Bitter Truth about Nepali Jewelers in Nepal

Most of the Nepali jewelers live in one room with their families which is used for  bedroom, kitchen and workshop. Many of them borrow money from a money lender in high interest in Kathmandu.   They make investment in jewelry making. It takes them about 2-3 months in production. Once the product is ready, they take their jewelry pieces door to door in shops in Thamel, Kathmandu.  The shop owners will bargain as much as they can. The artisan is already paying interested from the day he borrowed the money.  So he agrees to sell his jewelry in half of the price, but shop owner keeps the jewelry and tells him to come back in a week to get his money.  But he does not get paid in full next week. He has to go many times to get his payment in smaller portion.  That’s why most the Nepali jewelers are poor and have high debts.  

My Father’s Last Wish

Shame on Supreme Court and Nepal Cabinet who has stolen my father’s only the property he had in Dhankuta where he was born and grew up which he inheritated from his ancestors.  My dad was in good health although he was 88 years old. He was fighting for his land in the supreme court of Nepal for 11 years.  He had 3 grand children to take care.  He said in his last breath on 7^{th of} June, 2011 in the hospital bed that he just wanted to live one more year to win his land and pass it to his grand children which came from his ancestors.   

I went to his lawyer to find out about his land. His lawyer told me, he has been losing his case due to Act 2019, 2 (N). According to cabinet’s decision in B.S. 2051/3/17, his land was registered in the Nepal Government. He fought for his land for 11 years till his death and he is not going to win which is in the supreme court now. I want to pursue his dream to come true which was his birth right and only the property he had and he died as “Sukumbasi”(man with no land) which was stolen by the Nepal Government with the help of Cabinet 2051. Please forward this to your network, I need your help and suggestion - How to go further????

Tibet Nepal Bead Society: Tibet Nepal Bead Society

Himalayan Bead Society is established to support artisans from Tibet and Nepal. These artisans use very old and primitive technique for bead and jewelry making which is known as repousse and chasing on a sheet of gold, silver, brass and copper. This outstanding craftsmanship skill was passed from grandfathers to fathers and fathers to their sons.


Artisans face a lot of challenges in producing their pieces such as buying expensive imported raw materials where often uncertain political strikes take place, more than 16 hours load shedding with no electricity, paid least wages by the local exporters. Most of the artisans agreed that bead and jewelry production can be continued if fair wages are paid in timely manner.

Most of the artisans live in one or two rented rooms with entire family members which are used for bedroom, kitchen and workshop. Their average monthly income is about $150 to $300 which is not enough for decent living in Nepal with education expenses for their kids. There is not medical health care, retirement, insurance system, etc.


Tibet Nepal Bead Society is raising fund to establish a proper work place (workshop) for the artisans in Kathmandu valley which will help them to generate regular income to improve their living standard. We also encourage individuals and business owners to support us in our fund raising Endeavour. We really appreciate if you can write to us with suggestions.

Posted by Eksha
EkshaCreations@aol.com

What is Yangdang Phongma in Limbu Culture?

First time, I heard about “Yangdang Phongma” from my mother which is known Nwaran in Nepali Language (child naming ceremony). She told me “Yangdang Phongma” ritual is done in three days for a baby girl and four days for a baby boy. According to her, the house is considered impure until this ritual of “Yangdang Phongma” is performed, so early in the morning the house is plastered with clay , then water of 7 springs is sprinkled inside and outside of the house. Mother and the new born baby both are given proper bath. I also remember that my mother said - Tagera Ninwphuma writes destiny of the new born baby on the day of “Yangdang Phongma” . From this day a soul develops inside the baby, so it is a very important day.


It is the first day, the baby is shown light (Sun) and also introduced to moon and stars. The new born baby is given name by the Phedangma (Limbu priest). This ritual ceremony is done by Phedangma in the presence of Tumyahangma (elders).

Posted by Eksha Limbu

About Historical and Contemporary Limbu Women of Nepal

Historical Background of Limbus:

Limbu people are known as Yakthungba (refers to a Limbu male) and Yakthungma (refers to a Limbu female) in their own language। Yambechha means a male and menchhuma means a female. They are the descendents of the Kirant dynasty of ancient Nepal. The Kirant dynasty ruled Nepal from 3102 B.C. to 7th century A.D. as the first rulers in Nepal.

Historically, until 225 years ago, the Limbus had their own territory that was known as Lumbuwan before King Prithvi Narayan Shah united the territories that make up present-day Nepal. At present, this area is in the eastern part of Nepal (including Taplejung, Sankhuwasabha, Panchthar, Ilam, Dhankuta, and Tehrathum and northern parts of Jhapa, Morang and Sunsari districts). According to the 2001 Census of Nepal, the population of the Limbus is 359,371 (1.58% of Nepali population). Traditionally they have been followers of the Kirant religion that is a type of animism, a belief that both living and inanimate things, such as trees, rivers and mountains possess souls. They have their own spoken and written Limbu language. LIMBU script is known as Sirijanga script.

