CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN NEPAL

Cultural differences in Nepal

Cultural differences in Nepal

Background  Nepal now has nearly 30 million inhabitants unevenly scattered throughout the area. There are two main groups: Indo-Nepalese and Tibeto-Nepalese. Each group is composed of many castes (Indo-Nepalese) or ethnic groups and tribes (Tibeto-Nepalese) which express with great pride their linguistic, cultural and religious (Pyakurel Bhattachan 2000). The people of Nepal, both Hindus and Buddhist, are animated by a fervor of religious tinge unequivocally their crops. The population of Nepal is like a patchwork multicultural contributing to Nepal not only a country with many natural attractions, but a society of infinite and cultural diversity.

Nepalese culture

Considering the many people living in Nepal, can we speak of a "culture of Nepal? The term "cultural mosaic" should probably be better to translate the vast cultural diversity of this country. While the Nepali language constitutes a "unifying" as it is spoken by the vast majority of the population. Religion plays a similar role. Hinduism and Buddhism have profoundly influenced the cultures of peoples of Nepal. Like all other peoples of the Himalayas, the people of Nepal are deeply religious. Their fervor is everywhere evident. It is not possible to understand the cultures of Nepal without reference to religious beliefs and practices. The multi-ethnic and multi-caste communities of the Himalayan region are today witnessing the revival of ethnic and religious consciousness leading to widespread social and political upheaval. This collection engages with the rapid social change and acute religious and identity crises that have emerged in an area extending from Gilgit to Eastern Nepal. The volume asks if the rise of tribal groups within the region's elaborate caste system is indicative of an opposition to the nation-state or is a sign of modernity. How are matters of ethnic identity defined and used today? And further, have representations of collective identity and a sense of ethnic belonging changed? In answering these questions, the contributors explore representations of the self and the other among the region's social groups through spatial, historical, and cultural prisms.

In general, one can speak of a Hindu culture and Buddhist culture, divided respectively by the Hindu and Buddhist communities. This should not however obscure the cultural (language, dialect, customs, traditions, mode of social organization, beliefs of local deities, cults and rituals individuals) of various castes, tribes and ethnic groups of Nepal belonging to one or the other group. Nepal is a plural society. And like many of its kind, it faces one problem. All members of this liberal democracy are subjected to the same rights and opportunities, yet at the same time they also enjoy the right to vary in terms of culture and lifestyle. Also after the revolution on 2000, the rights of minorities(especially of janajatis and dalits) are increasingly being emphasized on.

They are encouraged to make their presence felt in the social media, public domains, education etc. The real challenge now is to find a feasible solution, where a balance is struck, between equal rights and ...