Country, Where the Gods are More than People

Occupation: Leading Research Fellow, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, RAS
Affiliation: Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences
Address: Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

Journal name

Asia and Africa Today

Edition

Issue 12

Pages

80-83

Abstract

The article deals with the confessional situation in Nepal and its distinctive features. Now the state is secular, but until 2008 the country was a Hindu kingdom, so most of the inhabitants consider themselves adherents of this religion. Nepali Hinduism differs from the common Indian model. Here, the cult of the living goddess Kumari, formerly associated with royal authority, is still preserved. Nepali Hinduism retains many archaic features. They are expressively manifested, for example, in the veneration of the ancient deity Indra, who lost his importance in Indian Hinduism, but retained in Nepal. The festival dedicated to him, Indra Jatra, is one of the most popular and crowded in the Kathmandu Valley.

Buddhism does not dominate in Nepal, but plays an important role in the social and cultural life of the country. To begin with, here is the birthplace of the founder of the doctrine of the Buddha Shakyamuni, therefore Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world rush here. Buddhist and Hindu traditions are so closely intertwined in Nepal that it is sometimes difficult to find the border between them. Nepal is a multi-ethnic country, therefore, each nation Buddhism has its own local flavor. Nepali Buddhism is caste in nature, although Buddhism is not initially compatible with castes. Legally abolished in 1963 castes continue to exist in modern ethnographic reality. Of particular interest is Buddhism, which is practiced by the Nevars, the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. Probably, it developed under the noticeable influence of Tibet, more precisely, the tantric Buddhism of the Vajrayana. This complex ethno-confessional panorama of Nepalese life is practically not investigated in Russian oriental studies.

This article is based on fieldwork of the author.

Keywords

Nepal, Hinduism, the kingdom, Buddhism, ethnic and religious situation

Publication date

13.12.2019

Number of characters

15048

Cite

GOST	Albedil M. Country, Where the Gods are More than People // Asia and Africa Today – 2019. – Issue 12 C. 80-83 [Electronic resource]. URL: https://asaf-today.ru/S032150750007662-0-1 (circulation date: 23.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S032150750007662-0
MLA	Albedil, Margarita "Country, Where the Gods are More than People." Asia and Africa Today 12 (2019):80-83. DOI: 10.31857/S032150750007662-0
APA	Albedil M. (2019). Country, Where the Gods are More than People. Asia and Africa Today (12), pp.80-83 DOI: 10.31857/S032150750007662-0

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