Historical Social Role of Limbu Women:

Traditional Limbu women wore sim (it is 7-yard long material wrapped as a skirt) with a cholo, a blouse that is made of locally hand-woven dhaka material. Phaee (a long cloth) is wrapped around the waist to tie the sim. They always covered their heads with thakhumya (a large scarf) as an accessory. They loved wearing large gold and silver ornaments. Limbu women traditionally wore a pair of Nesse (a large flat designed gold earrings), a gold mundri as a nose ring, and a dhungri, a stud nose ornament. On their hands, Limbu women wore gold or silver bangles. Silver kalli were worn as anklets. They also wore different kinds of ornaments on different occasions, ceremonies and festivals. Some of these ornaments were Phangsese (a necklace made of nine gold beads which are strung with glass beads), Labaphung (a crescent shaped gold ornament worn as a hair clip), Namloi or Yogakpa (a large silver necklace), sisiphung or nekkhophung (flower shaped gold stud earrings), reji (coin necklaces made of ancient silver coins) and Swagep (a gold ring worn on their fingers). Also in the past Limbu females used to wear Laskari in their ears, 5 or 6 similar tiny gold rings in a row. You can still see old Limbu women in the villages dressed up in this way. All the types of clothing and ornaments women wore suggest that the Limbu economy provided adequately for their needs in those days. Traditional Limbu women looked very elegant and created a unique identity in the world.

Limbu women like to dance the Ya-Lang (paddy dance) and Ke-Lang (Limbu traditional drum dance) at formal occasions like marriages and religious ceremonies. There is also a dance named Mang Lang (Dev naach-God dance) to celebrate religious occasions.

Most of the Limbus are farmers, and many men serve as Gurkha soldiers with foreign armies (e.g., British, Indian) or as security personnel in Singapore, Brunei, and Hong Kong. Women help in farming by working in the fields. They plant rice, harvest the crops and take care of the domestic animals. They also bring up children and take care of their in-laws as well.

My mom used to talk about ?pewa?. Limbu parents were very generous towards their unmarried daughters, for they let them have own money by providing them ?pewa?. Some unmarried women used to own a couple of goats or pigs, so they could sell their livestock to get money to buy what they wanted.

My grandfather gave my mom a couple of orange trees, from which she could get her pocket money by selling oranges in the Dharan market. This enabled her to buy her own jewelry or whatever she needed. In those days, buying gold and silver jewelry was a type of family investment.

This article is about Limbu women. I should not forget their gourmet cuisine. Generally Limbus eat the usual Nepali meal, steamed white rice, dal (lentil soup), tarkary(curry) and aachar(a kind of salsa sauce). I would like to mention some Limbu gourmet food- kinema ko achar (fermented soya been pickle), gundruk ko achar or gundruk ko soup ( fermented mustard leaves), yangben (moss that grows on trees), etc. They also a drink a mild beverage called tongba (millet beer), consumed in particular bamboo or wooden large containers with tiny bamboo straws).

Limbu women used to be great fabric-artist entrepreneurs and very hard working. There wasn't imported thread available for weaving, therefore they used to grow cotton themselves in their fields. They used to spin thread for weaving after harvesting raw cotton and drying it in the sun. Once open a time, "chhitko sari", woven by Limbu women, was very popular among other Nepali women. They also used to weave handloom cloth called Dhaka. They would be very creative by coming up with different kinds of ethnic patterns such as tanchhokpa (star). They sold that cloth material to women and men in other communities, since imported clothing was not readily available. This type of traditional weaving has been bequeathed to their female descendents. Dhaka material is very popular now, and you can get Dhaka topis (caps), traditional pachheuras (large scarves) and Dhaka cholos (blouses). Today, ties and Dhaka kurta-suruwals (pant suit) are very popular. The traditional material is also used in interior decoration for modern contemporary houses; you can find it used for cushion covers, curtains, table runners, tablemats, etc. This material is also used in boutiques to make unusual and unique designer outfits. Definitely the credit goes to our mothers and grandmothers for passing such skills down through the generations.

Contemporary Limbu Women and Their Social Role:

Todays Limbu women generally do not dress up in traditional clothes or wear heavy jewelry. They wear all kinds of contemporary outfits such as kurta suruwal, saree and other formal and casual western outfits. Married women wear traditional Nepalese ornaments such as Tilhari with sarees and kurta suruwal. Unmarried women wear light jewelry such as a stud, hoop or dangle earrings, a pendant with a chain, gold link bracelets, a ring, and anklets with kurta suruwal and western-inspired outfits. Some married women also wear formal Indian inspired gold jewelry too, such as heavy mangal sutra necklaces and large dangly earrings.

