Journal of World Architecture

Research Article

Sustainable Approaches of the Newars in Vernacular

Housing and Settlement Planning in the Historic Core of
Kathmandu
Shreya Sudesh1,2,3,4*
1
Department of Architecture, School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India
2
Department of Conservation, School of Planning and Architecture, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India
3
Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belagavi, Karnataka, India
4
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), UNESCO

Abstract: Vernacular settlements provide us an 1 Introduction

opportunity to learn how sustainable building was
inherently practiced in various regions of the world. This Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal – lying on the
paper looks at how rituals that are a part of the Indra Jatra, ridge formed when, 70 million years ago, the Indian
a community festival, reinforces the ideals of sustainable peninsula collided with the Eurasian mass – which led
spatial planning in the vernacular settlements of the to the formation of the Himalayas, Shivaliks, and the
Newars who are the indigenous community belonging to
Mahabharata range – subsequent movements caused
formation of gorges and river waters collected to
the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The settlement-pattern
form lakes in the valley. Around 100,000 years ago,
and vernacular dwellings are appraised, and the current
the lake dried up and gorges formed through which
scenario is analyzed so as to derive how the ritual spaces
flow Nepal’s three river systems: Kosi, Karnali, and
get activated during the festival ( that have been spatially
Gandaki. Kathmandu valley was created when the
planned) and whether they guide decision-making and
vast lake that was formed surrounded by the high
policy planning. This is essential to determine whether hills was drained by the Chobar gorge through the
these spaces face any urban pressures and to further Bagmati River. Thus, the bedrock of the valley is
investigate how they can be mitigated. made of dense impenetrable black mud (clayey
Keywords: Indra Jatra, Ritual, Cultural landscape, sediment and Kalimati clay) and is very fertile[1]. This
Heritage, Conservation civilization prospered as the main gateway on the
Indo-Tibet trade route, which was possible through
This article belongs to the Special Issue: Lessons on Climate- the knowledge, skills, and management capabilities
Responsiveness Learnt from Vernacular Dwelling s – A Global of the societies that settled on tars (high grounds) to
Study leave the fertile flood plains for cultivation as well as
Received: October 30, 2019 protect themselves from floods and disasters[2].
Accepted: November 11, 2019 The aim of this paper is to juxtapose the activities of
Publication Online: December 20, 2019 rituals on ritual spaces that get activated and reinforce
Citation: Sudesh S, 2019, Sustainable Approaches of the the ideals of sustainability as followed inherently in
Newars in Vernacular Housing and Settlement Planning in vernacular settlement-planning and dwelling design
the Historic Core of Kathmandu. J World Arch., 4(si1): 913. by the indigenous community of Newars. Primary
https://doi.org/10.26689/jwa.v4isi1.913 observation and appraisal of existing vernacular
*Corresponding Author dwellings will be employed to arrive at the particular
Shreya Sudesh, spaces which act as a reflection of the traditional
Email: [email protected] knowledge systems of the people.
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1 25
The findings of this paper can help delineate the in inscriptions as a dranga3
areas that require rejuvenation and conservation 3. Vaidygrama: Mentioned in Sivadeva II’s silapatra.
management plans so as to revive the inherent In early 12th CE, Daksinakoligram/Yangala came to
sustainability of Newari settlements. The study be known as Kasthamandapa (a sattal/dharamsala)4
