The political heritage of the Magar people. (Translated in English)

Source: www.onlinekhabar.com

Author: Rajkumar Dikpal

 When the situation came, Kazi Abhiman Singh Rana had to cut Karbir Pandey. Rajyalakshmi, the youngest queen of King Rajendra, who was in power at that time, ordered to cut off these qazis. According to the queen's order, the alleged killer of her beloved Kazi Gagan Singh, Birkeshar Pandey, had to be killed immediately, said Abhiman Singh Rana.

V.S. On 3 August 1903, the then powerful Qazi (Minister) Gagan Singh was mysteriously assassinated. In order to find the killer, the officials were ordered to gather at Kot and blow the bugle. However, Abhiman Singh was reluctant to cut Birkeshar, saying that such a thing could be done only after the red seal of King Kayalanama came.

The situation was becoming very tense. The then Mulkaji, i.e. Prime Minister Fatya Jung Shah, was also brought to Kot. He reminded the queen as much as he could. The queen herself drew her sword and tried to cut off the head of Virkeshar Pandey. At that time, Fatya Jung, Dalbhanjan and Abhiman Singh barely reminded the queen and took her upstairs.

Seeing such fear of Kot, Kazi Abhiman Singh Rana, who had come with his subordinate army personnel to save himself, was stopped by the guard. At the behest of Jung Bahadur, another army officer attacked Abhiman Singh in the chest. As Abhiman Singh falls, he reveals his secret and shouts, "There is a war to kill Gagan Singh."

Who will listen to the name of Abhiman Singh Rana as Gagan Singh's killer in the Kot Parva organized in a big strategy?

Thus, with the last breath of Abhiman Singh Rana Magar at the Kot Festival, the old high-level political legacy of the Magars with the then state power also came to an end.

Abhiman Singh was one of the ministers in the cabinet led by Fatya Jung along with three platoons. At that time, Fatya Jung had three regiments and Gagan Singh had seven regiments (same: 189).

Magar's old legacy

History Reading Baburam Acharya's' Brief Biography of His Majesty King Prithvinarayan Shah '(2061: 6) shows that when the descendants of Jain Khan, the ancestor of Nepal's former dynasty, were divided into five Thakurais, they settled in the Magars' settlement. In that too, Drabya Shah, B.Sc. Around 1616, he established a kingdom in Gorkha.

According to Acharya (2061: 12), the Magars of Gorkha started progressing from the time of Ram Shah. During this time, Siddha Lakhan Thapa Magar made Manakamana a holy place. It is true that Gangaram Rana was made an officer of the Department of Justice during the reign of Drabya Shah. Reading Acharya (2061: 126), it is known that Prithvinarayan Shah's journey to Benaras was also attended by dignitaries like Jasivant Rana and Devu Rana.

However, there is written evidence that the Magars had an important political legacy in their place four hundred and fifty years before the time of Drabya Shah.

Dhanbajra Bajracharya and Mahesh Raj Pant were mentioned in the footnote by historian Gyanmani Nepal as mentioned in 'Nepal Nirupana' (2055: 125-126). The name and surname 'Sohav Rane' has been found in the place of Jhanteshwar Mahadev found in western Nepal in 1157 BS. There is evidence that Sohab Rane was an important Magar personality as the word 'Magvarvishaya' was mentioned in the copperplate and one of them was Sohav Rane.

As the copperplate mentions 'Ida Bhavo Dhaknap and Sohav Rane', he was the first of the Panchali Guthiars to have the surname Bhavo or Bhao. A second local man and a third Rana Magar appear. Nepal has mentioned in this copperplate that it is called 'Magvarvishaya', so it can be said that Jhanteshwar was located in Magarat of Gandaki region of western Nepal. This proves that the Magar text was of historical significance.

'Magarat' accepted by Prithvinarayan Shah

Reading the 'Divine Sermon of Bada Maharaj Dhiraj Shri 5 Prithvinarayan Shah' (2061: 28-59) edited by Baburam Acharya and Yogi Narharinath, it is clear that Prithvinarayan Shah accepted 'Magarat'. Here Prithvinarayan says that he is the king of Magarat.

He also gave this sermon to his grandfather (a man who took care of him from his childhood) Surath Singh Rana at the Nuwakot Durbar as a witness. Accordingly, Prithvinarayan Shah expressed his intention to become the 'King of Nepal' with his uncle Palpali Yuvaraj Udyot Sen, who had reached Gorkha with the intention of visiting various places of pilgrimage including Pashupatinath and Gorakhnath.

