Bungamati village is a traditional Newari village located at 9 kilometers in the south of Kathmandu Valley. Bungmati is the farming village of Newars and it’s a living museum and recalls medieval times. After the 2015 Earthquake, things have changed and are under construction but it’s worth visiting this unique town.
The Agriculture Newari town Bungamati is the birthplace of Rato Machindranath (the God of Rain), regarded as the patron of the valley, and the large shikhara-style temples in the center of the village square are his home for six months of the year. Machindranath spends the rest of his time in Patan. The process of moving him around Patan and backward and forwards to Bungamati is central to one of the most important annual festivals in the valley. The village was also badly affected by the April 2015 earthquake but also the culture of Newars, many chortens and a huge prayer wheel, clearly pointing to the synergistic nature of the Newari religion. Walking around Bungamati takes you through several traditional houses typical of Newari where woodcarvers can be seen handcrafting the sculptures and masks.
Khokana, The farming community of Newars who live here are mostly dependent on agriculture and much of their daily activities take place outside of their dwellings. There are women sitting outside spinning, men crushing seeds, and other daily activities. The village is famous for its unusual mustard-oil harvesting process in which a heavy wooden beam is used to crush the mustard seeds in order to extract the oil. It is believed that a shared system was used in the past here. This oil can be consumed if desired, but it can also be used for therapeutic massage. This was also the first village, indeed the first habitation, to be electrified, before Kathmandu.
In the center is a three-storey temple, Sri Rudrayani, with a particularly wide main street, especially for a village of such small size. Khokana has been nominated to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage, representing a vernacular village and its mustard-oil seed industrial heritage.
“Khokana is a unique village which can be taken as a model of a medieval settlement pattern with a system of drainage and chowks. It houses chaityas and a Mother Goddess temple. The mustard-oil seed industry has become the living heritage of the village. One can have a wonderful time viewing the mountain ranges, and so on and of course the beautiful landscape and farming over it.
In August the Khokana Festival is held to showcase the unique aspects of the village. Cultural Newari dances, such as the dhime dance and Devi dance, Newari food, such as Newar pancake (woh), a sweet steamed dumpling filled with molasses and sesame (yomari) and strong Nepali wine (Ayla), crafts, music and the towns mustard production were all on display.
