Monograph of a Nepalese town

Shrestha has spared neither time nor effort to relate his own meticulously collected fieldwork data to all which is known from archeological, historical, anthropological and religious studies on the religion and culture of the Newar. The end result is a welcome enrichment of all the disciplines mentioned.
This book, started in 2002 as a PhD thesis at Leiden University, has grown into a voluminous treasure of field data covering history, mythology, ritual geography, caste and religion, guthi organisation and socio-economy – all treated in an anthropological framework. It is this holistic approach (reflecting the best traditions of the Leiden school of cultural anthropology) that determines the book’s value, and reference to it should henceforward not be lacking in any serious publication, in whatever discipline, on Newar culture.

The core of this study, linking history, mythology, ritual, and social system – and justifying its title – consists of detailed descriptions of two cults: the local Buddhist cult of Vajra Yogini (the goddess residing in the forest temple above Sankhu, believed to be the creator of the kingdom and first king of Sankhu), and the Svasthani cult originating in Sankhu of which David Gellner, in the Foreword of the book, mentions that its fasting practice (vrata) “has spread out, not just to other Newar settlements, but (…) to the whole of the Nepali speaking world … today this includes Nepalis settled in the USA, UK and the Far East”. Local and global, inside and outside, closeness and distance, Buddhist and Hindu, Tantric, syncretist Newar and classical Vedic, caste based discrimination and modern democracy contained in this field of study represent oppositions, dilemmas, contradictions, complementarities, dynamic interactions in various respects, presented from different angles. As an inhabitant of Sankhu the author, by experience, has internalized these dynamics himself. Therefore he was well placed to collect inside information from many sources.

In the light of tradition and modernity, there are in increasing measure threats to the socio-ritual fabric that defines Sankhu as a town and as a ‘ritual kingdom’, both from outside as well as from inside – and this is the case with most Newar towns in Nepal. Outside factors like land reforms, growing caste consciousness and democratisation have endangered the economical and social foundations (especially guthis) on which public rituals, traditional occupations and festivals depend. Inside factors like political oppositions and fragmentation and cultural indifference have led to the disappearance and neglect of much of the traditional heritage. But on the other hand, the opening up of the town, its improved links with Kathmandu (road connection) and the world (telephone and internet connection, foreign anthropologists, donor support, educational facilities) are creating new opportunities that are being increasingly exploited by the inhabitants of Sankhu. Unfortunately, educational and health facilities, and employment have not much improved in Sankhu, which encourages out-migration. Hope to stop this trend is vested in a better road connection with the mountainous hinterland (trade opportunities) and gradual integration of Sankhu in the Kathmandu metropole (public and private investments). Sankhu may have an added value as a future rural ‘green’ suburb of Kathmandu.

Of particular interest and a great help for scholars are the author’s description and explanation of Nepal eras, calendars, (lunar)months, full-moon days, fortnights (bright and dark halves), religiously important days, an inventory of inscriptions, a complete description of all deities and shrines in Sankhu, and the whole Sankhu (multi)annual ritual and festival cycles, a glossary and bibliography. It is also well illustrated with maps and (black and white) photos.

This book is about anthropological facts, structure and system. It is not about feelings and not about stories: the inhabitant’s joint excitement and joys, their quarrels and fights, friendship, enmity and jealousy, sorrow and mourning, servitude and rebelliousness. And yet, such facts also characterize the town as a community. In daily life, they criss-cross localities, exceed caste distinctions, political and economical divisions, and transgress conventions. And thus they exceed and transgress the anthropological structure but not the anthropological reality. Such issues, completing the story of Sankhu, are to be found in the books by the author’s wife Srilaxmi Shrestha, written in Nepal-bhasa. One of these books is translated as A Cry in the Wilderness, published in 2011 in Kathmandu by Vajra Publications.

Sjoerd Zanen is senior trainer/consultant at MDF (www.mdf.nl; sz@mdf.nl)