limits itself to the historic core of Kathmandu City, that stood beside the west-east Trans-Himalayan trade
Nepal, where the festival of Indra Jatra manifests. route. Its earliest mentions come from 1143 AD. By
Only aspects of spatial arrangement related to the 17th CE, Malla inscriptions speak of the area North of
ritual spaces and the vernacular dwellings of the this - Yambu (Northern field). Together, Yambu and
indigenous community are taken into account. Yangala with the Durbar in the center formed erstwhile
Kantipura, as stated in Gopalarajavamsavali (records
2 Methodology of the Kingdom) and the Tibetan Blue Annals. In a
banner made during Svayambhu’s restoration, these
Qualitative analysis of the settlement and the ritual
regions are depicted with Yambu symbolized by Jana
spaces within them through primary studies done on-
Bahal and Yangala by Kasthamandapa.
site is complemented with an appraisal of existing
The erstwhile city of Old Kathmandu formed at the
vernacular dwellings that are done through secondary
confluence of the rivers Bishnumati and Bagmati –
studies done on the documentation and assessments
has myths of Goddess Lakshmi having appeared in
of vernacular dwellings. The ritual spaces have been
mapped and their elements identified. The activity- Gunakamadeva’s5 dreams and ordered its conception.
mapping was performed real-time during the ritual Lying on the Trans-Himalayan trade and Buddhist-
activity as part of the Indra Jatra held during 2018 Network, this region attracted farmer castes who
in Kathmandu City, Nepal. The analysis is used as became merchants – and this region became the
the basis for establishing the relationship between entrepot of socio-cultural influences from India,
the festival and the elements and spatial arrangement Tibet, and China. The original inhabitants – the
of the settlement. “tribal” Newari’s continue to live in their traditional
housing – with their vernacular traditions.
3 The vernacular settlement of Kathmandu 3.1 The Newar
The Kathmandu Valley is believed to have been created The Newars are a community whose ancestral land
by a Boddhisattva Manjusri1, who on divine orders to lies in the Kathmandu Valley – though this term
reveal the Swayambhu2, the symbol of enlightenment, appeared in records in the 17th century. However,
had to drain out the mystical lake of Nagadaha at the Regmi believes it must be a term used to refer to
Chobar gorge. There is an alternate myth that believes “inhabitant of Nepal” much before it appeared in
the origin of the valley begins with a cow herder finding inscriptions[3]. Newars are considered those people
the Pasupatinath linga. The earliest history recorded who speak Nepalbhasa/Newari as their mother-
of Kingdoms, through evidence – occurs with the tongue or are their descendants. The Newars,
Kiratas (Dwaparyug, mentioned in the Mahabharat themselves, sometimes say that those who observe
epic as kingdoms from the Himalayas) and Licchavis Mhapuja are Newars and that those who do not,
who were from Vaishali and Muzaffarpur in modern are not Newars. Mhapuja (worship of the body) is
northern Bihar and conquered Kathmandu Valley. intimately connected to the Newari calendar and
Licchavi Gramas recorded in history: is the first rite of the Newari year (Nepal Sambat).
1. Koligrama: Existed east of Kapilavastu, of the
Their origin has been conjectured by many scholars:
Sakyas
Sylvian Levi believes they migrated from the
2. Daksinakoligrama: More populous and mentioned
3 Villages (grama) were grouped into dranga for
1 In Mahayana Buddhism, a bodhisattva refers to anyone administration.
who has made a voluntary yearning and benevolent mind 4 Kasthamandap was a three-storied public shelter that
to attain Buddhahood to end the suffering of the sentient included a shrine consecrated to Gorakhanath situated at
living. Maru, Kathmandu, Nepal.
2 In sanskrit, Swayambhu means: That which is created by 5 Gunakamadeva was a Lichhavi ruler who founded city of
its own accord. Kathmandu in 723 AD.

