THESIS PORTFOLIO
“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots”
Marcus Garvey
I believe in what Gary Locke States “Ethnic diversity adds richness to a society”. I love the tone of my native language that sounds musical bits from ethnic instruments. The irony is that i lack both the skills in my own ethic language and ethnic music but I am more familiar with western music and even practice western instruments. While growing up in Dhankuta i never got the opportunities to learn any form of ethnic art and i am quite certain that such opportunities still do not exist. However, i am not the only one with such experience. I grew up in Dhankuta bazaar with native Athpahariya community (one of the sub groups of Kirati community). The younger generation knows very
little about their own culture and history.
“The loss of culture of indigenous groups has been central to cultural anthropologists because it represents the irreversible loss of humanity’s heritage and diversity.” .........Wade Davis
We’re losing one of the things that count the most: our identity, the uniqueness in us, which makes us special and allows us to stand out from the crowd. They say that one has to be affiliated to some culture or else one is lost no matter how good or bad it is.
“Cultural values are, in themselves, neutral as well as universal, and so much depends on how individuals or ethnic groups use them. Values are influenced by so many factors such as geography, climate, religion, the economy and technology.”................F. Sionil Jose
Various forms of traditional tangible and intangible cultures such as festivals, language, cultural dance and music have been neglected, forgotten and in many cases even disappeared due to nationalization
and globalization. Hence, it is my hope that through the various activities in the proposed Ethnic Art Centre in Dhankuta, the unique ethnic arts and culture of this region will not only be safe guarded but
also be passed on to the next generation.
Though small landlocked country occupying 0.03 part of total land, Nepal is
exceptionally rich in cultural diversity. Population statistics of 2068 shows 125 ethnic
groups recognized all over the Nation. Among them Rai and Limbu are the major
indigenous ethnic groups who are found in eastern development region (EDR).
The evolution of civilization takes place because of generations of practice and careful
inheritance to successors who accept and continue by developing and adding skill along
with time. Each ethnic community living in different geographical location due to their
own topography, climate and available resources develops their own unique pattern of
lifestyle, culture, tradition, art and belief system. Those tangible and intangible cultural
heritages are the property of our nation which gives us an identity of who we were. These
genuine heritages are under threat and at risk of being obsolete without being
documented.
Art Centres in other countries such as Kala Kendra by designed by Charles Corea
specially aims to promote traditional art through performance hall, school and galleries
but does not include hands-on and training activities. The Indian Museum of Washington
DC share same typology goal and programs but it does not have performance hall and
training activities. There are no any exact cases in national level to present exact cases.
In our context tangible heritage are displayed in museum which are never engaging and
no specific performing art center exist which is built especially to serve ethnic art. But the
effort is not less and the programs are being conducted is each festivals and holidays. For
small scale programs venues such as local public halls are used whereas large scale
gatherings during festivals take place in Tudikhel. Till now centers to provide trainings
on various forms of ethnic art is not recognized except occasional trainings done by ethic
community at local level.
Ethnic art centre can be best defined as a centre that aims to save our traditional culture
by effort of passing it down to the younger generation for continuation. It is a complex
consisting of an ethnographic museum, facilities for cultural performance and training
centre various forms of ethnic art. Training centre here means a place to learn music and
dance of ethnic groups to prevent it from being lost in the future.
Ethnic art centre can be distinguished from an art centre and cultural centre because of
its regional representation and small scale of the project specific to ethnicity. It promotes
local and regional folk and ethnicity but not universal, classical and global art and
culture as an art centre.
The proposed Ethnic Art Center proposed in Dhankuta will have a space designed to
perform, display, involve and train various forms of cultural heritage of major ethnic
community living in the region. The public building with urban plaza will serve local
people as day out and hangout space from daily life. Visitors and tourists will learn about
ethnic art in the library, museum, galleries, and performing art/cultural shows. People
will not only see and learn but will be offered to involve directly by engaging in
workshops and hands-on activities. The restaurant in center will serve ethnic food with
authentic indigenous flavor. The shops will offer the locally made fine souvenir for token
of love.
Project will be specially benefited by local community as the center will be built, use and
sustained by them. The programs need their active participation and involvement which
not only save and promote our heritage but also help to generate income and activities in
town. Other beneficiaries are:
Tourist and visitors can stay for long period to see and learn about regional arts
Schools of Dhankuta bazaar can link their curriculum with the activities of Center
to educate children on ethnic art and culture so that the understanding and
appreciation for ethnic culture will grow among the younger generation.
Downtown shops and hotels will also benefits as the activity grows and the place
could be a stop point for tourists on Koshi highway.
Local people can use for refreshment and hang out in landscape, plaza, restaurant
and see performance
for more
http://www.slideshare.net/sumanlimbusubbayakthumbu/thesis-2014-lumbasumba-ethnic-art-centre-dhankuta-suman-limbu
