Today we’re living in 21st century, but still there some superstitions that hinder Nepal’s development. But it is not limited only in Nepal, there are many countries that believe in superstitions and treat it as tradition. But today we’ll be focusing on some of the Nepalese society’s mentality.
Culture and superstition blend with each other so much that
people cannot differentiate superstition in culture. It is very important to
know the differences between two, they’re totally different subject matters.
Superstition is not norm. Some discriminates between castes whereas some show
no humanity to animals. Also in the context of Nepal, women are
considered weak in comparison to male. Many people believe that girls should
not be educated because they are commodities.
But comparing to past generation, todays peoples understand that
culture is not linked with fallacies. We can see caste, gender differences in
some villages even today. It includes jhankri, gender discrimination,
chhaupadi, and many more.
Let’s look at some of the little fallacies of Nepal
Ø We should not cut nails after sunset
Ø Right hand is dominant hand to eat and to
do other activities
Ø You shouldn’t keep shoes upside down
Ø a broken mirror is the sign of bad luck
Ø Whistling is bad
Ø Red chilies with lemon protect you from
evil
Ø leaping over a broom is bad luck
Ø You cannot step in a pillow, it is bad
luck
Ø It you dream about fish, you’ll
get money
Ø And the most used is if you see bad cat on
road, it’s a bad luck
Well these were some common superstitions. Now let’s look at some
of the superstitious practices of Nepal.
Chhaupadi pratha
In this practice, women are kept away from their house during
menstrual period. Women are kept in cow shed during their menstrual
period. It is practiced in some far western districts of Nepal. We
can see here how much women are subjected in the male oriented society. It is
practiced in some parts of India and Bangladesh too.
Daijo pratha (dowry system)
It is a tradition of giving property to bridegroom or his family
from the bride’s family in marriage ceremony. The property offered to
bridegroom’s during the marriage ceremony is called dowry.it is specially
practiced in Terai region. It is also a social problem because it creates
burden to low income families. The reason why parents don’t want to give birth
to girls is because of the fear of dowry system.
Jhankri (shaman)
There are many superstitions over the country of which one is
Jhankri. When someone is having bad health, people take them tot the jhankris
instead of hospitals. Some people believe that diseases are curse of god and it
cannot be treated in hospitals.
Deuki pratha
Now this is a very unacceptable practice in Nepal. Here daughter
is offered to the temple to please the god. She becomes deprived of her rights
including right to education, right to marry and many more. It is mostly
practiced in far western region. These people believe that it will help them
gain religious merits.
Untouchability
It is a practice where people are discriminated on the basis of
their caste. People themselves have divided the castes into upper caste and
lower caste. And those so called lower caste people are prohibited from
participating, touching and mixing up with the society.
Gender Discrimination
Talking about Nepal, there are still many people who consider
women weak in comparison to the men. People think that women are there to serve
men and that’s it. There are still some fathers who believe that girls shouldn’t
be educated. Girls aren’t any commodity and they should have equal rights as
men. In present, there are laws against this evil, but still there are some
districts who don’t implement it.
Early Marriage
Our society is suffering from early marriage and dowry system. Some illiterate people believe that grown up girls shouldn’t be kept in home for a
long time. Early marriage causes a lot of problems to the children. It also
causes physical, mental illness and pre mature death of the mother.
Corruption
This is the most happening evil in Nepal. It is a big problem in
society as well as in the nation. Corruption has affected both private and public
sectors. But fighting corruption is difficult because huge number of people is
with corruption including many big personalities. To remove this social evil,
new incentive should be implemented so that people change their behaviors
towards corruption.
Girl trafficking
In many places of Nepal, girls and women are treated as a means of
enjoyment. There are beliefs like women are only made for housekeeping issues. Due
to the open border between Nepal and India, the girls trafficking are
increasing day by day. Trafficking includes forced labor, domestic and factory
work.
Caste Discrimination
There are a lot of conflicts about castes in Nepal. This conflict
remains unsolved until people won’t have a fixed commitment. In many places,
Brahmins remain at the top followed by Chhetri's. So called untouchables are
those persons who have lowest positions in terms of job. Dalits are treated
very badly; they do not have right to basic human rights. They are not liked by
peoples. But people should understand that no one wants to be hated and they
are not from their own wish. Every caste should be treated equally.
Superstitions are those
blind faiths which are accepted by people, it is not even a culture or any
social norms. These blind beliefs create insecurity in people and lead them to
backwardness. Development of a country has a great role in eliminating these
practices and superstitions. In the context of Nepal, these superstitions are
deep rooted, but many NGO’s are trying to eradicate it. New generation doesn’t
believe in these things because they are educated.
Have a wonderful day!!