2017-02-12

＜ネパール紀行＞

今日は珍しい光景に出会ったという。早朝、ポカラから２時間ほど山道を車に揺られ､さらに小一時間トレッキングをして展望が良い丘に登った。この山道は丘からさらに細く険しくなり、背後の山へと繋がっていた。我猫ジロー夫婦が暖かい日差しの中寛ぎながら写真を撮っていると、丸太や竹筒を担いだ村人が三々五々に険しい山道を下ってきて、さらに丘を降りて行った。ガイドによると谷向こうの集落で葬儀があるのでこちらの山奥に有る集落の人々が火葬用に資材を持って数時間かけて行くのだという。大木が少ない山間地では丸太も貴重であろう。午後遅くホテルに戻るとまたまた、珍しい光景を目にした我猫ジロー夫婦である。結婚式である。着飾った人々と先程の葬儀の光景と重ったようだ。

丸太や竹筒を担いで　ー　carrying a wood or a bamboo on their shoulder

結婚式のパレード　ー　a wedding parade

祝いのダンス　ー　a traditional Nepal dance

幸あれ　ー　all the best

My owner came upon arrangements for both a funeral and a wedding in the same day. In the early morning, riding in their car for two hours and trekking for about one hour, they went up the hill and got a view of the Himalaya. While they enjoyed taking photos, folks went down the mountain carrying a wood or a bamboo on their shoulder in groups of twos and threes. A tour guide said that folks would cross a river and went to the village that located at the other side of mountainside for a funeral ceremony. A journey would take several hours. Also, he said that a wood or a bamboo is valuable for folks who are living in the high-mountain. Coming back from the hill to the resort hotel in Pokhara, they saw a gorgeous wedding ceremony. Neko-Jiro’s owner compared a scene at the mountain and a scene at the hotel.