26 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1

 stretches from 65 m above sea level (m.a.s.l.) to
8848 m.a.s.l. at the Mount Everest. This leads to a
complex system of climatic and vegetation zones.
Climate has also influenced the settlement patterns
and the traditional materials used for construction. In
addition, Nepal’s populace is composed of different
ethnic groups as a result of gradual resettlement
of Tibeto-Burman people and Indo-Aryans from
the south-west. Each ethnic group exhibits unique
culture, belief-systems, language, and resultant
traditions. The geographical range has resulted
Figure 1. Physiographic conditions prevailing in in diverse socioeconomic and cultural patterns
Nepal. and, thus, in a variety of different architectural
expressions. The research region, Kathmandu,
according to the above graphic from International
Centre for Integrated Mountain Development lies in
the Hilly region (700–2000 m.a.s.l)61.
Nepal has large climatic variations from hot sub-
tropical climate to cold tundra climate. Several
geographical factors influence the climate of the
country, such as latitude, altitude, slope orientation,
prevailing as well as local winds, and vegetation.
Shrestha divides Nepal into five climatic regions,
namely, sub-tropical, warm temperate, cool
temperate, alpine, and tundra climate[7].
The native availability of certain building materials,
Figure 2. Parts of a Newari courtyard house. especially mineral-based materials, depends on the
geology of the location. The geodynamic processes
prevalent in the Himalayan region is the reason why
Northern Himalayas while Fürer-Haimendorf states
Nepal’s geology has a high complexity of many
that they have existed in the valley since prehistoric
thrusting, faulting, folding, and metamorphic effects.
times[4]. K.P Malla believes that they were Austro-
Nepal is divided into five distinct morpho-geotectonic
Asiatic who was assimilated by the Mongoloid
zones from south to north: The Tarai Tectonic Zone,
Kiratas[5]. Over time, the invaders (such as the
the Churia Zone (also called: Siwalik), the Lesser
Mallas from Tirhut, Bihar) who became immigrants
Himalayan Zone, the Higher Himalayan Zone, and the
absorbed Newari traditions despite retaining some
Tibetan Tethyan Zone[8]. These five zones comprise a
of their original cultural and social traits. They speak
total number of eight geomorphic regions, which lead
a Tibeto-Burman language, which is similar to that
to different kinds of available materials for building
of Nepalese tribes Gurungs, Magars, Rai, etc.: Its
construction. In addition, the climatic conditions
literary dialects, over time, were influenced by Indo-
determine the typical vegetation in a region and, thus,
Aryan languages. The Licchavi rulers already used
the availability of raw building materials like wood.
Sanskrit in their inscriptions, although they relied on
Kathmandu (27°42” N, 85°22”E) exhibits the warm-
a non-Sanskrit vocabulary for many administrative
temperate climate that is mainly dominant in the Hilly
terms, personal names, and more than eighty percent
Region. During the summer, the outdoor conditions
of the place names, according to Mary Slusser[6].
have average temperatures between 20 and 24°C.
3.2 Study area In winter, the average temperature drops at 10°C. In
January, minimum temperatures at 2°C have been
Nepal’s territory spreads out about 800 km recorded during the night. The precipitation ranges
east-west and 200 km north-south displaying a
highly changing topography [Figure 1]. Altitude 6 ICIMOD, GIS Datasets of Nepal 1:250,000, 2013.

