Doutoramento em História da Arte
Linking Heritage: Yenya punhi festival a path to reinforce identity. The katmandu experience
Monalisa Maharjan

Orientação: Filipe Themudo Barata & Jose Alberto Gomes Machado

In today’s world heritage worldwide are at the risk not only because of natural process of decay and destruction but also by social change like urbanization, globalization and homogenization of cultures. With these emerging problems, the heritage conservation discourse also has reached to a new dimension including broader range of concepts like tangible heritage, intangible heritage, community participation, indigenous knowledge and many more. Even with the changing scenario in the international context about the heritage conservation, Nepal’s heritage conservation still focus on monuments, sites and buildings. In add to that the conservation practices are still top-down approach and community involvements are limited only in plans. While numerous intangible heritages like masking dances chariot processions, festivals and rituals, which forms an integral part of the daily social life of people are still being continued and managed by the community and its people, without without serious attention form the government.

 In Kathmandu Valley these heritages has been maintained with the traditional social association of people known as “Guthi” which has been continuing since 5^th  Century.

Most of the tangible and intangible heritages have survived for centuries because of this unique association of people. Among the numerous festivals of the Kathmandu Valley, the festival Yenya Punhi was chosen as a case for this study, which is also a major festival of Kathmandu. This festival is the perfect example for the study as its celebrated in the city that is the most urbanized city of Nepal with the challenges of the modern cities like social changes and urbanization.

Despite modern challenges Guthi still plays a major role in the heritage conservation in Kathmandu Valley. Now there are some interventions of the various formal institutions. So this study will be focusing on the management, continuity and problems of the festival along with Nepal’s position in terms of intangible heritage conservation. The problem of Kathmandu and Yenya Punhi festival is the problem of every country in the similar situation so with this case study it can be a good example for finding solutions of the similar problem not only the other festivals within Nepal but also elsewhere in the world.

Keywords:  Intangible Heritage, Tangible heritage, Linkages, Conservation and indigenous system.