Tribhuvan Museum / Hanuman Dhoka (Palace) Museum
The inner palace complex of the Hanuman Dhoka was originally founded during the Licchavi period (4th to 8th centuries AD) but, as it stands today, most of it was constructed by King Pratap Malla in the 17th century. The royal palace has been renovated many times over the years. The oldest parts are the smaller Sundari Chowk and Mohan Chowk at the northern part of the palace (both closed). The complex originally housed 35 courtyards and spread as far as New Rd, but the 1934 earthquake reduced the palace to todays's 10 chowks (courtyards). Cameras are allowed only in the courtyards, not inside the buildings of the complex.
Here, cloaked in red and sheltered by an umbrella, a Hanuman statue marks the dhoka (entrance) to the Hanuman Dhoka and has even given the palace its name. The status dates from 1672; the god's face has long disappeared under a coating of orange vermillion paste applied by generations of devotes.
There is soldier inside as a guard
Beyond the door is the large Narsingha Statue, Vishnu in his man-lion incarnation, in the act of disembowelling a demon. The stone image was erected by Pratap Malla in 1673 and the inscription on the pedestal explains that he placed it here for fear that he had offended Vishnu by dancing in a Narsingha costume. The Kabindrapur Temple in Durbar Square was built for the same reason.
There is soldier inside as a guard
Beyond the door is the large Narsingha Statue, Vishnu in his man-lion incarnation, in the act of disembowelling a demon. The stone image was erected by Pratap Malla in 1673 and the inscription on the pedestal explains that he placed it here for fear that he had offended Vishnu by dancing in a Narsingha costume. The Kabindrapur Temple in Durbar Square was built for the same reason.
Nasal Chowk
From the entrance gate of the Hanuman Dhoka we immediately entered its most famous chowk. Although the courtyard was constructed in the Malla period, many of the buildings around the square are later Rana constructions. During that time Nasal Chowk was used for coronations, a practice that continued until as recently as 2001 with the crowning of King Gyanendra. The coronation platform is in the centre of the courtyard, while the Basantapur (Kathmandu) Tower looms over the sothern end of the courtyard.
Kirtipur Tower (Entrance to Lohan Chowk)
Tribhuvan Museum
The part of the palace west of Nasal Chowk, overlooking the main Durbar Square area, was constructed by the Ranas in the middle to late part of the 19th century. Ironically, it is now home to a museum that celebrates King Tribhuvan (r 1911-55) and his successful revolt against their regime, along with memorials to Kings Mahendra (1955-72) and Birendra (1972-2001).
At northeastern corner of Nasal Chowk stands the Panch Mukhi Hanuman Temple, with its five circular roofs. Each of the valley towns has a five-storey temple, although it is the great Nyatapola Temple of Bhaktapur that is by far the best known. Hanuman is worshipped in the temple in Kathmandu, but only the priests may enter.
Behind it lays the Mohan Chowk which is closed now.
In Nepal, 'nasal' means 'dancing one', and Nasal Chowk takes its name from the Dancing Shiva statue hidden in the white washed chamber on the northeasternside of the square.
Lohan Chowk
King Prithvi Narayan Shah was involved in he construction of the four red-coloured towers around Lohan Chowk. The towers represent the four ancient cities of the valley:the Basantapur (Kathmandu) Tower, the Kirtipur Tower, the Bhaktapur Tower (Lakshmi Bilas) and the Patan (Lalitpur) Tower (known more evocatively as the Bilas Mandir, or House of Pleasure).
Kumari Devi 庫瑪麗女神
The Kumari Devi is a young girl who lives in the building known as the Kumari Bahal, right beside Durbar's Square.
The practice of having a living goddness probably came about during the reign of the last of the Malla kings of Kathmandu Valley. The Kumari Devi is selected from a particular caste of Newari gold- and silver- smiths. Customarily, she is somewhere between four years old and puberty, and must meet 32 strict physical requirements ranging from the colour of her eyes and shape of her teeth to the sound of her voice. Her horoscope must also be appropriate.
Once suitable candidates have been found they are gathered together in a darkened room where terrifying noises are made, while men dance by in horrific masks and 108 gruesome buffalo heads are on display. These goings-on are presumed unlikely to frighten an incarnation of Durga, so the young girl who remains calm and collected throughout this ordeal is clearly the new Kumari. In a process similar to the selection of the Dalai Lama, as a final test the Kumari then chooses items of clothing and decoration worn by her predecessor.
Once chosen as the Kumari Devi, the young girl moves into the Kumari Bahal with her family and makes only a half-dozen ceremonial forays into the outside world each year, mainly during the September Indra Jatra festival, when she travels through the city on a huge temple chariot.
The Kumari's reign ends with her first period, or any serious accidental loss of blood. Once this first sign of puberty is reached she reverts to the status of a normal mortal, and the search must start for a new Kumari. On retirement the old Kumari is paid a handsome dowry but readjusting to normal life can be hard. It is said that marrying an ex-Kumari is unlucky, but it's believed more likely that taking on a spoilt ex-goddness is likely to be too much hard work!
Chariot of the goddness
Then we got out from the museum and the guides showed us around. After the 'guided tour' which lasted for around an hour, they charged us NPR 1,500 for each of us. We argued that they promised the sum for two of us. At the end, we gave them NPR 2,000.
We are so lucky to ran into the Seto Machhendranath Festival
Kathmandu's Seto (White) Machhendranath festival kicks off a month prior to the much larger and more important Rato (Red) Machhendranath festival in Patan. The festival starts with removing the white-faced image of Seto Machhendranath from the temple at Kel Tole and placing it on a towering and creaky wooden temple chariot known as a rath. For the next four evenings, the chariot totters slowly from one historic location to another, eventually arriving at Lagan in the south of Kathmandu's old town, where the chariot is hauled three times around the square. The image is taken down from the chariot and carried back to its starting point in a palanquin while the chariot is disassembled and put away until next year.
We climbed onto the platform of Maju Deval to watch the parade.
沒有留言:
張貼留言