Page 43 - 07_Social Studies and Population Education Book 7_2078 Revised and Updated Edition

Lesson SOME IMPORTANT ASPECTS
5 OF OUR TRADITIONS

Tradition is a belief, behaviour, custom or elements of a culture transferred
from generation to generation. It is an aggregate form of attitudes, practices,
and customs existing in our community from the past. Tradition includes life
cycle rituals and different aspects of festivals. It also includes the things related
to language, religion, culture, costume, food habit, etc. The specific norms
and values of different castes, community, religion and place contribute to the
development of different traditions.
It is obvious that Nepal is rich in traditions. People from different social, cultural,
religious and geographical backgrounds have their own unique traditions. There
are some traditions that are common among the Nepalese irrespective of their
background. Respecting and serving our parents and seniors citizens, loving our
juniors, respecting guests, constructing chautaro and patipauwa for porters and
public travelers to rest, constructing taps and wells and offering water to thirsty
people are some examples of the Nepalese tradition. Holy trees like the Pipal,
Bar and Swami are planted in religious and public places as well as roads.

Mutual cooperation is another important aspect of our traditions. We help
each other during mourning. People work together during social and religious
functions held either in a family or on a community level. Different types of
cooperation and moral economies like reciprocity, borrowing and parma are
the fundamental features of Nepali rural life. Likewise, various indigenous and
induced social organizations like Guthi, Club, Women Group, Mother Group,
Religious Group, etc have been working for the collective welfare.

Folk art and culture is the next important aspect of our traditions. Festivals in
different communities glorify their society throughout the year. Nepal is famous
for different types of folk songs, dance and musical instruments. Similarly, people
of different social and geographical backgrounds have unique costumes and
ornaments. Let us briefly discuss about these unique costumes and ornaments.

Traditional Costumes

A particular clothing or set of clothes which is different from what one usually
wears is called a traditional costume. There are many traditional costumes
among the Nepalese people according to their geographical areas, sex, caste and
religion. Some of them are listed below in the table:

Our Social Norms and Values 43