.
To get there takes a hell of a lot of steep hiking down, followed many stairs back up. If I remember correctly, the descent from the high point of the morning hike was roughly 800 feet. It looks like there are five or six monks living up there. The monastery is very simple and is centered on the cave itself.
While the golden statue of Guru Rinpoche pictured above dominates the front of the cave, Guru Rinpoche himself allegedly slept in a small hole in the cave wall that now serves as a place to leave offerings:
Jhong Cave
Jhong Cave is a five-story network of man-made caves that were carved out of the cliffs close to the Tibetan border. Archaeologists estimate that the caves were used as as burial chambers as early as 1000 BC, but they were put to more dramatic use in the 10th century as refuges during a war with Tibet. Later, the locals used the caves for storage and for meditation chambers, likely up until the point when someone realized that tourists would pay good money to go inside. So let’s take a look.
Next: another cave.
Monasteries, another of a series
This is Lo Gekhar monastery, another AFCP-funded project. Lo Gekhar dates back to the 8th century and is possibly the oldest monastery in Mustang. According to legend, it was founded by Guru Rinpoche, who brought Buddhism from India to Tibet and Nepal (and had to kill demons to build the monastery). The monastery is surrounded by red brick stupas. While modest, Lo Gekhar is incredibly important to Tibetan Buddhism in Nepal.
Next: caves.
Monasteries, one of a series
Nepal is full of Tibetan Buddhist monasteries.
First, Dzong Chode Shedup Choepel Ling monastery, which is being renovated with AFCP funds.
Like many of the recent AFCP projects, the Dzong monastery was heavily damaged by the 2015 earthquake. Exterior detail of the sanctuary:
Perhaps because the sanctuary is still being rehabilitated, we were able to take photographs inside. This was highly unusual.
The dormitories/administrative building is newer. To the right, a row of prayer wheels.
Next: another monastery or two.
Stupas
As is typical of a Buddhist area, Upper Mustang is full of stupas—monuments that contain Buddhist relics and religious items, or just the remains of individuals (whether of note or not).
Some are very simple, while others are more ornate.
More detail from the one on the right:
Generally, there is no information to tell passers-by who is buried in the stupas or what is stored there.
A set of funerary stupas: the red color symbolizes blood, the white symbolizes bone, and the dirt symbolizes ash.
We came across another group of stupas outside the village of Dhakmar. The stupas are located at the foot of hills that are, according to legend, stained red with the blood of demons that Guru Rinpoche had to slay in order to build a monastery.
A different type of stupa: these stupas likely store valuables and religious items rather than human remains. They were restored with U.S. funding from the Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation. Nepal is one of the largest recipients of AFCP funding in the world.
Finally—we came across an unassuming stupa, except for the design which included an opening. I decided to poke my head inside, and was very glad I did. We were able to see the type of painting that usually is only found inside monastery sanctuaries, where photography is not permitted.
Next: monasteries
Upper Mustang
We visited the Upper Mustang region of Nepal recently. Upper Mustang was the independent Lo Kingdom until the Kingdom of Nepal annexed it in the late 1700s, and the king of Lo continued to rule over the territory until 2008, when Nepal became a republic. Upper Mustang borders Tibet and it is isolated from the rest of the country—the government requires tourists to buy an expensive permit to enter the region, to keep it from becoming overdeveloped.
As a neighbor of Tibet, society is heavily influenced by that country. Moreover, Mustang looks like what you would imagine a Himalayan kingdom to look like.
Let’s start with the scenery, because there is a lot of amazing scenery. We were greeted at the airport by a view of Nilgiri mountain, which remained visible for most of our trek. Apart from the agricultural fields, which are irrigated by the river, the land is very dry.
Next: stupas.
More Janakpur
Janakpur is probably the dustiest city I’ve ever visited.
After roaming around and filling my lungs with particulate matter, I ended up at the railway station. I became intrigued watching people get on and off the trains.
Mithila art in the ticket hall.
Janakpur and Janaki Mandir
Back in December, I visited Janakpur, in the south of Nepal. Janakpur is famous for the Janaki Mandir, a temple dedicated to the Goddess Sita, who was consort of Lord Rama. The temple was built in 1910 on the site where, in 1657, a golden statue of the goddess was found. Sita is also known as Janaki, the adopted daughter of King Janak, who—according to legend—found her while he was ploughing in a ritual ceremony. The temple is an important destination for Hindu pilgrims.
By the day, it looks like this:
At night, however, it looks like this:
The temple is full of devotees day and night. Musicians have been playing continuously, 24 hours a day, for the past 20 years.
The pujas are amazingly crowded, with people straining to photograph the idols of the gods inside the sanctuary (despite the “Don’t take picture” signs). I, at least, used a long lens from outside the temple.
If you tour the museum on the temple grounds, you can see dioramas of the life of Sita. Here is a selection: the figure with the blue skin is Lord Rama.
One more set of photos:
More festivals in (better) film photography: Gai Jatra
The festival of Gai Jatra is a day in which people mourn relatives who have died in the past year. It is similar to Halloween, in that it is a day for the dead and children dress up in costume. Specifically, they dress as cows, or paint on mustaches: “Gai Jatra” means “cow festival,” and it originated in the 17th century as the king’s attempt to console and amuse the queen after their son died. (In Hinduism, the cow is the symbol of motherhood.) The tradition caught on, and every year, children and their families parade through the streets carrying memorials of their loved ones while dressed in fun outfits.
In Kathmandu, Gai Jatra includes an additional Halloween-like tradition, in that the children receive gifts of food from festival attendees, presumably because a mourning family isn’t going to cook for itself. For some families, marching bands are also part of the cortege.
In Bhaktapur, it’s a whole different story. Instead of cows and kids, families build enormous towers bearing the portrait of the deceased, and young people parade through the city performing a dance, called ghintang ghisi, in which they arrange themselves in two long queues and hit sticks together. By the end of the day, the processions attract an enormous crowd.
