Medicinal Cow Dung

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A few facts and observations on Nepal...

1. In rural areas of Nepal there used to be a custom of exiling women to the cattle sheds for four days during their period. This was made illegal in 2005

2. Every country in the world has a rectangular flag except Nepal. The Nepalese flag is made up of two triangles joined together

3. Yaks are a very useful Himalayan animal. They are used as high-altitude beasts of burden, and also provide yak butter and yak cheese. Strictly speaking, Yak is the name for a male. The female is known as a Nak.

4. There is not enough electricity to power the whole of Kathmandu at one time. So power cuts are scheduled in different parts of the cities at different times. There is a strict rota which everyone is made aware of. So on Tuesday your area might have no power from 6pm until 8pm. On Wednesday you might have no power between 8pm and 10pm. And so on

5. In 1955, Kathmandu had only one restaurant. Now it has several hundred

6. In marriages of the Newari tribes, the union of man and wife involves the serving of 84 traditional dishes of food. (This is my type of celebration!)

7. A company in Pokhara has pioneered a new sport called “parahawking”. This is is basically paragliding, alongside a trained hawk which finds the thermals for you to ride

8. It is believed in some areas that cow dung has medicinal properties. It is often packed into a woman’s vagina after she has given birth.

9. At the Rum Doodle Bar in Kathmandu, anyone who has reached the summit of Everest can eat there free for life

10. Nepal has a caste system, similar to India. It is forbidden to eat food prepared by someone of a lower caste. If someone is catering for a mixture of castes, then the food must be cooked by someone of the highest caste. But beware if it is a buffet. If someone of a lower caste puts an empty plate back on the buffet table, the whole feast is deemed “ruined” by those of a higher caste.

11. Astrology plays a big part for the Newari tribes of Nepal. It determines the suitability of man and wife, and also determines the date of marriage. The family astrologer will also choose a public name and a secret name for all newborn children. The child will never reveal it’s secret name

12. Nepalese Pheasants can only fly downhill. They have to walk uphill

13. The Nepali language has half a dozen words for “you”, which each show different levels of respect

14. Yaks cannot live at an altitude lower than 3500m, because their digestive systems have adapted to high-altitude. However, they can be crossbred with cattle for a lower altitude hybrid.

15. In the West of Nepal, the bizarre relationship of “polyandry” is allowed. This is where one woman is married to two or more brothers. This arose because of limited land, where poorer farmers didn’t want to split up the land between the sons. Also, when one husband leaves the family for months on trading trips, there will still be one husband left behind to look after things. It is also a way of keeping the population down. A man with many wives (polygamy) can have many children at once, but a woman with many husbands can only have one child at a time

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Photos

Hindu God
carvings of Hindu Gods and Godesses adorn many of the temples

you can never have too many chillies
some Nepali dishes have a nice bit of heat

Buddhist day out
the buddhists gather for a picnic under the prayer flags

Making the most of your land
land prices can be expensive, so people build up, and up and up!

typical Nepalese feast
this is a "Thali", where lots of small dishes are presented alongside rice

blue eyed dog
real colour, or is it wearing tinted contact lenses?

Comments

[The Nomad]

Technicality
Hey mate good observations but one thing.. To be technical, not every flag in the world is rectangular, the flag of Switzerland is perfectly square with a symmetrical cross in the middle to represent Switzerland's complete neutrality and not show favours to any one side. Just thought you'd like to know ;)