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One Brick at a Time
Rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged UNESCO-listed Changunarayan Temple in Nepal’s Kathmandu Valley is a labour-intensive exercise.
The historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley in Central Nepal are the Newar (Newari) people.
The region sits at the crossroads of Indian and Tibetan culture, and while the people speak a Tibeto-Burman language, their culture has been strongly influenced by Indian religious and social institutions.
Most Newari people – over 80% – identify as Hindu, but Siddhartha Gautama, the Lord Buddha, was born at nearby Lumbini in 623 B.C, and Nepal was a centre of Buddhism until 880 A.D. Across the 2000 years that the two religions have had influence in the country, there has been a great deal of intermingling of Hindu and Buddhist traditions, woven together with a continued presence of older, animistic beliefs. Today it is not uncommon for people of both faiths to worship at the same temples.
The UNESCO World Heritage Convention has recognised that: both [Hindu and Buddhist] religions prospered in Nepal and produced a powerful artistic and architectural fusion beginning at least from the 5th century AD, but truly coming into its own in the three hundred year period between 1500 and 1800 AD. This recognition has led to temples, shrines, and other buildings in seven ‘Monument Zones’ in the Kathmandu Valley being heritage-listed for their representation of Newari cultural traditions and outstanding craftsmanship.
The seven sites include the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu (see: Durbar Square, Kathmandu), Patan (see: Patan: Valley of Devotion and Feeding Birds and Rebuilding Ruins), and Bhaktapur (see: Living Heritage and Earthquake Ruins); the Buddhist temples of Boudhanath (see: Boudhanath) and Swayambhunath (see: Prayers, Rains, and Ruins); and the Hindu temple of Pashupati (see: Faith, Faces, and Fakes).
The seventh site is perhaps lesser-know to foreign visitors: the Hindu temple in the municipality of Changunarayan (Changu Narayan) in Bhaktapur District, a short distance due east of Kathmandu.
The two-storey roofed Changunarayan Temple stands on a high plinth of stone and is built in what has been described as a distinctly Nepali style. It is considered to be the oldest temple in Nepal, and houses a stone inscription pillar erected in 464 AD by the first historical king of Licchavi (present-day Nepal) King Manadeva. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, and is dotted with fifth-century stone inscriptions related to this blue God of the Hindu Trimūrti. The main temple and surrounding buildings are decorated with fine examples of Newari stone, wood, and metal craftsmanship. I was particularly taken by the ceramic tiles – which I have seen more often in North Indian architecture.
Unfortunately, the April 2015 Nepal earthquake did enormous damage to the ancient buildings here, as it did to much of the rest of the country. When I visited in 2017, broken buildings and piles of bricks were still all around.
Somehow, in spite of the damage, and the hardships they must have been suffering, the people were still smiling. One back-breaking load of bricks at a time, they were busy rebuilding their homes and precious temples.
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Sign Posting
Outside the Changunarayan Temple complex, we can look east towards Nagarkot, and down the hill to the municipality of Changunarayan.
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Rubble in a Barrow
Fallen bricks from tumbled buildings are all around.
Rebuilding
Rebuilding involves a lot of manual labour – but there is no shortage of people pitching in.
Woman in the Street
In the streets, people sit and take time out …
Washing in the Street
… or get on with their daily tasks.
Washing Dishes
Woman in Red
Sunapati Thanka Painting School
The Mandir Walkway runs from the eastern gate up to the temple area. Traditional Buddhist and Hindu thangkas (tangkas, thankas, or tankas) and geometric mandalas are on sale.
Painting a Thanka
Thangkas and mandalas are visual representations of the universe. They serve as a guide on the spiritual journey to enlightenment.
Painting Student
Thangkas and mandalas follow strict guidelines around colours, proportions, and geometric patterns. Painting them takes skill, patience, and practice. The school here attracts students from around the world.
Shop Keeper
Newari people are known for their fine craftsmanship, so the walking street is lined with fascinating shops.
Gods and Demons
Carved Hindu masks of some of the more popular deities are among the items on sale.
Man and Child
The street is also lined with locals, happy to chat …
Old Woman
… and engage with our cameras.
Studying Ayuvedic Herbal Science
At the top of the road, I came across a woman studying her Ayuvedic herbal medicine text. While the book was written in Nepali, it included the Latin names, so I learned that the leaves she was working with come from the the sal tree (shorea robusta). In Nepal, the sal tree is a major commercial timber used in construction. The leaves, seeds, and resin also have multiple uses.
Newari Woman in Red
Like many of the people I met, she had relatives working and studying in Australia, and we chatted for a while.
Roof Repairs
Changunarayan Temple sits atop a hill, at an elevation of 1543m (5062ft). Considered to be the oldest temple in the country, Changunarayan is dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu. It was badly damaged by the earthquake in 2015, and repairs were ongoing when we visited.
Roof Strut
Fortunately, the roof struts with their wonderfully intricate carvings depicting the 10 incarnations of Vishnu have survived …
Stone Deity
… as have the magnificent wooden and stone carved reliefs that decorate the outside of the buildings.
Inside Changunarayan Temple
The small Chhinnamasta Temple in the courtyard of Changunarayan Temple honours the goddess Chhinnamasta Devi.
Colourful Tiles
The shrines in the temple complex are interesting, …
Moving Materials on the Roof
… but I was actually more interested in watching all the people hard at work repairing their precious heritage.
A Heavy Load
Using head straps, the women transport load after load …
Wooden Stairway
… up and down the stairs.
The Next Load
Masks against the dust and cotton gloves are all that count as protective equipment.
Cleaning Bricks
This was pre-covid: that mask is meant to protect the wearier against the brick dust generated as she cleans tumbled bricks.
Engineers on the Roof
On top of one of the buildings, men from The Heritage and Environment Conservation Foundation Nepal, which auspiced the repairs, check out the work.
According to the Atlas Obscura, the repair works were finished by November – that is, eight months after these pictures were taken.
Clearly all that hard, personal labour paid off!
Until next time,
Namaste!
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Photos: 14March2017
