Cultural change

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Introduction
Culture is defined as the system of values and norms shared by a group of society or that shaped
by social knowledge. It is the collective consciousness - a way of acting, feeling and thinking by
Groups of people and shaped by a sense of shared customs, knowledge, beliefs and perceptions
that define individual behaviors. So it is described as social glue and commonly held in
individual and group perceptions. Thus, culture involves a larger group of individuals which is a
socially constructed phenomenon, a human product, and is shaped by people belonging to
various groups. Individuals are socialized into society by being taught and learning the behavior
and belief patterns that deal with human systems. It consists of the unwritten rules of social
relationships with the collective programming of the mind, which distinguishes the members of
one group of people from another. It is a pattern of shared basic assumptions which is invented
and developed within a society or group that has worked well enough to be considered applicable
to diverse communities with different values. Therefore, it is taught to new members of the
groups as the correct way to perceive, think and feel in relation to those problems.
Nepal has rich cultural history Because of Nepals vast diversity in altitude that has reflected to
our unique culture. Culture also being sandwiched between both India and China people exist at
different altitudes which also affects the way in which they live their lives and hence their
culture. Many of ethnic groups have their own dramatic culture, language and dialects. Although
some customs have merely been converted to habits without thought, ancient texts justify them
with far-fetched reasons, sometimes making sense and sometimes not. Culture Most of these
customs go back to the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Among them, the rules of marriage are
particularly interesting. In traditional families marriage deals are arranged by parents after the
boy or girl come of age. Child marriage and polygamy that were once upheld and accepted with
glee are not allowed by the law anymore.
(Some dos and donts)
* Affection between men and women, even married, is selfdom expressed. Public kissing,
hugging, and hand- holding are offensive to most Nepalese and a sign moral. But it is acceptable
for two men to walk hand in hand.
*Anger is best not expressed openly. It causes you and the person youre mad at loss of face.
*Baksheesh is an extra payment for a service performed and is usually given to porters or
laborers at the end of the job. It can be money or clothes or anything else and there is no set rate.
*Bargaining is to be expected. Dont bargain if youre not really interested. If your price is
accepted, dont try to back out, and dont try to get an even lower price.
*Bathing in the hills is very conservative. Men should wear shorts; women should wear a lungi
pulled up under the arms.
*Children are spoiled crazies. Dont be surprised if you are the center of attraction everywhere.

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*Clothing is conservative. Men should not go bare- chest and shorts should be conservative.
Women should avoid bare shoulders halter tops, and shorts. Ties and suits are not necessary
except for special occasions.
*Conversations may have dead patches. Nepalese are not uncomfortable with silence.
*Cows are sacred. They go and sleep where they want. Watch out for them if you must stretch
them out while sitting on the floor. Never step over anyone, and always move your feet let
people avoid stepping over you.
*Gifts are rarely given and seldom opened in front of the person who has given it.
*Heads are sacred and should be treated with respect. Never should be treated without respect.
Never take who has given it and never take a topi (hat) off a mans head, even in fun.
*Invitations often arrive at the last moment. Dont be surprised or offended, it happens to
everyone. If youre busy, even a short appearance is enough.
*Jutho (impurity) refers to food that is ritually polluted and therefore inedible; any food which
has come into contact, either directly or indirectly with the month becomes jutho.
*Left hands are used for cleaning oneself after going to the toilet. It is never used to pass or
accept things, whether food at the table or money with a shopkeeper.

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Problems of culture in Nepalese Society

1. Gender discrimination.
2. Degrading status of cultural sites.
3. Caste differences
4. Poor attention by government to preserve the culture.
5. Young generation poor commitment in cultural protection
6. Easily adaptation of foreign culture.
7. Growing modernization
8. High cross cultural effects.

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Objective
The main objective of this report is to find out the change in cultural system in Nepal from past
years to now. How different factors are playing active roles in changing the cultural scenario of
Nepal. Some objectives that can be listed as follows:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

To compare the status of culture in past and now.

To identify the problem.
To provide as secondary data.
To improve the drawbacks.

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Current status of Change in cultural heritage in Nepal