When Prithvinarayan Shah reached Makwanpur and returned to Gorkha through the Chandragiri hills empty-handed, he saw the state of Nepal (Kathmandu Valley) and looked at the state. This is the reference he made to Mama Udyog Sen.

When Mama asked him what kind of army he had, he said that he had Brahmin, Khas, Magar and Thakuri armies. Then the uncle called the ‘Brahmin’s rider’ the vail (bull). It seems to be a sin, Thakuri's rider is Singh. The horse of the Magar is called Tagan horse. It is slow. The rider is a fresh Turkish horse. I would like to ride a horse. '

In this, Magar is called a slow caste. This reference also comes in the time of Narabhupal Shah. This will be mentioned again.

In Gorkha, Prithvinarayan Shah had assigned Arjyal, Khanal, Pandey, Pant, Bohara and Rana Magar while determining the six-storied house. According to his tradition here, Kazi Abhiman Singh Rana was in a high position in Kot Parbat.

Prithvinarayan Shah gave the children of Pandey, Basnet, Pant and Magar of Gorkha important responsibilities to their children after their death and even if they paused to die. He was instructed to kill and send to the toughest battles.

Salt straighteners

Prithvinarayan Shah, during the expansion of the state, became king one year after he became king. In 1800, Biraj Thapa Magar and Gaureshwar Panth were sent to attack Nuwakot under Kantipur. However, they returned to Gorkha without any achievement. However, Prithvinarayan Shah succeeded in attacking Nuwakot for the second time.

Reading the mouthpiece of the Department of Archeology 'Prachin Nepal' No. 21 (November, 2029: 27), it is found that Devu Rana, Jaswant Rana, Narkeshar Thapa Granji, Narbir Ale, Sakrajit Thapa, Suget Rana, Mansingh Ale, Rudradev Thapa Pulami and many other Magar troops were deployed in Nuwakot.

From Gorkha, Prithvinarayan Shah attacked Nuwakot with an army including a large number of crocodiles. On the other hand, Gorkhali Qazi Jayant Rana of Narabhupal Shah's time had fled from Gorkha and settled in Nuwakot under Kantipur.

History According to Shiromani Baburam Acharya's book 'A Brief Biography of His Majesty King Prithvinarayan Shah' (2061: 74), Narabhupal Shah planned to invade Nuwakot only once during his reign. This plan was supported by the then Minister Maheshwar Pantha.

At that time, the population of Magars was increasing in Sindhupalchowk and Nuwakot. As they were not afraid of even the king of Kantipur, Kashiram Thapa, a herdsman from Palanchok, was made the nobleman of Nuwakot to control them.

On the orders of Narbhupal Shah, Nuwakot was attacked under the command of Kazi Maheshwar Panth and Sardar Jayant Rana. But the Gorkhali side was defeated. After this defeat, Maheshwar Pantha hurriedly returned to Gorkha and said that the reason for the defeat was the sluggishness of the Magars. When Jayant was fired before he could reach Gorkha, he fled from Gorkha and settled in Kotgaon, southeast of Nuwakot. He later became the nobleman of Nuwakot.

According to Acharya (2061: 165-167), Prithvinarayan sent his men to summon Sardar Jayant of Purvagorkhali. But Jayant said to Prithvinarayan Shah, "Yes, I am your servant." However, he sent a message saying, "I ate Jaiprakash Malla's salt. I can't leave the salt." Sending such a message, he went to King Jayaprakash Malla of Kantipur to appeal for more troops to fight Gorkhali.

His son Shankhamani was a general in the Mahamandal. Gorkhali was attacked. Shankhamani was killed by Prithvinarayan Shah's brother Dalmardan Shah's sword. Thus V.S. On 15 September 1801, Nuwakot came under the control of Gorkha.

After that, Jayant started living in Belkot in a state of grief even after the miscarriage. Prithvinarayan Shah raided his military camp. He himself climbed on the doli and moved forward to attack. However, Prithvinarayan Shah was preparing to return from the battlefield when the Gorkhali side suffered heavy losses. At that time, Kalu Pandey reached the battlefield with a large army. They grabbed Jayant and brought him back, and took his life by skinning him alive.

If he had joined the Gorkhali faction when Prithvinaran Shah called him, he would not have had to die so harshly, perhaps he would have got the benefit he wanted. But, he honestly straightened the salt, and lost his son, was skinned alive by the enemy and sacrificed.

