NTY 2011
PRAGATI SHAHI & ISHWAR RAUNIYAR
A visit to the Nepal National Ethnographic Museum is like a tour around the country in an hour. For Rs. 25 (Rs. 10 for students, Rs. 100 for foreigners and Rs. 50 for SAARC nationals), one could experience and learn about the culture and lifestyle of different communities in Nepal.
Located on the first floor of the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) on the Exhibition Road in Kathmandu, the museum is a centre that showcases the culture and lifestyle of around 15 different ethnic communities dominant in the country.
Among the ethnic communities showcased in the diorama hall are Thakali, Sherpa, Rai, Tamang, Magar, Tharu, Newar, Gurung, Limbu, Chepang, Sunuwar and Brahmin. These groups have been put up in separate rooms that are filled with things representing the community. Thami, Uraub (Jhangad), Raute, Dhimal, Siyar, Lepcha and Barah Gaunle’s aspects of life can also be seen there. Unfortunately, at a time when the country is all
set to host the Nepal Tourism Year 2011, this important museum that serves as a testament to the magnificent diversity of Nepal’s cultural form lacks publicity.
“The public hardly notices this museum,” said Laxmi Lama, office secretary of the NNEM. Though the NTB is a favourite location for meetings, seminars and discussion forums, a majority of people, including the city folk, are not informed about it. “Hardly 10 visitors come to the museum, most of them students, in a day,” she said.
Established jointly by the NTB and the NNEM in 2004, the museum aims at promoting different cultural, social and religious aspects of the multi-cultural Nepali society. “This was established as a model to maintain ethnic harmony,” said Som Prasad Gauchan, former chief of the NNEM. “These ethnic groups reflect Nepal.” “For visitors who cannot afford to reach every part of the country, this mini-Nepal can be a place to learn about the rich cultural biodiversity of the country,” said Gauchan. For students and researchers, this can be a good place to study, he added.
The establishment of the museum was expected to boost the tourism industry besides highlighting the diversity and serving as a centre for learning. “Due to limited space and resources, we are not able to accommodate other ethnic communities prevalent in the country,” Lama said. “The delay in the construction of a larger museum in Kirtipur has further deteriorated the problem.”
The government data states there are 59 ethnic groups accounting for 38 percent of the total population of the country. According to Lama, the government, contrary to the usual trend, has not allocated the budget for the museum this year.
Meanwhile, the government has failed to pay adequate attention to the establishment of an ethnographic museum in Kirtipur. Though the idea was proposed more than a decade ago, the project has been stalled largely in the lack of funds.
A group of anthropologists and sociologists started the work of establishing a museum at Champadevi 14 years ago with the objective of showcasing the cultures and religions in the country. The government has set aside 200 ropanis of land there for the purpose.
Initially, the plan was to build a museum reflecting Nepal’s territorial map and comprising over 100 ethnic groups’ settlements, houses, lifestyles, religions and cultures.
Posted on: 2011-01-04 09:04
http://www.ekantipur.com/2011/01/04/capital/ethnographic-museum-lies-in-an-umbra/327510/
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