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1 27

between 9 mm and 106 mm in the dry season, while an a distance and also the ground served the purpose of
average of 365 mm is expected during the monsoon. commerce or circulation.
Temperature in Nepal’s warm-temperate climate is Most of the settlements have a direct association
not extremely low during winter. Therefore, solar with a temple of a tutelary deity, and each of them
radiation, along with thermal mass of the building had their own festivals connected to the local deity
is sufficient to maintain the indoor temperature at along with the general Newari festivals.
a comfortable level. The orientation of buildings
should be such that the longer face is placed along the
3.4 Vernacular dwellings
south direction and has medium-sized punctures; this The building form was strongly dependent on the
enables solar heat gains in the winter and decreases settlement density and the ethnicity of its inhabitants.
overheating in summer. Shading devices for windows Newar houses were part of a highly-dense, compact
are advisable for the summer season. From December settlement which were arranged to create inter-
to January, active heating might be required because connected courtyards[10]. The courtyards were
of cool air currents that visit the valley over the snow- designed to allow solar penetration into the buildings
capped peaks. In humid summer months, adequate and provide warm exterior spaces for household
ventilation is the essential sustainable design strategy activities during the winter season when the angle
for Kathmandu’s warm-temperate climate. The of the sun is low. Larger windows are placed in the
monsoon season brings in heavy rains which require longer facade that faced the sun. Newar houses have
effectively-designed protection and community-level typically three or three and a half stories[11]. Until the
rain-water harvesting planning. early 16th-century residential houses did not exceed
3.3 Appraisal of existing arrangement of the height of the temples in Newar settlements. The
vernacular dwellings low interior height that ranged between 1.6 m and
1.9 m made it easier to heat the building during winter
Houses are arranged in clusters along the streets season. Depending on the number of stories, building
or around inter-connected courtyards. These space is arranged either horizontally or vertically[11].
courtyard-clusters are planned in such a way that Spatial planning in Newar houses is done vertically.
at a neighborhood-level they open into large, open The ground floor acts as a buffer during the winter
community squares with public amenities such season when low temperature prevails. This floor
as wells, Hiti (community water-points), shrines, also doubles as a storage area. The private spaces are
temples, market junctions, or a Stupa [Figure 2]. located on the first floor, and the main living spaces
These elements which are part of the urban fabric act are situated on the second floor. Both these spaces
as both functional spaces and visual markers for the receive enough solar radiation through wall-openings
community: Such as the temples, Pati (public rest to warm the interior spaces during the day. Space is
house), water wells and Dhungedhara (stone water used as kitchen with an open fireplace[12]. Due to the
spouts), Stupa - Chaitya (Buddhist shrines), and location of the kitchen on the top of the building, living
Dabali (an elevated platform)[9]. All the major routes and sleeping areas are cosseted from overheating in
converge at the open squares. Secondary streets and summer. Rooms are to be double-banked.
narrow alleys branch out from them leading into The courtyard of the Newar houses is an important
the courtyard-houses – their junctions giving rise to semi-open space for chores and community spaces.
other elements springing up, stitching more elements Sundried or burnt clay-bricks are used as the major
into the larger urban fabric. These junctions, if they walling material. The walls have a thickness between
consist of Buddhist shrines in them were called bahas, 0.28 m and 0.70 m, contributing to the thermal mass
and the ones without any particular shrines were of the building. The exterior wall is made of burnt
called nani or chukka. The temples and public-utility bricks while on the interior side, sun-dried inside
buildings were raised on multiple stepped-plinths bricks are used. The typical roof type applied in
that taper the width of the platform from the base the warm temperate climate of Nepal is the pitched
as they go higher. Consequently, these edifices are roof supported by a timber structure and covered
placed at a higher level than the dwellings to instill by thatch, stone slates or tiles. A roof overhang of
a sense of hierarchy. The temples were visible from a minimum 50 cm protects the walls during the
28 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1