Lohari Rana and Jasbu Rana seem to have been active among the Magar rulers during the time of Narabhupal Shah. These two Magar Bhardars were also present among the nine Gorkhali witnesses who were given land rights by Narabhupal Shah to Ramu Ghale of Manbu village in Gorkha.

V.S. The copy of this copperplate, issued on 17th June, 1796 BS, was received by the author through Sir Ghale, a descendant of the Ghale family. Along with the names of Lohari and Jasbu Rana Magar, the name of Shivaram Basnet (Shivaram Singh Basnyat) is also mentioned in the copperplate. Abhiman Singh Basnet, popularly known as Bir in Nepali history, is a descendant of Shivaram.

But Qazi, who cut

Among the Magar Qazis who have carried the old political legacy from the Gorkha Durbar, the famous Qazis do not seem to have died in time. During the reign of King Ranbahadur Shah, a very skeptical figure in Nepali history, some crocodiles also fell when the famous princes were killed in a fit of rage.

According to Gyanmani Nepal's 'Mahabharat of Nepal' (2052: 48-49), Kirtiman Singh Basnet was Mulkaji when Ran Bahadur Shah's Mahili Maharani Suvarna Prabha was powerful in the court. He thought of breaking up with the queen. Basnet left the palace at night and was going home on the way to Hattisar. On 6 September 1858, he was beheaded by Nirkanjan Khawas and Samadatta Shahi. The killers fled.

Suvarna Prabha called a meeting. The Chautaris Sher Bahadur Shahi and Bam Shah raised questions about Kirtiman Singh's assassination, but no one was able to speak. Shrikrishna Shah, Bidur Shahi and Kazi Damodar Pandey, who were under suspicion in the murder plot, were rescued. Ranjit Pandey, Rankeshar Pandey, Garbhu Khawas and Indrasingh Khawas were killed.

Three Magar officials were also involved in the incident. Among them, Sardar Pratiman Rana was hacked to death. Devdatta Thapa Magar was blindfolded and Prabal Rana was imprisoned in an iron cage.

Among them Kazi Devdatta Thapa Magar and Pratiman Rana B.Sc. It is known from reading the mouthpiece of the Department of Archeology, 'Ancient Nepal', number 24 (Shravan, 2030: 3) that he led the Nepalese delegation to the Chinese capital with the gift after the war against China and the war fought jointly by China after 1846 BS.

Accordingly, it can be understood that these two Magars also played the role of Nepali Ambassador in the early stages of the expansion of Nepal's international relations. Looking at page 2 of the same issue of this mouthpiece, Sardar Prabal Rana and Bhaskar Rana fought in Kerung during Nepal's war against Tibet and China.

According to Gyanmani Nepal's 'Mahabharat of Nepal' (2052: 56-57), Prabal Rana, who later saved the country, decided to flee the country to save his life. When King Ran Bahadur Shah returned to Nepal after Kashibas, he had accompanied Damodar Pandey to Thankot to welcome him. He was arrested along with Damodar and remanded in custody in Bhadrakali. He advised Damodar to flee at night, but Damodar refused to flee. He escaped on the pretext of diarrhea and reached Gorakhpur to save his life.

During the power struggle between Maharani Rajendra Laxmi and her brother-in-law Rajkumar Bahadur Shah at the palace, Sarbajit Rana, who was appointed as Mulkaji from Rajendra Laxmi, also had to be cut down and die prematurely. According to Gyanmani Nepal's 'Mahabharat of Nepal' (2052: 19-20), at the request of Guru Gajraj Mishra, Bahadur Shah, who was in jail at that time, was released from bondage but he was powerless. At the same time, it was rumored that the queen had an affair with Kazi Sarvajeet. V.S. In August 1835, Bahadur Shah, with the help of his uncle Daljit Shah and Bhardar Shri Harsh Pantha, forced the eight guards to surround the palace. Rajendra Laxmi was imprisoned on the same charge with a silver nail. After this, Bahadur Shah became Sarvesarva.

Prithvinarayan Shah's policy was not to kill his henchmen, but to send them to a difficult battle even if they had made a mistake. However, although Bahadur Shah seems to have adopted many of his father's policies, he seems to have failed in the assassination. He has a history of cutting off Kazi Swarup Singh Karki as well as Kazi Sarbajit Rana.Magar in armed rebellion

Kazi Abhiman Singh Rana, who became the first victim of the Kot Festival, shouted at Sangeen after his piercing his chest, "Gagan Singh's killer is Jange". He openly started the internal preparations for the war against Jang Bahadur by taking his name.

