12/3: Kathmandu: Coming of Age for Newari Girls in Bhaktapur

We didn’t get going out to the nearby city of Bhaktupur til well after 10 as I had wanted to finish writing the second post on our trip to Bagan while we still had electricity at the hotel and Steven had had to go to the money exchange once again. We had not seen any banks in the section of Kathmandu we were staying in but there were plenty of ATMs around.

Long line of buses waiting to buy diesel gas en route to Bhaktupur. Our driver estimated they had been waiting for a week already!

We’d been going through money like water in Kathmandu as admission fees to the temples and the city squares were steep. In addition, taxi fares were easily quadruple the price we had been paying because of the price of fuel due to the blockade. Taxi drivers regularly turned off their engines when stalled in heavy traffic or at traffic lights to save gas.

Both grabbing a bite to eat and souvenirs were really inexpensive however. We also read in one of the local English language papers that Nepal was in the midst of a humanitarian crisis because India wouldn’t permit the shipment of medications across its borders.

We passed another large wedding procession and our driver said it was ‘wedding season’ and that the cold months are the times to get married in Nepal. Natalie: I wonder if you and Adam will also decide to get married in the winter months as Dad and I did?

Photos from Bhaktapur:

It had been a 45 minute ride to the city of Bhaktupur that was located just 12 km east of the capital. We had hardly gotten out of the car that the driver had parked near Durbar Square when a man approached us and said he was a guide and he would like to show us around his city. He had me pegged as Canadian born and bred within a minute of my opening my mouth, he spoke great English and we both thought hiring a guide to show us around the city would be a good use of our time. We had planned to do our own walking tour but then thought we’d benefit from his knowledge and insight into his native city. His price for the 90 minute tour seemed fine and so we were off to discover Bhaktapur.

Bhaktapur is one of 3 'Royal Cities' in the Kathmandu Valley and its Palace area was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Monument.

The pretty entrance to the police station.

Mini Pashupati Temple, aka the holy god Shiva temple, was built right in front of the palace.

The City Art Museum

The building was known as the 55 Window Palace as the 17^th century king had 55 wives and there was one window for each wife – what lucky ladies, I say sarcastically! The Palace served as the seat of royalty prior to 1769.

Above and below, the Golden Gate of Bhaktapur, built in 1756, is the main entrance to the courtyard of the main palace. The door was surrounded by a figure of the Hindu goddess Kali and was embellished with monsters and other Hindu mythical creatures. It has been described by an art historian as the loveliest piece of art in the whole (Nepali) Kingdom.

Durbar Square is also home to the Big Bell, built by the last Malla king of Bhaktapur in the 18th century. It was rung to pay homage to the Goddess Taleju and to alert the public to town meetings. Today it is rung twice a day as a tribute to the Goddess Taleju. Next to this bell was the Barking Bell, so named because dogs bark to its ring.

The intricate window wood carvings allowed light and fresh air in while ensuring the women living inside had privacy from prying eyes.

Our guide told us the tiny door above was built on purpose to ensure that those who entered through it bowed and paid respect each time.

Our guide joked and said the No Photo sign we saw as we entered the palace area was for the Chinese as they are known to not look at what they are seeing but only stop long enough to take a gazillion photos of the sights around them, Of course Steven had to pipe up and say that I also like to take loads of photos, not that anyone reading this blog would ever know, I’m sure!

The seventeenth century King Royal Baths: Water comes from up to 20 kms away for people who had none of their own water at home. The snake below is considered to be a sacred animal in Nepal and protects its people.

How incredibly peaceful walking down the narrow street in this market area after leaving Durbar Square.

We had passed several women knitting and crocheting. The woman above could sense I admired her work and gestured to me I could knit a few stitches. Kay: I thought of you as she was using two strands of yarn just as you were doing the first time I met you at Loving Hands.

This market area was so peaceful and delightful to walk thorough as it had none of the hubbub of other ones. The lane led directly into Pottery Square.

Interesting seeing the display of Ghurkha knives and swords after hearing stories in my youth of my maternal English forebears and their exploits in India.

Photos of Pottery Square:

Items made from Newari clay dry in the sun for 4-5 days and are then baked, our guide said.

Images from the small temple in Pottery Square above.

