YETI

The Yeti or Abominable Snowman is an apelike cryptid said to inhabit the Himalaya region of Nepal and Tibet.
The names Yeti and Meh-Teh are commonly used by the people
indigenous to the region,^[1] and are part of their history and mythology. Nepalese have various
names for Yeti like "Bonmanche" which means "wild man" or "Kanchanjunga rachyyas" which means "Kanchanjunga's
demon."

Most mainstream scientists,
explorers and writers consider current evidence of the Yeti's existence to be
weak and better explained as hoax, legend or misidentification of known
species.^[2] Even today, the Yeti remains one of the most
famous creatures of cryptozoology. As such, the Yeti can be
considered a Himalayan version of the Sasquatch.

Purported Yeti scalp at Khumjung monastery
Creature
Name:	Yeti
AKA:	Abominable Snowman Migoi, Meh-teh et al.
Classification
Grouping:	Cryptid
Sub grouping:	Hominid
Data
Country:	Nepal, Tibet
Region:	Himalayas
Habitat:	Mountains

Events and Studies

19th century

In 1832, the

Journal of the Asiatic society of Bengal published trekker

B. H. Hodgson's account of the Yeti in northern
Nepal. His native
guides spotted a tall, bipedal creature covered with long dark hair, which
seemed to flee in fear. Hodgson did not see the creature, but concluded it was
an orangutan.

An early record of reported
footprints
appeared in 1889 in
L.A.
Waddell's

Among the Himalayas. Waddell reported his guide's description of a large
apelike creature that left the prints, which Waddell concluded were actually
made by a bear.
Waddell heard stories of bipedal, apelike creatures, but wrote that of the many
witnesses he questioned, none "could ever give ... an authentic case. On the
most superficial investigation it always resolved into something that somebody
had heard of."

Early 20th century

The frequency of reports increased during the early
20th
century, when Westerners began making determined attempts to scale the many
mountains
in the area and occasionally reported seeing odd creatures or strange tracks.

In 1925,
N.A.
Tombazi, a

photographer and member of the

Royal Geographical Society, allegedly saw a creature at about 15,000 ft
(4572 meter) near Zemu
Glacier.
Tombazi later wrote that he observed the creature from about 200 or 300
yards, for about a
minute. "Unquestionably, the figure in outline was exactly like a human being,
walking upright and stopping occasionally to pull at some
dwarf

rhododendron
bushes. It showed up dark against the snow, and as far as I could make out,
wore no clothes." About two hours later, Tombazi and his companions descended
the mountain, and saw what they assumed to be the creature's prints, described
as "similar in shape to those of a man, but only six to seven inches long by
four inches wide... The prints were undoubtedly those of a biped."

The Pangboche Scalp

The

Pangboche Hand and Yeti "Scalp",
1954

Dr. Biswamoy Biswas examining the Pangboche Yeti scalp during the
Daily
Mail Snowman Expedition of
1954

The
Daily Mail "Snowman Expedition" of
1954, on
March 19
printed an article which described expedition teams obtaining hair specimens
from a scalp found in Pangboche monastery. The hair was analysed by Professor

Frederic Wood Jones, F.R.S, D.Sc., (who died on

September 29 1954^[25][26])
and an expert in human and comparative anatomy.

The research consisted of taking microphotographs of the hairs and comparing
them with hairs from known animals such as bears and orangutans. Professor
Woods-Jones concluded that the hairs of the Pangboche scalp were not actually
from a scalp. He contended that some animals do have a ridge of hair extending
from the pate to the back, but no animals have a ridge (as in the Pangboche
relic) running from the base of the forehead across the pate and ending at the
nape of the neck.

The hairs were black to dark brown in colour in dim light, and fox red in
sunlight. None of the hairs had been dyed and were probably exceedingly old.
During the study, the hairs were bleached, cut into sections and analysed
microscopically. Wood-Jones was unable to pinpoint the animal from which the
Pangboche hairs were taken. He was, however, convinced that the hairs were not
of a bear or anthropoid ape. He suggested that the hairs were not from the head
of a coarse-haired hoofed animal, but from its shoulder.