Every community has been following certain code of conduct, attitude, values and beliefs from
time immemorial. On the basis of these things man's life style in the society is determined. The
life style of a social community is its culture. Cultural heritage comprises man's knowledge, arts,
literature, religion, philosophy, customs and so on which he has developed over thousands of
years to make the life and the world happy and prosperous. The Cultural heritage of Nepal
covers ancient religious books, rituals performed by people, ceremonies and festivals, music and
dance, religious norms and values. Similarly, musical instruments, eating habits, living standard,
clothings monasteries and temples, Ghumbas, and Chaityas, shelter house, ponds, rivers,
religions places and other place of significance are the components of cultural heritage. The
history of Nepal shows that keen interest has been taken in conserving and promoting our
cultural heritage from the Kirant period to the present time.
Even today different stakeholder organization are engaged in the conservation task of national
cultural heritage and several religious temples, monasteries, Chaityas, lakes and phonds have
been renovated and preserved. However, for that last decades after the year 2020 B.S. there has
been a rapid growth in population and consequently construction or development works have
been carried out so blindly and indiscriminately that they have ultimately changed the genuine
from the cultural and have caused its deformation.
The status and artifacts of temple are being stolen. People throw water materials near temples
and shelter house which spread a bad smell in the surrounding areas. Moreover pubic land or
areas of religious importance are openly encroached upon. People have lost their belief in social
norms and values. This causes repulsion from religious tolerance, indigenous literature, music
and arts. People are attracted more towards foreign culture that to our own social customs, eating
habits, clothing, ceremonies and traditions. This kind of absurdity makes our society follow
foreign religion and culture. This transition in religion and culture is depriving Nepalese
literature, music and arts of their originality and cultural heritage is losing its originality and is
undergoing deformation.

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Research Methodology
Research Design
The choice of method is influenced by the data collection strategy, the type of variable, the
accuracy required, the collection point and the skill of the enumerator. Links between variables,
its sources and practical methods for its collection can help in choosing appropriate methods.
The main data collection methods are as follows:
i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

v.

Registration method
Registers and a licenses are particularly valuable for complete enumeration, nut are
limited to variable that change slowly such as number of fishing vessels and their
characteristics.
Questionnaires methods:
Forms which are completed and written by respondents. An in expensive method that is
useful where literacy rates are high and a respondents are co-operatives.
Interview method:
Forms which are completed through an interview with the respondent. More expensive
than questionnaires, but they are better for more complex questions, low literacy or less
co-operation.
Direct observation method-:
Making direct measurements is the most accurate method for many variables such as
catch but is often expensive. Many methods, such as observer, programs, are limited to
financial corporation.
Reporting methods:
The main alternative to making direct measurement is to require financial corporation and
a other to report their activities. Reporting requires literacy and a co-operation. But can
be bad by a legal requirement and a direct measurements.

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Sources of Data
Sources of data indicates that origin of the data from where we collect the required information.
Here are basically two types of sources of data, which are as follows:
i.

Primary sources: Research is based on primary sources. Original material from the
field one is studying including books articles and letters written by the people or in the
field one is studying, interviews with persons involved in the field, speeches and lectures
which they deliver, diaries they kept etc. scholars conductance primary sources in search
of new material and inside that has not previously been reported by the scholars or have
been reported differently by the other scholars. Examples of primary sources includes:
Personal papers.
Letters (both personal and business).
Diaries and journals (both personal and business).
Photographs and paintings, sketches, original maps etc.
Advertisement, posters and banners
Genealogy records both personal and family and from the public records.
News footage (newsreels, videotapes or audiotapes).
Newspaper articles written at the time of event
Speeches which are contemporaneous with the event.
Oral histories
Minutes of meetings related to the event
Vital records
More recently computer software, email archives, web documents

ii.

Secondary sources: Secondary sources are account of event which was created well after
the event occurs. Secondary sources are based on primary sources, they are usually
studies which analyze, evaluate, interpret or criticize primary sources. By assessing,
repackaging and distributing information, secondary sources make the information more
accessible. Scholars consults secondary sources to determine what others have already
reported about the particular research topic. In ones own research, secondary sources are
often comparing with one another. For examples: to show how many other agreed or
disagreed on a particular point, such as our own line of thinking from our work with
primary sources. Secondary sources can be articles in newspapers or popular magazines,
book or movies reviews, or articles found in scholarly journals that addresses someone
elses original research. Secondary sources are second-hand information, analogous to
human conversation if we tell them something we are their primary sources. If we tell
someone else what we told them they are secondary sources.
Use of browser, website of organization.

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Sampling procedure: It is virtually impossible to study every record in the target

information. In most cases, the target information such as DSS. DPS, MIS, MKIS, is
simply too large for the researcher to plan a quality research study. Collecting millions of
questionnaires from every functional area would present the following challenges:
Large number of questionnaires will increase cost for printing the large number of
questions and transportation cost to distribute the questionnaires to all sectors.
Researchers would have difficulties finding all functional area, particular in various
branches.
Unqualified research assistance would have to be enlist to assist in data collection,
reducing the quality of data receipt,
Years would be spent distributing and collecting the questionnaires, let alien coding the
questionnaires responses.
Since it will take so long to collect data from the entire functional areas. The data from
the first functional department sampled will likely by the time. The last functional
department is sampled.