monsoon and shades the facade such that solar
penetration is minimized during the summer season.
Newar architecture follows a water-inclusive roof
building technique using burnt clay tiles, which are
placed on a mud layer of 4–10 cm.
Houses in the warm temperate climate of Nepal have
a stone foundation that protects from flooding during
the monsoon season[13]. The ceilings hang low (up
to 1.80 m) to decrease the air volume that requires
heating during the winter. In all studied houses, a
timber network of beams and pillars is used to bear
the load of the ceiling. It is layered with lathwork
and rough layer of 20 cm mud plaster and a final
coat of clay and cow dung. In other cases, earth is
used for flooring. Timber is available aplenty in the
hilly region and is, therefore, it is used for structural
and roofing material. The layers of mud and clay
increase the thermal mass of the volume and help in
balancing the diurnal temperature changes.
In Newar houses, the living room has an ornate and
pronounced decorative window with timber carvings
that allow sun rays of lower angles to penetrate the
interior spaces during the winter [Figure 3]. Houses
also have louvered windows to prevent excess solar
penetration, located toward the south and west
directions, during the summer months. In the dense
Newar settlements, the arrangement of an array of Figure 3. Seasonal variation of solar penetration
courtyards assures passive heating during the winter. into Newari houses (source: A. Kumar Upadhyay).
The roof overhang displays a decorative character
especially in temples and stately buildings where
elaborate wood-carvings depicting deities, protective
symbols or natural forms are observed. The roof
overhang protects the vertical walls, adjacent to
them, from the monsoon showers. Vernacular houses
in this region exhibit a rectangular floor-plan. The
longer edge of the facade with the louvered openings
is oriented toward the south to increase solar-gains
during colder months of the winter.
The thermal bulk is beneficial to store solar heat
gains from daylight for colder nights. The low Figure 4. Map drawn by T Francis Buchanan-
ceiling reduced air volume, due to low ceiling Hamilton sowing the fort-wall in 1802.
heights, further contribute to decreasing the heating
requirements. The internal space arrangement of consist of climate-responsive design solutions in
Newar houses, vertically, is optimized for the cold their settlement through planning and elements like
the roof overhangs and louvered windows.
winter because it allows buffer areas in the ground
and the upper floors to keep the living and resting 4 Analysis
spaces comfortable. It can be concluded that the
vernacular houses in Kathmandu are well adapted to The festival cycle of Nepal begins in the month of
the prevailing climatic conditions. They inherently Magh (January–February) with the festivals of Magh
Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1 29
Sankranti; Bisket and Bode Jatras in Baisaakh (May– deity Dagin is joined by people in white attire, in a
April); Tij in Bhadad (August–September); and procession, to collect the souls of the pitru (ancestors)
Indra Jatra and Holi in Asaar (September–October) who will then pass onto the higher realm7.1 The
followed by Tihar in Kaathik (October–November). rituals belonging to Indra Jatra are community-based
For our study, we are focusing on the rituals related because they play out in the streets of Kathmandu
to the festival of Indra Jatra celebrated mainly in involving individuals as part of the community
Kathmandu City in the Asaar. through organizations called the guthis, which
This festival has multiple layers that have developed carry out preparations, management, and execution
from what began as a sacred processional ritual in of various performances, processions, feasts, and
memory of the ancestors and the members of the other rituals8.2 In Figure 5, the highlighted elements
family who passed away in the recent year, Upaku represent how a junction is transformed into a place
Wonegu, to a Kumari Rath Yatra that began in the of ritual importance through elements such as the
17th century under the Malla Kingdom as part of a Khat and the lamp-stand, which heighten the sense of
festival to honor the tutelary deity of the kingdom festivity, generate activities, and guide the movement
and celebrate the then Kantipur (current historic of the Rath Yatra. People participate as on-lookers and
core of Kathmandu). A fort-wall is said to have actors in this space. The importance of community
defined the boundaries of the then kingdom which spaces such as the Dabu (a platform made of brick
was brought down when the kingdom was annexed in public places which acts as a stage or platform)
by Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha conqueror. becomes the stage for the ritual performances such as
These layers are determined by the following the Devi Nach performed by a particular Maharjan