[edit]
Late 20th century

Western interest in the Yeti peaked dramatically in the 1950s. While
attempting to scale Mount Everest in 1951,
Eric
Shipton took
photographs
of a number of large prints in the snow, at about 6,000 m (19,685 ft) above
sea level.
These photos have been subject to intense scrutiny and debate. Some argue they
are the best evidence of Yeti's existence, while others contend the prints to be
from a mundane creature, and have been distorted by the melting
snow.

In 1953,
Sir
Edmund Hillary and

Tenzing Norgay reported seeing large footprints while scaling
Mount
Everest. But Hillary would later discount Yeti reports as unreliable.^[28]

During the
Daily Mail
Snowman Expedition of 1954,^[29]
the largest search of its kind, the mountaineering leader

John Angelo Jackson, made the first trek from

Everest to

Kangchenjunga during which he photographed symbolic paintings of the Yeti at

Thyangboche Gompa.^[30]
Jackson tracked and photographed many footprints in the snow, most of which were
identifiable. However, there were many large footprints which could not be
identified. The flattened footprint-like indentations were attributed to erosion
and subsequent widening of the original footprint by wind and particles.

Beginning in 1957, wealthy

American
oilman
Tom Slick funded a few missions to investigate Yeti reports. In 1959,
supposed Yeti feces
were collected by Slick's expedition; fecal analysis found a
parasite
which could not be classified.

Bernard Heuvelmans wrote, "Since each animal has its own parasites, this
indicated that the host animal is equally an unknown animal."

In 1959, actor

Jimmy Stewart, while visiting
India, reportedly
smuggled remains of a supposed Yeti, the so-called

Pangboche Hand, by concealing it in his luggage when he flew from India to
London

In 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary mounted an expedition to collect and analyse
physical evidence of the Yeti. He sent a Yeti "scalp"
from the
Khumjung
monastery to the West for testing, whose results indicated the scalp to be
manufactured from the skin of the
serow,
a goat-like Himalayan antelope. But some disagreed with this analysis.
Myra
Shackley said that the "hairs from the scalp look distinctly monkey-like,
and that it contains parasitic mites of a species different from that recovered
from the serow."^{[citation
needed]}

In 1970, British mountaineer
Don
Whillans claims to have witnessed a creature when scaling
Annapurna.
While scouting for a campsite, Whillans heard some odd cries which his Sherpa
guide attributed to a Yeti's call. That very night, Whillans saw a dark shape
moving near his camp. The next day, he observed a few human-like footprints in
the snow, and that evening, viewed with
binoculars
a bipedal, apelike creature for 20 minutes as it apparently searched for food
not far from his camp.

^{[citation
needed]} Nothing was seen again.

ARTS AND CRAFTS

Art & Craft

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:KaliNepal1920.jpg" width="200" height="269">

Nepalese art andcraft reflect the religiousthemes of Hinduism, Buddhism, and certain location specific depictions. The cultural history of Nepalese art are traditionally divided into five major periods:
Pre-Licchavi, Licchavi, transitional, early Malla (Newar), and late Malla (Newar) periods.

Most of the existing craftsmen areNewars.>

Folklores & folktales

Folklores and folktales have remained an integral part of Nepalese society, and they reveal different dimensions of social and cultural life of the people. Sometales tell of love and affection, others recounthatred andbattles, including some which describedemons,ghosts andcannibalism. Nepalese folklores and folktales have various regional and ethnic colors, and some of them are variations of such tales of other areas which have traveled to Nepal, and being retold with changednames andplaces. There are other tales which are purely of Nepalese origin. Thus, tales in the area ofBhaktapur, complete with princes and richmerchants, can be traced to historical events and sometimes may also be dated.

