Himalogical

Friday, July 18, 2008

Ritual of "Dungdunge" (26/5/08)

Shorter version of the dungdunge ritual using a chicken instead of goat. Dungdunge is a mad spirit that is usually appeased by pulling the heart of a live goat out and placing it at the ritual altar. Impressive stuff.

Up the hill to collect berries (24/05/2008)

View (eastwards) of the cluster of houses in ward 4 where I lived

Collecting yellow raspberries (ainselu-ऐंसेलु)

Sowing millet in 2007 and 2008

Sowing millet 25th May 2007

Sowing millet 24th May 2008 (exactly on time!)

View up the trail

Monday, April 28, 2008

Various photos in village - 2

View over the southern side of the village

View from upper ward 5 down over the school and lower ward 5

Three village shamans during the funeral rites of a villager's younger brother

Older villagers drink millet beer during the funeral

Poster in the Limbu language (using Nepali script) for the November election that was cancelled. The government did not provide posters in Limbu for the election in April (though there were many Sherpa, Rai and Tamang posters pasted up around the village though there are only 1 Sherpa and 2 Rai households (no Tamang) in the whole VDC)

Various photos in the village

The second son (maila) of the house I live in hanging out in my kitchen

Weaving cane-sheets (chhittra [N]) with a high-altitude bamboo (mālingo [N])

View of the workshop of one of the tailor (damai) families that live in the village

Me in someone else's scruffy clothes

Election preparations (9th and 10th April) - Part 3

Election officials, police and local election assistants on the morning of the election

An old woman is carried to the voting booth while her daughter-in-law votes for her

View of the school ground with election underway

Election preparations (9th and 10th April) - Part 2

The stamp used on the voting forms

A view of the voting booth for the "red" vote [proportional representation]

Box for collecting the vote forms for the "red" vote [PR]

Sorting out the "red" vote forms

Close up of the 55 parties on the proportional representation vote [which accounts for 335 seats of the 601 total in the constituent assembly - which will write the new constitution]

Election preparations (9th and 10th April) - Part 1

Helping set up the barriers and sections which will divide male/female/old & incapacitated

Early morning on elections day (6am). The barriers and red/blue boxes for the votes are in place

The main election assistant writes in the details of the voting sheets to be handed out during the day

Limbuwan Party political program (30th March 2008)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Maoist pre-election village program (26th March 2008)

Pre-speech dance by village youths

View over a Maoist banner towards male villagers during the political program

Ram (Surendra) Karki, the Maoist candidate for the Eastern part of Taplejung (there are two seats in Taplejung district, roughly East (1) and West (2). Karki lost to Surya Man Gurung (Nepali Congress) by 312 seats. CPN-UML won in the Western area.

View of the school and the Maoist political program underway