Contemporary Limbu society, especially in urban areas, has evolved from the village society of one hundred years ago. Modern society has brought about a lot of changes. Limbu women?s responsibilities usually include maintaining the home, cooking, taking care of children and in-laws, as before, but now also include helping educate their children and perhaps managing a shop or pursuing a professional career outside the home. Of course stock market investments are not common in Nepal. The Limbu women manage financial investments in land or property. There are many women whose husbands still work as Gurkha soldiers in foreign countries. Those women learn to manage their lives very efficiently by themselves.

 Today, some Limbu women have established careers in every field-- in politics, media, business, professional performing arts, legal services, education, and the medical profession. Some names of Limbu women who are active in different fields are mentioned below:

Anjana Limbu (Shrestha) : Movie Actress, her best-known movie is Balidaan

Anupama Subba: Actress in the famous movie "Numafung"

Bishnu Chemjong: The first Lux Nepal Star; she was chosen from 5000 other contestants for her beautiful voice

Jina Lingden: The first Limbu woman pilot

Jayan Subba Manandhar: Choreographer and owns modeling agency called Ramp

Kala Subba: Active model, choreographer and Hits FM RJ.

Lila Subba (Shrestha): Member of Nepal's Parliament.

Pabitra Subba: An established, well known Nepali singer and actress.

Malvika Subba: Miss Nepal 2002, working with Kantipur telvision as an anchor, and event manager for the Miss Nepal pageant for 2 years.

Srijana Subba: Active member of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung and representative of the Association of Limbu Shamans from Nepal. She is working as a program officer for the NGO-FONIN.

Shova Khajum: Actress, film producer 

Who Makes Tibetan Jewelry in Nepal?

Who Makes Tibetan Jewelry in Nepal?

I did some research on how Nepalese art and artists have influenced Tibetan culture. In the 13th century, objects of Nepalese art could be found in Tibet and even beyond in areas under the Chinese emperor. Nepalese artisans were dispatched to Lhasa at the request of Tibetan leaders to perform their workmanship and impart expert knowledge.

I have often visited the families of Nepali jewelers in Nepal who make Tibetan style jewelry in their home workshops. These artisans are very skilled; the knowledge they have has been passed down from their forefathers. The work of Newari artisans from the Kathmandu valley has been well-known for many centuries. Newari artisans worked in Lhasa for many years and settled down there to live. Their craftsmanship became very popular, as they made jewelry and other art works to sell in the Tibetan marketplace. Due to the unstable political situation in Tibet in the 1950s, most of the jewelry artisans had moved back to Kathmandu by 1960.

The jewelers still use traditional techniques, working with just a few hand tools. Tree resin is used for gluing the stones. Some special kinds of clay is the material that gives the pieces an antique finish. To clean the jewelry they use a kind of tree fruit which acts as soap. This is a very old method that originated when manufactured soap was not available.

Now, Newari artisans make prayer box pendants, statues of Buddhist deities, and other ritual objects in Lalitpur (a city of fine art in the Kathmandu valley). Lalitpur was the original hometown of those Newari artisans who migrated to Tibet. A significant quantity of jewelry and ritual objects is still exported to Tibet and China from this city.

Tibetan beads and other Tibetan pendants are made at Bouddha, just outside Kathmandu. (Bouddhanath stupa or temple is one of the oldest Buddhist monuments in Nepal.) This is one of the places where Tibetan refugees settled after China took over Tibet. Nepalese artisans and Tibetan artisans work together and produce jewelry and other Tibetan handicrafts at Boudha.

Thamel, a neighborhood in Kathmandu, is another place where Tibetan style necklaces and other types of jewelry are hand-made by artisans. Here also the Tibetan and Nepalese artisans work side by side. It is interesting to note that the style of workmanship is very different in the places mentioned above, because of the artisans varying backgrounds, ethnicity, and cultural traditions.

There are some Tibetan and Nepalese artists making jewelry who are living outside the Kathmandu valley, in towns such as Pokhara, Hetauda, and other smaller villages. They have to travel more than 12 hours to bring their jewelry to sell in Thamel.

It is very sad that some Nepali artisans have given up their craft and gone to the Gulf states in search of employment to support their families. It would be so much better for their families and for maintaining the artistic traditions of Nepal if the Nepali craftsmen could remain at home and make a good living by selling the products on the world market. (by Eksha Limbu)

To view these artisan products, click on the following link -

http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Nepalese-Beads

Tibetan Beads from Nepal

I saw beautiful beads in small shops at Bauddhanath temple (It is in Kathmandu, Nepal). I asked the shopkeeper what they were; he told me that they were Tibetan beads. Those beautiful agate, copal, carnelian, turquoise and sherpa coral beads were set with between two traditionally adorned sterling silver caps. The beads were made by Tibetan and local Newari artisans in Kathmandu, Nepal. Since then, I started collecting them and now I use them in my “one of a kind Necklace collection”.http://www.ekshacreations.com/