Like folklores and folktales across theworld, such tales from Nepal are also rooted in the ground reality of day-to-day life, these folklores and folktales reflect local lifestyles, activities, beliefs,emotions,feelings,customs,superstitions, andinhibitions. They also celebrate the basic goodness of human nature, and sometimes reveal a deep faith in the supernatural.

Languages & literatures

As per 2001 census, at least 92 different living languages are spoken in Nepal, though other studies list 123 living languageshttp://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=NP" href="http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=NP" rel="nofollow">[1]. Nepal’s linguistic heritage has evolved from three major language groups, namely,Indo-Aryan,Tibeto-Burman, andindigenous. The major languages of Nepal (percent spoken as mother tongue) areNepali (49%),Maithili (12%), Bhojpuri (8%), Tharu (6%),Tamang (5%),http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nepal_Bhasa_(language)">Nepal Bhasa (4%), Magar (3%), Awadhi (2%),Bantawa (2%), Limbu (1%), andBajjika (1%). The remaining languages are each spoken as mother tongue by less than one percent of the population.Nepali, written inDevanagari script, is the official, national language and serves as lingua franca among Nepalese of different ethno linguistic groups. In the southernTerai Region (5 to 10 mile wide stretch of flat plains in the south which is a northern continuation of Gangetic plains of India),Hindi is also spoken.

Extinct languages of Nepal include Dura, Kusunda and Waling.

Among Nepalese writers isParijat.

Religions & philosophy

A Buddhist Monastery

The 2001census identified 80.6% of the population asHindu andBuddhism was practiced by about 11% of the population (although many people labelled Hindu or Buddhist often practice a syncretic blend of Hinduism, Buddhism and/or animist traditions). About 4.2% of the population isMuslim and 3.6% of the population follows the indigenousKirant religion.Christianity is practiced officially by less than 0.5% of the population.

Main article:Religion in Nepal

Hindu and Buddhist traditions in Nepal go back to more than two millennia. InLumbini, Buddha was born, andPashupatinath temple, Kathamandu, is an old and famousShiva temple. Nepal has several othertemples and Buddhist monasteries, and also places of worship of other religious groups.Tantric traditions are also deep rooted in Nepal, including the practice of animal sacrifices. Five type of animals, always male, are acceptable for sacrifice:buffaloes, goats,sheep,chickens, andducks.>

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JANAKPUR

Janakpur, 110000 inhabitants, is a city in the Dhanusa, southern Terai, Nepal, approximately 400 km south-east of Kathmandu, 22 km from the Indian border.
The city is centre of the ancient Maithili culture with its own language and script. Janakpur also is the birthplace of Sita Devi, a Hindu goddess (also called Janaki), the heroin of the Ramayana epos and it is the site of her wedding with Rama, a Hindu god. King Janak is supposed to have found baby Sita in a furrow of a field; he took the child home and raised it. When she was a young lady the king announced that she should be wed by whoever is able to string the devine bow of Shiva. That was no other than Rama, a prince from Ayodhya. Thus, Janakpur is an important pilgrimage site for Hindus. The centre of Janakpur is dominated by the impressive Janaki Mandir to the north and west of the bazaar. This temple was built in 1911 and is in many aspects reminiscent of islamic architecture.It is also called "Nau Lakha Mandir", it is a biggest temple in nepal.. Another landmark of Janakpur are the numerous sacred ponds for ritual baths (sagar) all over the city. The 2 most important ones are close to the centre: Dhanush Sagar and Ganga Sagar.
The Maithili language is still widely spoken in the area as well as in the neighbouring Indian state of Bihar. Maithili women are renown for their traditional art, most of all their paintings on pottery, walls and court yards. Typically, Maithili dwellings are made of clay and straw with an inner court yard.There are more than 200 ponds...Festivals The Bibhaha (Viveh) Panchami festival re-enacts the wedding of Rama and Sita. Over 100,000 pilgrims come for this festival. There is a procession with elephants, horses, and decorated chariots with beating drums. It is on the fifth day of the waxing moon in November or early December. Rama Navami, the birthday of Lord Rama, in March-April, is an important festival that draws over 100,000 people. Dipawali in Oct/Nov is a festive time to visit.
There is an annual one-day Parikrama (circumambulation) of the city on the full moon day of February/March. Many people offer prostrated obeisances along the entire 8km route. It is at the same time as the Holi festival.










