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Swati Pujari, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
The Ancient Monument Preservation Act of 2013 B.S. [1] (A.D. 1956) considers objects with value and/or more than hundred years old as ‘monuments’. Values can be various. The temples of Kathmandu Valley embody, besides obvious religious values, historic, communal and architectural significances. Most temples were built several centuries ago, during the rule of Malla Kings (12th to 18th century A.D.). Architecturally they reflect the pinnacle of the valley’s temple designs, the Tiered and the Shikhara styles. They are largely of brick and timber, however, use of stone is also found. Age old architectural marvels, these temples still remain an integral part of peoples’ lives.
Shrines are found either in clusters, around the famous Durbar Squares and other significant complexes, or, independently at street junctions and courtyards, potentially, but not necessarily, close together. It is common to see locals visiting these shrines in the mornings, with more visitors during festivals and other religiously significant days. But even at an odd hour of an odd day, people pray, and motorbikes stop to bow, to these deities. A prayer at a shrine, on one’s way to work or school, is as much of a part of local Kathmandu life as a cup of chiya (milk-tea) at a random hour.
These temples, significant in historic and socio-cultural perspectives, have multiple stakeholders with specific responsibilities. Newars, the indigenous community of Kathmandu valley, have a collective or communal system called ‘Guthi’ [2] that regulates their ritual lives. However, guthis have other roles also. Every temple/deity has several guthis as custodians of their religious and cultural activities and traditions. Most such guthis are mono-caste, and have specific responsibilities, like a temple priests’ guthi is responsible for ritual worships. When every guhti complies with its responsibilities, maintenance and rituals of the temple and the deity run smoothly.
In 2021 B.S. (1964 A.D.) a central government cooperation called Guthi Sansthan was established to manage and coordinate public guthis responsible for temples and festivals. Historically, guthi activities were funded by harvests from communal lands, however after their centralization in Guthi Sansthan, the basic ritual funds are provided by the government. The maintenance and renovation of temples, as heritage monuments, is officially overseen by the Department of Archaeology. Ergo, the formal responsibilities for temples are vested, collectively, in the Department of Archaeology, Guthi Sansthan and responsible communal public guthis. This however doesn’t stop communities from claiming stewardship of monuments in their localities.
On 25 April 2015, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake shook central Nepal, the quake and the aftershocks, claimed more than 8,000 lives and injured more than 20,000. Many historic monuments either completely collapsed or were severely damaged. Numer