Songs of Nepal: An Anthopology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns

A productive and highly important branch of Nevari literature is poetry. The songs reflect the thought of the Nevars, their way of life, religious belief, their history and folklore. The greatest possible variety of genres and styles have been included in the present anthology. Most of the songs included, religious hymns as well as folksongs and ballads, are still very popular among Nevars. In order to facilitate reading and consultation, the whole corpus of the songs collected has been grouped into four principle sections, namely Religious Poetry, Songs about Love and Marriage, Epic Poetry, Didactic and Enigmatic Verses. The book contains two appendices. While the first lists the talas and ragas, as they are given in the various anthologies published in Nepal, the Second makes an attempt to transpose two songs into the European system of music. The translations are quite faithful and every effort has been made to preserve the spirit and flavour of the original.

Contents

Preface, Introduction, Translation, I. Religious Poetry: 1. Buddha Descends to Lumbini, Buddha Sakyamuni, Siddhartha Gautama Address Yasodhara, Yasodhara, The Tathagata, Svayambhu, Buddha, Matsyendranatha, Lokanatha, Gorakhanatha and Lokanatha, Manjusri, Narayana, Krsna and Sudaman, Siva, Kali, Guhyakali, Bhavani, Bhimasena, Ganesa, Sarada, Cobhara-Lokesvara, krsna, II. Songs about love and marriage 26-39 Songs Sung by Men, 40-64 Songs Sung by Women, 65-76 Krsna-Songs, III. Epic Poetry, 77-83 Songs Inspired by Jatakas and Avadanas, 84-94 Ballads and Rice-Transplantation Songs, 95-96 Songs Describing Historical Events, Indrayatra, IV. Didactic and Enigmatic Verses, 98 A Stricture upon Women, 99-100 Enigmatic Poems, Notes to the Translation, The Nevari Text, Appendixes, 1. List of Ragas and Talas, 2.Musical Notation of Songs 1 and 81, Select Bibliography.