Maithili (मैथिली Maithilī) is a language of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken in the Indian state of Bihar and in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. Linguists consider Maithili to be an Eastern Indic language, and thus a different language from Hindi, which is Central Indic. Maithili has been considered a dialect of both Hindi and Bengali, and in fact was classified as a mother tongue of Hindi in the Census of India. In 2003 Maithili gained the status of an independent language in India. A movement to give the language official status through inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution so that it may be used in education, government, and other official contexts, resulted in Maithili being given official status in 2003.
Maithili was traditionally written in the Maithili script (also known by the names Tirhuta and Mithilakshar, which has some resemblance with the Bengali script. It was also written in the Kaithi script, but the Devanagari script is the script most commonly used today for Maithili. An effort is underway to preserve the Maithili script and to develop it for use in digital media by encoding the script in the Unicode standard, for which a proposal, submitted by Anshuman Pandey, to allocate the script in the Unicode Roadmap has been submitted as the first step.
The term Maithili comes from Mithila, which was an independent state in ancient times. Maithili is a separate language, having a large Maithili-speaking community (4.5 crore, or 45 million, people) with a rich literature. The most famous literary figure in Maithili is the poet Vidyapati. He is credited for raising the importance of 'people's language', i.e. Maithili, in the official work of the state by influencing the Maharaja of Darbhanga with the quality of his poetry. The state's official language used to be Sanskrit, which distanced common people from the state and its functions. The name Maithili is also one of the names of Sita, the consort of Rama.




Maithili (मैथिली Maithilī) is a language of the family of Indo-Aryan languages, which are part of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is spoken in the Indian state of Bihar and in the eastern Terai region of Nepal. Linguists consider Maithili to be an Eastern Indic language, and thus a different language from Hindi, which is Central Indic. Maithili has been considered a dialect of both Hindi and Bengali, and in fact was classified as a mother tongue of Hindi in the Census of India. In 2003 Maithili gained the status of an independent language in India. A movement to give the language official status through inclusion in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution so that it may be used in education, government, and other official contexts, resulted in Maithili being given official status in 2003.





Maithili was traditionally written in the Maithili script (also known by the names Tirhuta and Mithilakshar, which has some resemblance with the Bengali script. It was also written in the Kaithi script, but the Devanagari script is the script most commonly used today for Maithili. An effort is underway to preserve the Maithili script and to develop it for use in digital media by encoding the script in the Unicode standard, for which a proposal, submitted by Anshuman Pandey, to allocate the script in the Unicode Roadmap has been submitted as the first step.
The term Maithili comes from Mithila, which was an independent state in ancient times. Maithili is a separate language, having a large Maithili-speaking community (4.5 crore, or 45 million, people) with a rich literature. The most famous literary figure in Maithili is the poet Vidyapati. He is credited for raising the importance of 'people's language', i.e. Maithili, in the official work of the state by influencing the Maharaja of Darbhanga with the quality of his poetry. The state's official language used to be Sanskrit, which distanced common people from the state and its functions. The name Maithili is also one of the names of Sita, the consort of Rama.

kathmandu is the capital of NEPAL

Smoggy morning in Kathmandu.

Kathmandu (Nepali: काठमाडौं, काठमान्डु, Nepal Bhasa: यें) is the capital city of Nepal and it is also the largest city in Nepal. The original inhabitants of Kathmandu are called Newars, who speak Nepal Bhasa, which is the language of communication between Newars, and is spoken by other ethnic communities residing in Kathmandu. It stands at an elevation of approximately 1,300m (4,265 ft). It is an urban and suburban area of about 1.5 million inhabitants in the tri-city area in the Kathmandu Valley in central Nepal, along the Bagmati River. The two other cities are Lalitpur (Patan) and Bhaktapur. Kathmandu is located at 27°43′N, 85°22′E (27.71667, 85.36667).