 The woman was applying a glaze.

Piggy banks, Nepalese style; Once you break it open, the bank is destroyed. Unlike piggy banks that I was familiar with as a child, there was nothing on the bottom you could unscrew to open it up.

Above and below, the Nyatapola Temple located in Taumadhi Square: Nyatapola in Newari language means five stories which is symbolic of the five basic elements. This is the highest pagoda ever built in Nepal. Our guide told us that each pair of animals or figures was 10x stronger than the pair below it. i.e. the elephant is 10 times stronger than the man, the lion is that much stronger than the elephant, etc. 

The former temple in the same square was converted into a thriving cafe.

We saw 'singing bowls' being sold everywhere in Bhaktapur but we had bought one in Irkutsk, Siberia when we took the Trans Siberian train across Russia and Mongolia a couple of years ago. If you haven't seen it already, remind us to show it to you when you're next over at the house so you can hear the beautiful sounds the bowl makes.

We could hear a marching band playing and went in search of it. There was a parade and the guide told us it was World Handicapped Day and the participants were on their way to Durbar Square for a big celebration.

One of the ruined temples in Bhaktapur caused by the April earthquake. It was fun walking up the steps as we had glorious views from the top of the surrounding square.

We saw a number of Thangka Painting Schools while in Bhaktapur but we didn't stop in any as we had already bought 2 of the Tibetan religious paintings the previous day in Kathmandu. Our tour guide wasn't too happy with us as he had hoped to earn a commission when he took us to one of the galleries.

Our guide told us the tour was finished after this even though he had told us initially it was supposed to last 90 minutes even though it was less than an hour. We told him that of course and he just shrugged and said some tours are shorter. To say we weren’t happy when he demanded the full payment was an understatement. We then wandered around other parts of Bhaktapur by ourselves but it was a frustrating time as we got hopelessly lost.

Multicolored Ganesh Shrine: The god is worshipped in the form of a rock that naturally resembles an elephant’s head.

Tented homes for earthquake survivors located away from the touristy Durbar Square area.

Above and below: Tripurasundari Temple, famous for its strut roof.

Street scenes:

The intricate wooden lattice windows were a common feature in Bhaktapur.

Another wedding procession complete with a marching band that we had heard a couple of blocks away. Nina: You would have loved hearing the bands!

Another water tank or hiti as it was known locally.

Back in Durbar Square where there was a ceremony celebrating Handicapped Awareness Day.

Photos of Bahra Tayegu Ceremony:

As we wandered aimlessly up and down the streets of Bhaktapur, we happened on this ceremony which I discovered later was called Bahra tayegu. It is a coming of age ritual in Nepali's Newar community in which girls between the ages of 5 to 13 are married to the sun god in a 12 day ceremony.

 Bahra tayegu is a second marriage for Newari girls, the first one being ihi: the marriage with the bael fruit. When the girl is chosen for the ceremony the priest is consulted for a suitable date and place for ceremony. 

For the first 11 days the girl is kept in darkness away from sunlight and any male contact. This is done to symbolize the purification of the girl before her marriage to the sun god on the twelfth day. For the first 5 days she is not allowed to clean herself or eat salted food. After the 6th day her female relatives come to visit her with variety of food delicacies. Also from this day onward the girls has to put on a special facial called Kaoo to make her beautiful. 

On the twelfth day the girls wake up before the sunrise to take a complete bath. Then she is dressed up in traditional wedding dress with red sari and heavy gold jewelry as if it were an actual wedding. Finally in an elaborate ritual the priest weds the bride with the sun. The girl is veiled all the time during the ceremony and at the end she lifts her veil and looks at the reflection of the sun on water. The final day is marked with a traditional party and celebrations. That is what we were fortunate enough to witness.

After watching and taking lots of photos of the beautiful young girls and their mothers, we wandered away to see more of the city before we had to meet the driver again by Durbar Square.

Loved the sign for the Roof Toof Cafe! On the drive back to our hotel in Kathmandu, we made arrangements with our taxi driver to take us to 4 different sights in the Kathmandu Valley the next morning.

Photos of some of the many trekking and souvenir stores in Kathmandu:

Posted on 12/20 from home in Littleton, Colorado!