Wedding reception. Pix. But not as happy as it looks.

  • Thread starter Thread starter -
  • Start date Start date
ffb6f325.jpg.orig.jpg


Here is a wedding reception but not quite as happy as it looks. The boy is a good friend of Gelbu's, a Newari of the highest caste, Hindu, named Shyam "Sammy" Shresta. His bride is named Maya Gurung, a Mananghi, Buddhist, and there is trouble brewing for them. Her family, absent from both wedding ceremony and reception, does not approve of the "mixed" marriage. They may get things reconciled in the future or they may never. I have seen situations like this turn very, very bad even ending in murder.

I hope only the best for this handsome young couple.

What has this to do with khukuris?

Everything.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

[This message has been edited by Bill Martino (edited 05-23-2000).]
 

Very sad about Maya's family. Only hope that Buddha shows them the light.

Harry
 
I understand that the majority and official religion of Nepal is Hindu. Are Buddhists a minority there who consider themselves on the defensive?

If a knife may sustain life or take life, how much more is this true of a thing as powerful as a major organized religion? May everybody concerned listen to the best advice from their respective traditions, and not the worst.


------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
Uncle Bill, aren't what looks like white shawls draped around the bride and groom in the first 2 pix actually katas,traditional Buddhist ceremonial scarves?
 
And I was under the mistaken impression that religious tolerance was the norm in Nepal, that the various religions existed in harmony, and even over-lapped to some degree. Of course, I guess in any situation you're always gonna have a few die-hards. And ain't it a shame that the old folks are gonna screw up what should be the happiest time of the kids' lives.
 
Last semester in college, I had an English teacher whose daughter was dating an Indian/Nepali guy. The guy was afraid to go to Nepal because he feared being murdered by members of his father's (estranged) family.

Bob
 
Let's see. Those are katas, Berk, but Hindus will use them, too.

Hindus make up about 75% of the population in Nepal. Buddhists about 20%. Generally, they coexist very well.

Inter caste marriages can sometimes cause real problems. My old Swayambu sauji had a friend who murdered his daughter because she married out of caste and without his permission. He threw kerosene on her and burned her to death. He got 20 years in the slammer for the deed. This all happened when Yangdu and I had our apartment in Swayambu.

------------------
Blessings from the computer shack in Reno.

Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ
 
There are olde ballads from the British Isles where fathers or brothers murder young ladies for courting or marrying "out." The weapon of choice is often a "wee pen knife," but there's one song where a Scottsman burns his daughter at the stake for getting involved with an English guy. My maternal grandfather's family were minor players in raiding along Scottish border, so I wouldn't be surprised, if I did the research, to learn of barbaric cruelty in my background.

At least (in that one case anyway), a Nepali guy can do serious slammer time for murdering his daughter for a "code violation"! There are other places, such as some places in the Arab world, the penalty for that is a slap on the wrist or nothing.

And there's an ongoing argument between US immigration lawyers and human rights organizations versus the Immigration and Naturalization Service on whether a reasonable fear of being murdered with impunity back home for loving the wrong person qualifies somebody for political assylum in the USA, or if it's a "personal matter" that doesn't.
frown.gif



------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
On assylum, how would I vote?

If I was at the "pearly gates" giving an account of the good I did in life, I would not want it on my record that I has sent a stranger back from freedom to slavery, or from safety to danger, or from plenty to famine.

My "Good Book" tells me to remember that I was a stranger in the land of Egypt.

And I'll bet, if, God forbid, Nepal became an unsafe place for them, that couple would make good Americans.
smile.gif



------------------
- JKM
www.chaicutlery.com
AKTI Member # SA00001
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top