History
The Kathmandu Valley may have been inhabited as early as 900 BC, but the oldest known objects in the valley date to a few hundred years BC. The earliest known inscription is dated 185 AD. The oldest firmly dated building in the earthquake-prone valley is almost 1,000 years old. It is said that the Buddha and his disciples spent some time in the area of present-day Patan in the 6th century BC, although there is no evidence for this. Four stupas around the city of Patan said to have been erected by Charumati, daughter of Ashoka the Great, a Mauryan king, in the 3rd century BC attest to the ancient history present within the valley. As with the tales of the Buddha's visit, there is no evidence supporting Ashoka's visit, but the stupas probably do date to that century. The Kirats are the first documented rulers of the Kathmandu Valley, the remains of their palace are said to be in Patan near Hiranyavarna Mahavihara (called "Patukodon"). The Licchavi Dynasty whose earliest inscriptions date back to 464 AD were the next rulers of the valley and had close ties with the Gupta Dynasty of India. The Malla Dynasty consisted of Newar rulers, who ruled Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding area from the 12th century till the 17th century when the Shah Dynasty under Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley as he created present-day Nepal. Most of ancient Nepalese architecture present in Nepal today is from the Malla/Newar era.

The temple of Pashupatinath.
The city of Kathmandu is named after a structure in Durbar Square called Kaasthamandap. In Sanskrit, Kaasth (काष्ठ) = "wood" and Mandap (मंडप/मण्डप) = "covered shelter." This unique temple, also known as Maru Satal, was built in 1596 A.D. by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two story pagoda was obtained from a single tree.
Kathmandu is also sometimes called "Kantipur". Newars, the native people of the Kathmandu valey use the original term from Nepal Bhasa, Yne.

The Kathmandu Valley consists of three primary cities: Kathmandu itself, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Lalitpur and Kathmandu run up right against each other (again, separated only by the Bagmati river), while Bhaktapur is set off much closer to the eastern foothills.
Kathmandu itself is home to most of the government offices, embassies, corporate houses, and the palace. The King's Palace stands right next to Thamel - the tourist hub of the country. Thamel consists of two parallel streets just to the west of the palace. It is home to different hotels, ranging from different stars. The palace is at the head of Durbar Marg, a street lined with various shops.
Most of the streets in Kathmandu are named from Nepal Bhasa, owing its origin to the rich Newari Culture and heritage.
The "old" city is noted for its many Buddhist and Hindu temples and palaces, most dating to the 17th century. Many of these landmarks have been damaged by earthquakes and pollution. This valley hosts an UNESCO World Heritage Sites composed by seven different Monument Zones: The centers of the three primary cities, Kathmandu Hanuman Dhoka, Patan and Bhaktapur, the two most important Buddhist stupas, Swayambhunath and Boudhanath and two famous Hindu shrines, Pashupatinath temple and Changu Narayan. Since 2003 the site has been inscribed in the World Heritage List as being "in danger" out of concern for the ongoing loss of authenticity and the outstanding universal value of the cultural property.
Kathmandu has been popular with western tourists since the 1960s when it became a key stop on the hippie trail, when Jho: Chhee (Nepal Bhasa, continuous house)(Freak Street) was the one of the main location. It is also the subject of a popular Bob Seger song for the same reason.
Tribhuvan International Airport is located about 6 km from the city center, offering domestic and international flights.


Gallery

The palace in the Kathmandu Durbar Square.


Bhairava sculpture, Durbar Square market place 1972.


A view of Kathmandu Durbar Square from 1920. Bhairava in the background.