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Analysis in cultural environment

Culture covers the yearning of people for a true and authentic life even though this is not
true once authenticity is examined closer.
Still culture includes dreams as much as stories told by grandparents to the younger
generations. There seems a vast difference in the cultural practices in Nepal before 60 and after
60. Cultural environment is analyzed on the quantitative research methods of art, social in
particular sector and to interpret cultural representation and practices in effort to gain new
knowledge or understanding through data analysis and cultural process. Various analyses can be
done in various sectors like:
I. Adaptation and change:
How culture adapt to its surrounding through use of culture like: fooding, housing,
dressing style has been changed with its culture. Fashionable and modern dressing up, concrete
housing, European style fooding, celebrating all festivals like Christmas, Lhosar and so on are
the practices in cultural sectors.
II. Expressions:
It is the analysis done to know the wide range of cultural practices from past and
presents.
First analysis: It covers the local development issues like improving responsiveness in culture
like nuclear family, norms, values, beliefs which has been slightly changed.
Second analysis: It covers cultural impact studies and the capacity to anticipate future
development as strengthening city profile. It focuses on integration and connectivity like we
feeling , united and so on.
Analysis on particular conditions:
The analysis can be done in cultural symbols like auspicious signs and symbol.
For e.g. Swastika.
Many Nepalese do not feel that they have eaten a real meal unless it has included
a sizeable helping of rice and it is more common to eat with the hands.
Villagers celebrate the end of the plowing seasons.
Conventions regarding eating and drinking are tied to caste.
Traditionally, caste rules also dictate who may eat with or accept food from
whom.

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However, caste rules are relaxing to suit the modern world. Historically, class was loosely
correlated with occupational specialization. Caste and ethnic group are often identifiable by both
physical traits and styles of dress and ornamentations. Westernization is slowly vying with
sanskritization as a cultural influence and the ability to speak English is a mark of prestige and
assets in the market. People also prefer western clothes. In the past, status was vested in the
ownership of land and livestock. Modern status symbols include motorcycle, cars, fashionable
clothing, televisions and computers.

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FINDINGS
Cultural environment is so vague that it is really difficult to know on the various sectors. Culture
is so intense to know and various researchers are also trying to know on the cultural practices,
issues and problems. The thematic issues in this project include development, changes in
environment and livelihoods and social cultural change. Some of the concepts like development.
Environment and livelihoods are among the ever expanding baggage of everyday use vocabulary
for people including academics, researchers, policymakers development professionals and social
activists. Environment and development in particular have remained persistent themes in the
discourses on Nepal's economic and demographic processes for several decades now (for
detailed reviews of these issues see Ives and Messerli1989 ,Ives2006.Pandey1999) .The focus on
livelihoods (in particular of vulnerable people)and the discourse surrounding it within the context
of either or environmental(particularly natural resources) management or both is relatively
perhaps going back to the mid-1990s only (see Chambers and Conway1992).The changes in the
environments and livelihoods of the poor and marginalized people are among the central issues
of concern today among those involved in development programmes in Nepal. However .social
and cultural change in the context of changing environments have received little attention thus
far from development agencies, projects, as well as researchers in Nepal-perhaps because these
themes may have appeared un important to many vis- a. vis the issues surrounding
'development 'that arcane placed higher on the 'to do 'agenda by international development
agencies and . The papers presented in this volume are special in that their authors touch upon
social and cultural change while examining the interrelationship between changes In
environments and livelihoods for certain groups of people in Nepal. The authors discuss and
examine the changing environments, livelihoods and lite- ways of selected dalits (Damai ,Kami
Sarki,and Pode/ Jalari)and marginalized ethnic groups (Kumals and Tharus) living in eastern and
western Nepal (Map1 shows the study sites).The analyses of field level realities presented in the
papers tend to challenge the received wisdom that development projects generally bring positive
changes in the lives of everyone within their remit. As strong argument that emerges from a
careful reading of these papers is that' development 'as a conceptual framework for explaining
the social and cultural factors and processes may not be adequate

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Summary

The culture of Nepal is assemblage of music, architecture, religion and literature. This
mountain kingdom is multiethnic and multilingual. This land is rich with unique cultural groups
like Tharu, Newar etc. Nepal is blessed with one of the richest culture in the world. Culture has
been called the way of life for an entire society. The statement holds particularly true in case of
Nepal where every aspect like food, clothing and even occupation are culturally guided. The
culture of Nepal includes the code of manner, dress, language, ritual norms of behavior and
system of beliefs with Nepalese warm hospitality.

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CONCLUSION
To conclude, from this project we would be able to know that there are lots of cultural variations
in the past 50 years and in the todays time. The cultural scenarios of Nepal have been modified
from different aspects in norms, values or practices. Thus it is a complete volume explaining on
the cultural sectors and gives a vivid vision on cultural forms.

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References
1. Different websites like ekantipur.com, thehimalayantimes.com, etc.
2. TU central library, kritipur.
3. Different newspapers and magazines.
4. Nepal tourism board

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