Reading Year 12 Issue 5 (December 1980: 72-75) of the Regmi Research Series, it is learned that Lakhan had given the post of General to Jaysingh Chumi Magar, Biraj Thapa Magar, Juthya Thapa Magar and Jitman Gurung to assassinate Jung Bahadur.

At that time, Lakhan also built a fort-like house surrounded by a wall eight cubic wide and 16 cubic high. He was promoted to B.Sc. On 26 March 1932, the Bhote Army, equipped with shields and swords, also joined. He planned to make Upendra Bikram Shah king and to become the second person, the prime minister, and to assassinate Jang Bahadur in Tarku and Manangbesi. If that did not work out, they would go to Tibet to seek help.

The mouthpiece of the Department of Archeology, Ancient Nepal (April 2031: 15-16), mentions khan Thapa as the incarnation of Lakhan Thapa in the Gorkha area.

However, as mentioned there, I will worship here like the first Lakhan Thapa. When the five build a house and come to the house of the second Lakhan Thapa to worship Manakamana from the village, people will stop worshiping Manakamana. What is clear from this is that Lakhan was not a scoundrel but was popular at that time.

Jang Bahadur's son Padma Jung Rana, in the streets of Gorkha, disguised as a jogi, condemned Lakhan Thapa for looting the people, semi-insane, traitor and revolutionary. However, he also mentioned that Lakhan Thapa has succeeded in building 15 hundred companies, i.e. 15 companies. If Padma Jung's language is to be believed, is it possible for the so-called 'one-maniac and a robber' to build such a large military force?

Thus, Lakhan Thapa, along with some of his colleagues, shouted against the then ruler Jung Bahadur, who was sucking the blood and sweat of the then Nepali people by initiating worldly rule, drafting racist laws and serving the imperialist power. Sacrifice had to be made on February 2, 1933. Jang Bahadur had mobilized the Devidatta platoon and arrested Lakhan and his associates and sentenced them to death at Thapathali Durbar.

When Lakhan revolted in such a systematic manner, he may have recalled the political legacy established by his Magar ancestors, which ended after the loneliness of Jung Bahadur.

Due to the significant number of Magars participating in the Maoist People's War and its main base areas being Rolpa and Rukum, the Magars may have dared to take up arms against tyranny like him, remembering the legacy of their pro-rebel Lakhan Thapa.

Magar Kul Pooja (Kul Pooja _II)

This article is taken from a book named " Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology" Author Name: Prakash Prasad Sapkota

Note: No editing is done by me in this article. 

 Rituals of Magars

All the communities of the world have their own ritual system, formal action and behavior. The life cycle ritual action and behavior of Brahmin-Chhetry, Rai-limbu, Gurung and Magar is different from each other within Nepal, but the ultimate aim is the same i.e. happiness of supreme power, ancestral god. Although, Magars appear similar, their way of performing life-cycle rituals differ from one another according to their geological as well as inherited cultural activities from their ancestors. The birth of an individual is a truth of the beginning of life that brings a person into existence in a group and community member. After the birth in socialization process, it needs to undergo some rituals for its coming future. Worshipping gods and their ancestors is one of the main activities of the Magar community. The newly born child should pass Chhaiti, Nawaran, Bhat khuwai, Chhewar, Marriage and many other ceremonies as well as rites and rituals.

Kul Puja

Worshipping ancestors is the main activity of many caste and ethnic groups. In Brahmin community worshipping kuldeuta is to make ancestors happy and sacrificing he goat, purified rice pudding and flat bread prepared by rice flour. Newar sacrifice goat, chicken, eggs for their ancestor. Similarly Thulung Rai sacrificed previously human blood and kalo jureli but letter they changed into chicken and pigs. Similarly, worshipping kuldeuta is carried out by sacrificing male sheep, cock, pigs, he-goat and other bird species such as pigeons by the Magar of Karnali region (Magar, 2008). In the study area Chiple and Serwai Magar sacrifice chicken and black pigs for their ancestors. The Magars inhabitant of different geographical area give different names such as Kot puja, Brahma puja, Jhakri puja, Barah puja, Kulami puja for their ancestral god. In the study area the Magars use the word Kul puja and Pitri puja.