factors: community (one of the many Jyapu communities who
a. The Rituals are involved in the Indra Jatra).
b. The participants Seven such Junctions or Chowks of ritual importance
c. The community organizing the rituals exist. In the traditional settlements, these junctions
d. The festive route were part of a network of courtyards around
e. The spaces where these rituals take place in. which the Newar houses were arranged. These are
The term Indra Jatra stems from a mythological tale congregational spaces where people celebrated
passed on through generations about an incident where community festivals and occasions.
Lord Indra came down to the earth as a common man These junctions along with other traditional street
to obtain Parijat flowers for his mother. Maru is the infrastructure like the Falcha (a semi-open, shaded
region in Kathmandu, right in the center of the Historic seating area lined against a wall, along streets)
Core [Figure 4], where he is supposed to have been and Hitis (community wells with open platforms
caught stealing and imprisoned by the local jyapus at various levels which were cooler than the rest
(the farmer community) who then bound his arms. of the area and spaces of religious importance)
His mother, worried about her son’s whereabouts, are of primary importance to festivals because of
comes looking for him only to find him shamed as a the rituals taking place here and belief systems
prisoner and being dragged to Kal Bhairab (the local embedded in them [Figure 6].
deity) for justice. She stops them and discloses their These spaces, over time, under urban pressures,
identities on which the people release Lord Indra and the changing significance of traditional spaces,
and worship them. She then grants them a boon that over time, along with the adoption of contemporary
there will always be monsoon aplenty for the jyapus construction methods – have either become stand-
farms in this region and that she would take all the alone structures, spaces frequented only by passers-by
souls of the city who were wandering about in this or serve the basic function of being ancillary spaces
realm to Indraloka. Therefore, during Indra Jatra, for domestic activities [Figure 7]. The vibrancy
khats (raised wooden platforms) containing an idol
of Indra with outstretched arms, bound by chains, are 7 Based on site-survey, local interviews and primary
documentation of the festival done in September, 2018 by
placed in various important junctions names Maru,
the author.
Nardevi, Kilagha, etc. 8 Sudesh, S. (2019). Spatial Manifestation of the Indra Jatra
On the first night of the Rath Yatra (which is carried on (Published Postgraduate Thesis). School of Planning and
3 days to different regions of the settlement), a masked Architecture, Bhopal, India.
30 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1
brought into these spaces with the interaction of the place in the street before them. Such Satthals have
community when they were a part of their lives is now turned into private properties while modern
now slowly moving toward a state of redundancy, facades do not take into account balconies or
especially with shortages in underground water- openings and this has lead to a discontinuity.
supply and the shift toward choosing commercial During Jatras, people living along major streets (where
areas instead of community spaces for gatherings. processions take place) like the Gunakamadeva Marg
The Chowks are now cluttered with commercial open their homes to the public so they can stand
establishments, parking lots, and traffic movement, on their rooftops and any other openings to see the
which have altered the very ethos of the spaces procession [Figure 9]. The traffic movement is
[Figure 8]. The traditional facades allowed balconies curbed, and the streets transform into a ritual space
and buildings called Satthals, which had ornate where people gather to either participate, organize
corridors and balconies which acted as viewing or view the rituals. Taking the example of Nardevi
platforms when processions or performances took Chowk, it hosts the lamps and the Indra ko Khat on all
the 8 days. Processions of the masked deities perform
on its platform, and it is also one of the nodes that
form the Rath Yatra routes. This chowk attracts large,
mobile crowds and is located adjacent to the Nardevi
shrine. The routes pass by the Ajimas – ancestral
deities of the community and the Nardevi is one
such shrine. This renders the space a sacred character
heightening its importance in the overall network.
The Dabu, which remains empty during the day
and hosts a few vegetable vendors on usual days, is
transformed into a place where people gather and sit
Figure 5. Kumari Rath being pulled along Nardevi around the dabu like it was used before. Similarly, all
Chowk (image source: Thomas Dutour, 2016). these traditionally placed public spaces which were

