Ritual Art of the Kathmandu Valley: Its Untold Importance

The Kathmandu Valley has always been known, among others, also for its religious and social life – replete with numerous festivals, rites, and rituals. It may sound strange but true that during some such events, works of ‘Art’ – or painted forms on paper and earthen pots remain an integral part of the religious rites and the worship paraphernalia. And like in other medieval or traditional art practices of the Valley, the works here remain exclusive to a set of artists from a caste group. Described here as ‘Ritual Art’, the art tradition is so deep-rooted and rich with innumerable prehistoric motifs that no one knows when and how it may have originated. And also, its spiritual importance in the lifestyle of Valley people has remained so high – the practice continues to be alive and vibrant, right to this day. Despite such importance, very little academic attention is given to it – to know more about it. True that, a few stray attempts are seen in recent times to bring the art to the public. Ironically, it amounted to little in academic terms. It amounts to almost groping in the dark – vaguely reminiscent of the proverbial fable of six blind men groping an elephant. For it led to only being interpreted, naively, as one of the folk arts of Nepal? It’s not, and it’s fundamentally different. Contrary to the common definition of the term – ‘Folk-art’, ‘Valley Ritual Art’ has never been an open, popular art to call it a Folk Art. The term is therefore a misnomer here. Instead, first and foremost, it’s because the tradition contains many archetypal forms and characters, inherited from the ancient past – often reflecting developing stages of Art in the making in Nepal. Because of these pecularities, this essay attempts to discuss its untold features and archaic nature. A few motifs are chosen to discuss as relevant examples.