 

The key element of this ritual lies in sacrifice. It’s taken for granted that offering blood is the effective way to initiate the existence. By offering blood, human being achieved their desired goal. They sacrifice as the ritual killing of substitutes as a way of ensuring contact and communication with ancestors. They employ the symbolism of killing, the shedding of blood in minute qualities to bring about rebirth of the original order and revitalization. For Magar the original effective rite was a blood sacrifice laying the model for later rites which work by communicating with the ancestors with the appropriate blood offering. These rites of Magar can be compared with Vedic and classical Indian sacrifices, in which every act of sacrifice refers back to the creation of  the world. Every sacrifice may be said to replicate the primal act of Prajapati who produced creation by the sacrificial dismemberment of his own body… Any sacrifice… (Parry,1982). The effectiveness of the communication which is linked to its correct performance is similar to the Brahmanism tradition in which in its very carrying out, the order of the world is reproduced and maintained. The right order of sacrifice is, and assures the right order of the world (Herrenschmidt, 1982 cited by Hardman, 2000).

 

According to respondents, their ancestral god must be Chandi Baraha because he accepts pig sacrifice. There is not clear cut demarcation of the years for Kulpuja. In the study area, there is variation in the years of Kulpuja between the Magar clans. Generally, they arrange Kulpuja at the alternate year of 3, 5, 7 or 9 according to their condition. At the last of December or January’s bright half of a lunar month on Wednesday or Friday they arrange this ritual. The small branch of Jhakro is kept on the tap on bath in the morning on that day. The house is purified and smeared by the oil of sesamum’s (Sesamum indicum) seeds.

 

The already prepared pure Jaman (unpurified local wine- called jand), pure rice and ginger are eaten in the late morning. In the mid noon at twelve o’clock, all the members gather in the place of kulpuja. There is not any temple or fixed place for kulpuja. The  clan assembles in an area and elder member determine the place in every ritual time. The older and knowledgeable member of Magar prepares a hut of titepati (Artemisia vulgaris). The side of the hut is covered by the broad leaves of bhorlo (Bauhinia vahlii). The hut has two steps, upper and lower. The ladder of Jhakro is kept against the hut to join two steps. Hens or cocks are also hung oppositely near the ladder of big branch of katus (Castanopsis indica). In the corner of the hut, hangs a chino (a dry cover of the gourd pot). Inside the chino pot they put barley and sesamum’s seeds. Near the ladder, the effigy of kul debata is prepared by the mixture of rice, barley, sesames seeds, ghee etc. When the hens shake their feathers clearly, the people of Magars feel that the god is happy, then after they start the puja. The old and knowledgeable member of Magar worships their kul debata (ancestral god) with aacheta, pati, cooked rice, pure wine and flowers. At the end of worship, a lively heart of black pig is offered by him to their god. The ritual rule is that, if pig is female, the chicken must be male or vice-versa. From each family at least a chicken and a black pig must be sacrificed in that ritual. At the nearly end of worship, the priest or other older people catch the branch of Jhakro and tremble with speaking their past, present as well as occurring future events of their family members. This situation is more terrible for all the members of the family because they believe that god is speaking, who has occult powers. After the end of worship, the priest puts tika to all the members. According to their respected level within their clan, they divide the different parts of the main sacrifices pig and chickens. Then they go to their home. They eat meat, rice, wine and share happiness to all the members (Sapkota, 2010).

 

Kulpuja and Plants

We, humans are heterotrophic organism and totally depend up on the plants and animals for our foods. Plants have been used by human from the early beginning of the civilization and developed to agricultural settlement continuously. Plants and their parts are used for food, timber, fuel, fibers, cloths, medicine etc. by the people according to the nature of the species. People continuously gained and accumulated the knowledge about plants and their proper use. They categories plants in to fuel, foods, timber, fibers, medicine, fuel, oil and recreation. The challenge of accumulation and preservation of knowledge about ecotone species as well as medicinal plant species are linked in certain rituals as well as ceremonies.

In the Himalaya, most of the people live in villages and use plants as medicine, edible/food, fuel, timber, agricultural tools and various other purposes. Age old traditional  values attached with the various forest and varieties of forest products have gained tremendous importance in the present, particularly medicinal plants (Rana Man & Samant, 2011 Uaha & Gyal, 2011). The elders are the information and processing unit of a society. They are valued because they maintain the old tradition, customs, religion and kinship systems that are imperative to the group's survival in a difficult region. They play an important role in traditional medicine in that most often they act as healers, diviners and herbalist.

