In a Nepali village, residents struggle to reconcile traditional artisanship with modernization
Young people are trying to revive the craft of making bamboo containers
Originally published on Global Voices
Fourteen kilometres to the south of Kathmandu Valley lies a small village that has evaded modernization. Pyangaon, named after “pyang” — traditional Nepali measuring containers made from bamboo — is at a crossroads, faced with either continuing their artisan traditions or modernizing their products to suit new markets.
Bamboo containers of all shapes and sizes
Pyangs were mostly made to measure grains equivalent to a mana or a pathi, the customary units of measurement still used in rural parts of Nepal. While one mana is equivalent to 10 fistfuls, 8 manas make a pathi. Pyangs are also used to store grains, spices, clothes and other valuable items.
In the past, most of the Pyangaon residents used to make pyangs and either bartered these containers for rice and grain or sold them at neighbouring markets.
The lightweight yellow pyangs turn golden as they’re used over time. The bamboo containers are treated to be pest and insect-resistant through a process where they are heated on a haystack, soaked in water and compressed under pressure. They are also environmentally friendly, according to the makers.
Tirtha Maharjan, 41, has been making pyangs for the last seven years. Photo by Sanjib Chaudhary. Used with permission.
However, despite their usefulness, pyangs are not much in demand anymore. “We can get cheaper containers made from plastic and more durable containers made from iron easily in the market,” said Tirtha Maharjan, an artisan who learned to make pyangs seven years ago and has been continuing with the tradition, in an interview with Global Voices. “After improvising the designs with the help of Aman Shahi, my products have been exported to many countries, including Japan and Bangladesh.”
“I have also designed promotional materials for the handicrafts to bring wider recognition of the folk traditions and knowledge of the people about pyang,” writes Aman Shahi, an artist who has been working with local artisans. “This project aims to highlight, preserve, artistically document and suggest ways to keep alive the heritage of Pyangaon and its bamboo art.”
He adds: “For my Project Pyang, I am collaborating with designer Alina Manandhar who shares my passion for the artisanal tradition. Together we hope to work with the community to build a new market for pyang that will undoubtedly lead to many eco-social benefits besides shedding light on the immense potential for crafts to support a greener economy in Nepal.”
Walking down memory lane
Aside from the pyangs, the town of Pyangaon is a marvellous place that has managed to preserve its unique identity. Life in the idyllic village is laid-back and reminiscent of previous times – the old brick houses laden with dried corn ears, grains left to dry on the streets, flocks of ducks and chickens roaming the streets and men and women basking in the sun, chatting and doing household chores.
According to Gerard Toffin, Emeritus Research Director at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, who studied Pyangaon in the 1970s, “…the only street in the locality, still flanked on both sides by high wooden stakes to dry maize and by two compact rows of terrace houses, is still the same.”
Toffin further writes: “What is more, young people are trying to revive the craft of making bamboo containers, pyāṅg (or dyāṃcā, hāpā) (hence the Nepali name for the village), once used to measure grain and to store varieties of spices.”