Small stupa in Kathmandu


Stone carving in Kathmandu street


View over Kathmandu


A seller warming himself up in Durbar Square, Kathmandu, Nepal (pre-prohibition)

Other aspects of Nepali culture

Houses in rural parts of Nepal are made up of stones and clay.

Popular musical styles are a variety of pop, religious and folk music, among other styles. Since the sixties, Nepali rock or rock music, sung to Nepali lyrics, has slowly gained some popularity among a subset of youth, particularly in the Kathmandu Valley. Nepalese hip hop and Nepali reggae have developed in urban areas with the advent of the music video industry. Heavy metal bands also have some following in areas such as Kathmandu. However, these are minority genres; the predominant contemporary musical form is Hindi pop and Nepali pop based on Hindi models, which is popular throughout the country, including the rural areas where the majority of the population lives. Musical genres from Tibet and India have had a strong influence on traditional Nepali music. Women, even of the musician castes, are less likely than men to play music, except in specific situations such as traditional all-female wedding parties.

Houses in rural parts of Nepal are made up of stones and clay.
Football is the most popular sport, followed by cricket and kabaddi. The Martyrs Memorial Football League is the national football championship.
Television was only introduced to Nepal in the 1980s. Currently there are six television broadcasting channels: Nepal Television - the national television channel; NTV 2 Metro - a city channel owned by the government; and four private channels - Kantipur Television, Image Channel, Channel Nepal and Nepal 1. Also many other networks, particularly those that originate in India, are available via satellite dishes, although lack of electricity makes this difficult. Radio is listened to throughout the kingdom; as of 2000, there were twelve radio stations, and in 2006–07 number grew to 56+ Radio stations. Among them most are local FM radio stations, heard in limited range of this hilly nation. However few FMs like Kantipur FM, Image FM are heard over wide range by the help of repeater stations.
The Nepali year Bikram Samwat begins in mid-April and is divided into twelve months. Saturday is the official weekly day of rest. Main holidays include the National Day (birthday of the late king Tribhuvan) December 28, Prithvi Jayanti, (January 11), and Martyr's Day (February 18) and a mix of Hindu and Buddhist festivals[16] such as Teej, Dashai in autumn, and Tihar late autumn.

Mankhim temple in Aritar, Sikkim.
Most marriages are arranged, and divorce is rare. Polygamy is banned by law; relatively isolated tribes in the north, such as the Dolpo, practise polyandry. The various groups of Nepal have a rich tradition of ceremonies, such as nwaran (the christening of a child), Pasni, the day a child is first fed rice, and bratabandha (the penance ceremony) and gupha for prepubescent boys and girls, respectively. In Newari culture,bel bibaha, preadolescent girls are "married" to the bel fruit tree, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile.
Most houses in rural Nepal are made up of a tight bamboo framework with mud and cow-dung walls. These dwellings remain cool in summers and retain warmth in the winter. Dwellings at higher altitudes are mostly timber-based.
Chhaupadi is a custom, widely practiced in some areas, in which women don't enter the kitchen or engage in particular chores during menstruation because they are considered impure.

Newar Culture

The Newar culture is the historic culture of Kathmandu. Newar culture is the most distinct and most preserved culture of Nepal, and definitely the richest culture of Nepal. Most of UNESCO World Heritage site in Nepal are were made by Newars and are existing example of rich Newar cultural heritage. Examples include Kathmandu Durbar Square, Lalitpur Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Swoyembhunath, Changunarayan and Bhaudanath.
The Newar community enjoys its own special cuisine (Newar cuisine), apparels, architecture (Newar Architecture), language (Nepal Bhasa), traditions and festivals (Newa Festival). Newar people are well known for masked dance that tell stories of the gods and heroes. Lakhey is the most popular traditional dance in the entire country. The associated music is percussion-based, sometimes with flutes or shawm accompanying the intense, nasal vocal lines. In other culture, the sarangi, a four-stringed, hand-carved instrument is usually played by wandering minstrels.