 

Like other ethnic/caste groups of the world, Lohorung Rai use waiphu (Castinopsis tribuloides), moss species and lichen, leaf of banana titepati(Artemisia Vulgaris). If waiphu is not available they use waiphoo (Castonopsis indica) (Hardman, 2000). Similarly, Brahmin and Chhetri use tulsi (Ocimum sanctum), kush (Desmostachya bipinnata), jau (Hordium vulgare), til (Sesamum indicum) titepati (Artemisia vulgaris), bhringraja (Wedelia calendulacea) for their death ritual for the worship their ancestors to join the soul of death body. In the study area Magar use titepati, jhakro, til, katus, jau, aadua (Zinger officinalis), bhorla (Bauhinia vahlii), basar (turmeric sp. tulsi). The above mentioned plant species are more useful for medicinal value. It indicates that people are afraid with illness and illness is mainly occurred due to the evil eyes of the ancestors if they become anger. If important medicinal plants are linked with ancestor’s activities, the plant species can easily preserve on one hand and transfer knowledge for coming generation in the socialization process. Similar understanding is found in the study area.

 Behavior of Magars in Kulpuja

They purify the house and clothes by cleaning and washing. The members of the house purify themselves by bathing. They take purified rice at a time in a day with ginger, milk and curd only with emotionally. Emotions are the primary source of human motivation. If emotions are simultaneously viewed as cultural concepts, they become important as statements about and motivations for the enactment of cultural values. If motivation is seen as culturally constituted, study of the emotions and their development becomes crucial for understanding the psychosocial origins of behavior (Hallowell, 1955; cited in Hardman, 2000). This behavior is most important and restricted within the Magar community within the period of time. It reflects the taboo but it is important for the health and sanitation because houses, clothes, using materials and body should remain purified by eating, cleaning and bathing behavior using herbal medicinal plants i.e. jhakro. The oldest and knowledgeable member completes the bathing activity early in the morning at 3 AM, but there is no restriction to use local liquor. He remains near the hut (temporarily prepared temple of ancestor) and all other members remain somewhat far emotionally watching the spreading of feathers of the vertically downward hung chickens on the strong branch of katus. The priest worships with the mixture of aacheta, til, barley and flowers continuously on hanging chicken which spread their feathers strongly. At that time, all the members said kul aaya, kul aaya… emotionally and feel their ancestral god present there in the temple. The priest prays the ancestor:

The chickens are in your bandhan (confinement). We bring them for sacrifice. We are starting to sacrifice for our names. It is yours, you accept or not: it is up to you.

 

Then they start to sacrifice the chicken. They take out the heart and lever, fry it and offer for their kuldauta. Then, from the ventral surface of the black pig, a live heart is taken by the strong male people, symbol of active and brave within their member. The priest as well as the member of the Magar shows the innocent behavior with their ancestral god and the priest prays their god and says-

“O god! We sacrifice a black pig and chicken for you, transfer by our ancestors is in your name. We hope all the materials are purified. You are well known which activity and material are purified and which ones are funeral. If there is any funeral activity, please bless us.

 

The members of Magar as well as priest pray and say:

We offer black pig’s heart, heart and lever of chicken and all other materials in pure form and we ourselves remain pure as far as possible. Please, ancestral god what do you feel and say or show us in any symbol.

 

Some time letter after the prayer, the priest expresses his statements on the basis of scent and his just emerged thinking in his mind. The members of the Magar feel god enters within the priest so he expresses what is happening in their future will be good or bad. All the members of Magar remain egger to hear with fear as well as expectation for their future life activities.

 

From the above behavioral activities it is clear that the members of Magar totally believe in supreme power. On one hand they are able to take the living heart from the pig and feel brave, on the other hand they show fear and emotion to describe attitudes towards ancestor, elders, and parents as a response to illness or troubles. They remain innocent, weak and helpless with their ancestral god and believe that the unfortunate activities which are coming in their future are blocked by their ancestral happiness.

Role of women

In kulpuja ritual, the women actively participate in the purifying activities. Bathing of cloths, cleaning of house, preparation of Jaman , local liquor; managing of foods for their family members as well as their guests who are invited to celebrate kulpuja are mainly performed by women. Though, the women are the eldest member of the community, there is not any role in the worshiping ancestral temple and sacrificing activities. In the next day of kulpuja they arrange a party. The invited people of the community gather in the house. In the house the role of daughters, son in law and daughter in law is higher to prepare yellow rice, meat, pickles, dal and wine. When asked to a respondent about the use of besar (Turmeric sp) in rice and make yellow color, she replied that it checks the evil eye. The besar is one of the most important herbal medicines called as sarva aausadi in Hindu mythology. All the members of house do their work according to their responsibilities. Elder father and mother respect their invited people and prefer wine. The daughter, son, daughter in law and son in law prepare food continuously. At first, they provide wine, meat and pickle for elder respective people. When the elder guests finish the  given food and then supply the yellow rice, dal curry and pickle. The satisfied guests give thanks for their management. On the basis of age and respected level, the shifting of eating people and food items are managed carefully. I participated and observed this ritual activity from 10.50 am to 5.00 pm of that day. The women managed and completed the ceremony actively and wonderfully!

