THE KITE FLYING TRADITION IN NEPAL

Professor Nirmal Man Tuladhar

From Discourse 10

Boyd Michailovsky

A large Nepali kite made by the author, at right, and Ramesh Shrestha.

On July 7th, I made a presentation on “The Kite Flying Tradition in Nepal” followed by a kite making workshop and demonstration of flying Nepali fighter kites at The National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute: Literatures, Religions and Arts of the Himalayan Region at Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA. Professor Todd T. Lewis, Department of Religious Studies, Holy Cross College, was director of the Summer Institute. The participants were high school teachers from various states of the United States.

MYTHS

The tradition of kite flying has been in practice in Nepal from time immemorial.

Myth one: Kite flying sends messages to Indra, the god of rains, requesting him to stop rains as the rice fields have enough water.

Myth two: This pastime of kite flying brings prosperity to the family.

Myth three: Kite flying is a means of contacting and honoring dead ancestors.

Myth four: Kite flying is a means of guiding recently released souls to heaven.

LEGEND ONE

Kite flying is a seasonal event associated with Dasain that takes place every year in late September or early October, according to the lunar calendar. [Note: Dasain is a 15-day national festival of Nepal that commemorates a great victory of gods over demons.] Legend has it that once upon a time kite flying was not seasonal in the Kathmandu valley. It was enormously popular. The people would fly kites whenever they wanted to, and they were much happier with kite flying.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the birds. The understanding had always been that the people owned the ground and the birds the air, but now the airspace had been invaded. All of a sudden, the sky that had earlier been so open, wide, and free became a snare with nearly-invisible strings that stretched to the sky at all angles. No bird was safe – not the common myna headed homeward, not the vulture looking for carrion, nor the pigeon flying in to feed on the temple offerings, or the crow flapping over to the river for a bath. Every day, a number of birds got entangled in lines with manjha [string coated with powdered glass and used for kite fighting] and suffered lacerations. Quite a few lost control and crashed to the ground.

The people of Kathmandu were not aware that the airspace was in turmoil. The troubled bird representatives came together and decided to meet the king and tell him that his people had invaded their space. The king called an emergency meeting of bird and people representatives so that they could find a solution. After many heated discussions, they agreed that the inconvenience to birds must be minimized. The agreement that was reached between the two parties was written out on a large sheet of lokta paper by the king himself. It came to be known as the Treaty of Kathmandu.

The people and birds of Kathmandu have followed the Treaty of Kathmandu, both in letter and in spirit, since the day the document was signed centuries ago.

Therefore, not a kite goes up during the winter, spring, and summer, during which time the birds have unhindered use of the atmosphere. When the monsoon rains end and the afternoon westerly wind starts to blow, the kites of Kathmandu take to the air.

LEGEND TWO

There was the Buddhist tradition of flying the kites with drawings of the five Transcendent Buddhas – Vairochana, Akshobhya, Amoghasiddhi, Amitabha and Ratnasambhava – on the full moon day of the kite flying season. These kites would be flown from Swayambhu hilltop on Kojarta Purnima at the end of Dasain. This legend tells the story of the primordial Buddha’s enlightenment and of the spread of Buddhism in Nepal. This special kite flying tradition that was sponsored by the social organization no longer exists.

UNIVERSAL FACT

Kite flying has a long and popular history that may seem outdated. Modern life lacks the values of healthy outdoor participation, combining both physical and mental coordination skills. Parents may not yet imagine that one day their children may ask, “What is a kite, dad?”

Kites are toys invented by man’s great imagination and handicraft skills. Flying a kite has the advantages of both physical and mental relaxation. It encourages a child’s imagination. Some people say that human life is like that of a kite that has ups and downs, happiness and sadness, depending on the winds of change in modern life.

Only people who experience flying a kite will understand the amusement or liveliness of the sport. In urban postmodern society, people are busy with work, and fewer children have the opportunity to share the enjoyment of kite flying.

I concluded my presentation by reciting the following poem about two young boys named Mangale Dharti and Gopi Niraula in Dhankuta, a hill town in the eastern region of Nepal. It tells how they come together and make a partnership for buying and flying a kite.

MANGALE’S KITE (MANGALEKO CHANGĀ) PUNESHIL GAUTAM

Translated by Professor Nirmal M. Tuladhar

On the hill of Dhankuta Is my small house.
My name is Mangale My surname is Dharti.
Down near school Lives Gopi Niraula.
We do have a spool and line. We’ll buy a kite.
Mother, give me Fifty paisa today
Look, I’ve done my homework. Tell me I’m a good boy.
Gopi, to your fifty paisa Let me add mine,
Let’s go buy
A kite at Goredai’s shop.
Look at the redhead
With black beard on sides. Our kite is cheerful.
It says it’ll fly.
Pass me line, Gopi. I’ll fix a bridle.
You hold the spool. I’ll let the kite go up.
Look, the wind is blowing. Fluttering
Our kite flies up Like a myna.
When the line is reeled out It goes down rotating.
When the line is reeled in
It goes up in the sky.
Gopi, give me a turn. Let me fly for a while. The sun is setting.
Let’s fly the kite up above the clouds.
What a strong wind! The line is running out. Up above the clouds
The kite is going out of sight.
Ha! Ha! Ha! Mangale, Snap the line off.
Let the kite fly away, Said Gopi laughing.
Oh kite, wait for us on the moon.
We’ll come up to see you Riding on a rocket.

THE KITE MAKING WORKSHOP

After my presentation, I took the participants out on the campus ground to demonstrate how to fly Nepali fighter kites. They took a keen interest in kites and enjoyed tremendously doing it. After this event, I was asked to teach them how to make a simple Nepali fighter kite the next day. Therefore, I conducted a workshop on kite making. A dozen participants joined the workshop and made kites.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mary M. Anderson. The Festivals of Nepal. (London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.)

Kanak Mani Dixit. The Treaty of Kathmandu. (Nepal, Lalitpur: Rato Bangala Kitab, 1997).

Punya Shila Gautaim. Mangalako Changa. (Nepal, Lalitpur, Rato Bangala Kitab, V.S. 2051). In Nepali.

Olivier Melano. Le Combat De Cerfs-Volants. (Paris: ľ école des loisirs, 2001)

Nirmal Man Tuladhar. “Cutting is the Greatest Fun,” Kitelines, 11:4 (1996), 41.

Stephen C. Lowe. “Always Time for Kites,” Kitelines, 11:4 (1996), 39.

Philippe Gallot. Making and Flying Fighter Kites. (London: B.T. Batsford Ltd., 1990).

Cerfs-Volants D’ici et D’Ailleurs. (France: Musee Du Cerf-Volant, 2007).