Introducing Nepal - Nepal - page 5

Nepalese want adequate incomes, access to resources, better
education and health services, and equal opportunity. As this
book goes to press, an interim government is in control. It has
scheduled elections (which have been delayed on several occaﾭ
sions) to form an assembly, and seeks to create a new and stable
federal republic.
People and culture in the northern and southern parts of
Nepal tend to resemble those of neighboring regionsﾭChina,
Tibet, and India. The origin of the name Nepal depends on
several ancient mythical and historical stories. Many people
who inhabit northern Nepal are descendents of people from
Tibet. The Tibetan people lived a nomadic lifestyle, herding
sheep and producing wool for their livelihood. In the Tibetan
language, ne means “wool,” and pal means “house.” Therefore,
Tibetan people called the Himalayan region Nepal in recogniﾭ
tion of its wool production.
Similarly, however, the Newar (inhabitants of the Kathﾭ
mandu Valley) had the word Nepa, meaning “country of the
middle zone.” Because their homeland was situated in the cenﾭ
tral part of the Himalayas, they called it Nepal. Lepcha people,
on the other hand, use the word Nepal in reference to a “sacred
or holy cave.” According to yet another story, Manjushri (a
Buddhist deity) drained the water from Nagadaha (a mythical
lake that is believed to have occupied the Kathmandu Valley).
When drained, the valley became inhabitable. According to
legend, the valley was ruled by Bhuktaman, a cow herder, under
the guidance of a sage named Ne. Because the sage had taken
care to rule the sacred country, the land was named Nepal . In
this version, Ne recognizes the name of the sage, and pal refers
to “taking care.” Clearly, the origin of the country's name is
subject to wild speculation and is anyone's guess.
Religion plays a very important role in Nepalese society.
More than 80 percent of the country's people follow Hinduism
or Buddhism, and many Nepalese follow both faiths. Lumbini
is the birthplace of Gautama Buddha; hence, it is the home of