 

Kulpuja : Ritual and Cohesive Force

 

Kulpuja ritual is the most important ritual among the different caste and ethnic group of Nepal. Similar with other ethnic group, the Magar of Languan it plays vital role to bind strongly the relationship between the members. In the kulpuja ritual all the members gather in the sacrifice place. Almost all the members use local wine. On one hand they gather and renew their relation, share the activities of their past life, present situation and also coming way of life. On the other hand, they share their feeling to  each other though they are negative or positive and become one. 

The members also participate in the discussion of their activities about the ritual which is being celebrated from their ancestors, its process and positive as well as negative impact, its improvement and change also. They actively discuss about the role of the Magar members in the developmental activities within their society, their identities and relation with other caste. Present context and its impact on their own rule and regulation and changing patterns etc. An eldest member Dil Bahadur Thapa Magar worriedly says:

The children don't take good thinking (kura) and leave their own culture and accept others fusion easily. Though, they studied IA and BA they have no knowledge about the good way to spend daily life. He adds children are not allowed to use salt a day in a death ritual. They need to bathe daily and also start to marry with their own blood related sisters. They leave duties and responsibility but focus on personal facilities. How can they struggle with their coming life and environment in this behavior? I have given suggestions for change in that society but unless the people make efforts themselves it is not possible. All the members should give their efforts for the development of a society with own cultural identity.

 

Most of the elder members of the Magar, feel the binding force between the members is deteriorating continuously in the coming generation in the name of modernization.

This is where Indian 'micro management' begins.

 

Source: www.onlinekhabar.com

The People's Revolution of 2007 had just been completed. King Tribhuvan Rana was not in the mood to work with Prime Minister Mohan Samsher for long. He wanted to see the leader from the people's revolution as the prime minister.

Indian Ambassador Chandreshwar Prasad Narayan (CPN) Singh, who had a good understanding of King Tribhuvan's state of mind, suddenly appeared in an active role. And, by playing the role of the Prime Minister, he played the role of the Congress President Matrika Prasad Koirala.

However, he was a major 'actor' in Kathmandu when the armed movement against the Rana regime was in full swing. The late BP Koirala, who took refuge in the Indian embassy in New Delhi at Singh's suggestion after the Congress' plan to remove King Tribhuvan from Narayanhiti to Palpa was thwarted, has mentioned in his book 'My Life Has Not Failed'.

After the success of the 2007 revolution, New Delhi sent Govinda Narayan as King Tribhuvan's secretary. Ambassador Singh then became even more powerful.

It is said that every ambassador lies for his national interest. Singh followed the same belief.

The Khukuri Dal scandal led by Bharat Samsher was aimed at assassinating BP Koirala, who was the Home Minister in Mohan Samsher's government on behalf of the Congress. Chiniyakaji, a supporter of Bharat Samsher, was killed by a bullet fired by BP.

BP resigned as Home Minister on moral grounds and the government fell. Tribhuvan wanted the Congress to lead the new government. Indian Ambassador Singh played in the middle. And, despite the official decision of the Congress, BP could not become the Prime Minister.

Ambassador Singh said, "Matrika Babu is also the party president and BP's brother." I have just received a message from Delhi. Nehru told Tribhuvan that he liked his mother and father.

Ambassador Singh hastily met Matrika Prasad and taught him the subject. And, suggested to make yourself a claimant. It is from this point that Nepali politics leaked out through the manipulation of the Indian ambassador. And, from the same point of view, India also got involved in micro-management.

In her greed for the post, Matrika violated the party system and asked the king to make her the prime minister. From the same point, the quarrel in the Congress led to the expulsion of Matrika, Mahendra Bikram Shah, Narad Muni Thulung and Mahavir Samsher from the party.

Matrika Prasad, who formed the Rastriya Praja Party on April 29, 2010, then withdrew from mainstream politics. His obsession with becoming the Prime Minister for the second time during Tribhuvan's tenure gradually tarnished his political 'career'.

