The Rich History Of Nepalese Culture, Some Of Which Is Lost Forever
n Saturday, April 25, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, centered outside the capital of Kathmandu, rattling and destroying many of the city's oldest neighborhoods. The worst earthquake to hit the South Asian nation in over 80 years, the quake was strong enough to be felt all across parts of India, Bangladesh, China's region of Tibet and Pakistan. Aftershocks of up to 6.7 magnitude increased the already devastating damage.
As of now, over 4,800 people have been killed by the natural disaster, although the full scale of the damage has yet to be determined, as many mountainous areas and faraway villages remain unreachable. Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told Reuters the death toll could reach 10,000, a number exceeding the 8,500 deaths that occurred in the 1934 earthquake.
Aside from the thousands of lives lost, Nepal's culture was irreparably wounded, as well. As Donatella Lorch wrote in The New York Times: "The Durbar Squares in Katmandu and Patan where tourists thronged -- ancient plazas graced with temples and fountains opposite the old royal palaces -- had been reduced to rubble, with only a few structures left standing. One of my favorite shrines, famous for its white domes and four giant, fearsome brass dragons with talons raised, is now a pile of cracked red bricks and dust."
We reached out to Jan Van Alphen, Director of Exhibitions, Collections and Research at the Rubin Museum of Art -- New York's mecca for art from the Himalayas, India, and neighboring regions. "We're the only museum that deals with this niche of Himalayan Buddhism and Hinduism, art from Nepal and India and Western China," Alphen explained. "Our collection also includes folk religions, shamanism, everything that's happening in the Himalayas, and in extension Mongolia." Van Alphen spoke about the damage and what people can do to help.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/nepal-culture-earthquake_n_7167032.html?utm_hp_ref=arts
This exquisitely crafted gilded répoussé plaque depicts a special birthday celebration common to the Kathmandu Valley known as the Chariot Ritual. It is practiced by both Hindus and Buddhists when an elder reaches the age of seventy-seven.
Dancing Red Ganapati, 16th Century, Southern-central Tibet, Pigments on clot, Rubin Museum of Art
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