Figure 6. The characteristic elements of Newar settlements (source: Author).

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1 31
 Figure 7. The Upaku shrine and Falcha
located in Dhoka Tol being used as a storage
shed (source: Author).

Figure 10. Hiti in the Historic core

Figure 8. Bangemuda Chowk which was an (source: Author).
important landmark is now overshadowed by
towering buildings, and its central junction once significant in the lifestyle of the people have
character is dominated by vehicular use now become redundant, or their use has transformed.
(source: Author). The Hitis (community water-wells) was once a place
where shared resources were used by communities
living nearby it. The underground water supply was
efficiently used avoiding the necessity for tanks or
any pipelines. The open courts, dabus, and satthals
were used as a part of the community. Instead of
isolating families in their respective dwellings, the
community spent most of its time sunbathing in the
open courts during winters decreasing heating loads
of individual households. The feasts organized in
various communities, Samay Baji, is prepared by a
group within the members are distributed, or one single
host invites the others to their home. This interaction
not only maintained community-engagement but also
Figure 9. Locals perched in the balconies encourage shared resource-usage. The utility of public
and terraces awaiting the procession in 1930. spaces lessened the dependency on single-household
Looking at Maru from the street of Chikanmuga heating requirements during winter months during
(source: Juju Kazi). daylight hours. In the current situation, where water
32 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1
is being procured through pipelines – the reverence the old city. The idea of a resource or space being
with which they treated a community resource such sacred in nature renders a sense of additional
as a Hiti has lessened, leading to a sharp increase in responsibility or fear within the people’s mind.
usage and wastage, likewise. Similarly, community
gatherings which were earlier encouraged in 5 Conclusions
designated community spaces now, more often than
The spatial planning of Newar settlements in the
not, take place in individual dwellings thus, gradually,
historic core of Kathmandu is done to encourage a
rendering the significance of these spaces redundant.
shared sense of ownership among the community
The spatial model followed by their predecessors
over the public places and resources such as
ensured less pressure on individual dwellings and traditional water-spouts and religious shrines.
utilization of open spaces and collective resources The vernacular Newar houses inherently consist
rather than creating multiple, individual pressure of climate-responsive design solutions through
points that slowly deteriorate the conditions and efficient planning and elements such as the roof
effectiveness of traditional methods of resource overhangs and louvered windows. These minimize
distribution and utilization. solar heat gains during summer months while the
The Indra Jatra reinforces these qualities in these public thermal mass in the fabric protects the house from
spaces – bringing to life the original, intended purposes diurnal temperature changes during winter months.
of these paces transforming them into dynamic public Traditional rituals as part of the Indra Jatra reinforce
places and, more importantly, resources. the significance of these public spaces and utilities in
The junctions, patis, falchas, dabus, and courtyards the lives of the people through specific processions
which acted as pause-points for the narrow streets that have been assigned sacred locations during the
and dense settlement are unclogged off the parked 8 days of the festival in the monsoon.
vehicles and other hindrances for ritual purposes. The dwellings and the lifestyle of the Newar
The public stays outside, on the streets, using front community exhibit an informed sensitivity
yards, thresholds, and verandas as viewing pavilions about their resources and requirements. Their
as they were used before the advent of technology spatial planning, traditional building techniques,
and the evolution of the more inward-bound lifestyle maintenance rituals, and dwellings vary from the
of the common man. Performances encourage people indigenous people from other regions of the country
to gather and appreciate tales of the yore. The climate and their unique approach to their climate according
is never deterrent. The traditional houses were to their requirements keeping in mind community,
equipped with long overhangs that provide shade to and the individual is an example for the world to
passersby and the public. During the Upaku Wonegu, learn from.
the various Hitis are also part of the series of shrines
which the procession-goers visit as part of the ritual. References
These Hitis were the only source of water, once
[1] Joshi HR, Suresh DS. Feasibility of Recharging Aquifer
but not many people are aware of their locations Through Rainwater in Patan, Central Nepal. Bull Dep Geol
throughout the settlement except the larger ones, 2008;11:41–50.
which are associated with temples [Figure 10]. Both [2] Joshi J. Preserving the Hiti, Ancient Water Spout System of
Hindus and Buddhists believe that Hitis are gifts Nepal. In: Australia ICOMOS Conference. Adelaide: Australia
from Nagas. Hitis are maintained and worshipped ICOMOS; 2019. p. 2–15.
[3] Regmi D. Inscriptions of Ancient Nepal. New Delhi: Abhinav
during Nag Panchami9.1During this particular
Publications; 2003.
procession they have to light lamps and offer grains [4] Levi S. Le Népal: Étude Historique D’un Royaume Hindou.
at various shrines. This leads to their exposure to the Paris: E. Leroux; 1905.
knowledge of these public water-points throughout [5] Malla KP. A Preliminary Note on the Linguistic Archeology
of the Nepal Valley. Studia Turcologica Cracoviensia. Poland:
9 Naga Panchami is a day of traditional worship of Nagas Jagellonian University Press; 1973.
or snakes observed by Hindus throughout India, Nepal, [6] Slusser M. Nepal Mandala: A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu
and other countries where Hindu adherents live. The Valley. New Jersey: Princeton University Press; 1982.
worship is offered on the fifth day of bright half of lunar [7] Shrestha VP. A Concise Geography of Nepal. Kathmandu:
month of Shravana, according to the Hindu calendar. Mandala Publications; 2007.

Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1 33

[8] Upreti BN. An Overview of the Stratigraphy and Tectonics of Wissenschaftsverlag; 1981.
the Nepal Himalaya. J Asian Earth Sci 1999;17:577–606. [12] Upadhyay AK, Yoshida H, Rijal HB. Climate Responsive
[9] Shrestha MN. Nepal’s Traditional Settlement: Pattern and Building Design in the Kathmandu Valley. J Asian Archit Build
Architecture. J Cult Geogr 1;1981:26–43. Eng 2006;5:169–76.
[10] Korn W. The Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley. [13] Sestini V, Bonapace C. Traditional Materials and Construction
New Delhi: Ratna Pustak Bhandar; 1977. Technologies used in the Kathmandu Valley. Paris: Paragraphic
[11] Gutschow N. Newar Towns and Buildings: An Illus- for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
trated Dictionary Newari-English St. Augustine: VGH Organization; 2003.

34 Distributed under creative commons license 4.0 Volume 4; Special Issue 1