Cultural museum set up to preserve near-extinct items in Khotang

KHOTANG, Feb 21: A cultural museum has been established at Jalapa of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality-12 in Khotang district in order to preserve the traditional household items used by the ancestors of the residents here.

Established in the building of the village development committee, the museum was inaugurated on February 18. It features over 200 ancient household gizmos as old as 200 years, shared Dan Bahadur Rai, Chairperson of ward no 12.

The items kept in the museum are leather thaili (traditional ladies' purse), wooden ladle, cane basket, grinding stone, spear, sword, wooden repousse, fishing net, wooden glass, spoon and spatula, sickle, cradle, and plough, among others.

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The ward office collected the materials from the houses of local residents, mostly constituting the communities as Brahman, Chhetri, Dalit, Rai, Tamang and Sherpa.

The courtesy and name of the users or donors (dead or alive) of such gizmos are clearly mentioned in the materials showcased in the museum, said ward chair Rai.

More near-extinct traditional gizmos will be added to the museum, shared Rai, adding that they set up the museum to conserve the old-time appliances and to educate the new generation about these materials.

"These household devices connect us to our history as solid proof. We hope to make our village a suitable place for study, visit and observation through the museum," he said, expressing hope that the newly inaugurated museum would help in the tourism promotion of the place.

Similarly, a Kirati museum is also in the offing at Ribdung Mahenshwori of Aishelu Kharka Rural Municipality in the district. The museum is aimed at displaying, preserving and promoting the Kirati community's language, art, artifacts and household items, weapons, attires, jewelries and musical instruments, among others. 

The construction of an indigenous museum at Alchedhunga of ward no 2 of Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi Municipality, however, is in limbo due to irregularities reported during the construction of the museum.

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