Ambassador Singh, on the other hand, wanted the dominance of the Rana, who had agreed to the 1950 treaty, to remain. And, one of India's 'puppet' prime ministers wanted to be appointed in Nepal.

It was Singh who persuaded King Tribhuvan to join the Indian Army Mission in Nepal in 1952 under the pretext of training the then Royal Nepalese Army.

The late senior politician Shri Bhadra Sharma in his book 'Some Memories with BP' mentions the non-diplomatic move of Indian Ambassador CPN Singh: 'BP called me one morning. As we were eating breakfast, the lion came standing still in front of our table, with no prior notice or permission. As soon as he came, he said, "Look, Mr. Koirala, we had some important things to say to you." BP was furious at his unexpected arrival. He also said in the same vertical style as him, who gave you this far? No information, no permission. Go, just sit down in the meeting, right now I'm talking to them about something very important. '

According to Sharma's book, Singh not only considered himself an ambassador, but also the Sarvesarva of Nepal and the ministers here as his subordinates.

In particular, there was strong dissatisfaction in Tribhuvan over Mohan Samsher's signing of the 1950 treaty. The unequal treaty between Nepal and India has been signed by Rana Prime Minister Mohan Samsher and Indian Ambassador Singh. Nepal's efforts to change the treaty aimed at perpetuating the Rana regime are still ongoing.

Himalayas poised for a series of big earthquakes, says study (Nepal Earthquake - II)

 

The entire Himalayan arc is poised to produce a sequence of great earthquakes, and the next big quake -- of the magnitude of 8 or above -- may occur during our lifetimes, according to a study reviewing geological, historical, and geophysical data.

The human toll of such an event in the densely populated countries across the arc is likely to be unprecedented, the researchers said.

The study notes that the sequence of future Himalayan earthquakes could be similar to the great earthquakes that occurred in the twentieth century along the Aleutian subduction zone, which extends from the Gulf of Alaska to Kamchatka in Russian Far East.

The review, which appeared in the journal Seismological Research Letters in August, used basic geological principles --stratigraphic analysis, structural analysis, soils analysis, and radiocarbon analysis -- to estimate the size and timing of prehistoric earthquakes and evaluate future risk.

"The entire Himalayan arc extending from the eastern boundary of Arunachal Pradesh (India) in the east to Pakistan (in the west) has in the past been the source of great earthquakes," study author Steven G. Wesnousky told PTI.

"These earthquakes will occur again and scientifically, it would not be a surprise if the next great earthquake occurred in our lifetimes. But the resolution of our studies is at best on the order of 100 years, longer than a human lifetime," said Wesnousky, a professor of geology and seismology and director of the Center for Neotectonic Studies at the University of Nevada at Reno, US.

Seismologist Supriyo Mitra noted that the research matches previous studies.

"The research is a comprehensive review of paleoseismological studies of past Himalayan earthquakes and a forecast of the future events based on the findings," said Mitra, a professor in the department of Earth sciences at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata.

"The Himalayan faults, as shown in the paper, are poised to produce an 8-plus magnitude earthquake. So yes, we are staring at a big one in the future. How far from now no one can tell," Mitra, who was not involved in the study, told PTI.

Prior studies have examined the rate of strain accumulation that is occurring along the Himalayan arc from satellite observations.

In the latest study, the timing and size of most recent prehistoric earthquakes were defined from geology.

The methodology directly applies geologic principles to defining the past size and timing of earthquakes recorded by sediments broken and deformed by earthquake offsets at sites along the length of the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, Wesnousky said.

Satellites can help in finding the location of active earthquake faults but unable to provide any information on the past timing and size of earthquakes on those faults, he said.

"These observations taken together are telling us that sufficient strain has accumulated along virtually the entire arc to again produce great earthquakes as we observe in the geologic record," Wesnousky explained.

Major cities along and close to the Himalayan frontal thrust include Chandigarh and Dehradun in India; and Kathmandu, Nepal.

Strong and damaging shaking in such great quakes could extend southward as far as India's capital, Delhi, one of the largest cities in the world with a population of more than 11 million, Wesnousky added.

North India has witnessed many earthquakes of small magnitude in the past four months, raising popular speculation about a big one in the region.

However, he said, scientists have yet to find a systematic relationship between the occurrence of small earthquakes and the timing of greater earthquakes in the future.

"These small earthquakes are thousands of times smaller than the great earthquakes we are studying," he said.

Source: www.deccanherald.com

I had posted a similar post in 2010 and 2015 happened.

The things are still not changed, hope our government and peoples are ready for it.