All photos are courtesy of Sheelasha Rajbhandari, Hit Man Gurung, and Sharareh Bajracharya, unless otherwise specified.
LAMJUNG
April, 2019
In the spring of 2019, our Curatorial team and Director were in the
Lamjung district of Nepal on a research trip. The purpose was to learn,
better understand and bring back with them a more robust knowledge on
traditional and contemporary Gurung cultures, art practices, and local
socio-politics.
Lamjung lies in the mid-hills of Nepal, spanning tropical to
trans-Himalayan geo-ecological belts. It is home to a mixed population
of castes and ethnicities, of which it is believed to host the highest
density of Gurung ethnic peoples in the country. The Kathmandu Triennale
team visited a number of Gurung villages while in the district,
including Ghale Gaun, Ghanpokhara, and Bhujung.
The visit took them to textile practitioners, who hand-weave rugs,
bhakku (thick cloth often used to sew cold-climate clothes) and other
materials from sheep’s wool, and also to those who work with bamboo to
create various useable objects. These practices were particularly
thriving in Bhujung, one of the larger villages, who are still able to
actively preserve and continue their cultures and traditions of making.
In Ghale Gaun, they attended the launch of a manuscript of Gyapre oral
tradition used during special rituals and occasions of Gurung Bon
practice, visited a newly constructed Khoebo Dhi - a sacred and
community space for Bon religion, and toured the collection at the
Gurung Community Museum.
Many thanks to: Mina Gurung (Director, Radio Marsyangdi 95 MHZ,
Besishahar), Prem Bahadur Ghale (President, Kwholasothar Rural
Municipality), Gami Gurung (Executive member, Kwholasothar Rural
Municipality).
