What is Culture of Nepal?
[[File:Bhintuna bunting.jpg|thumb|An insight to the colourful places in Nepal ]] [[File:Nepal Woman 2.jpg|thumb|A painting of Nepalese woman (1905)]] [[Nepal]] has a unique [[culture]]. Its [[cultural heritage]] has developed over several thousands of years. It covers Nepal's many [[ethnic group|ethnic]], [[Tribe|tribal]] and [[social class]]es. There are at least 92 living languages spoken in Nepal, though some studies list 123. Nepal's languages come from three major language groups: [[Indo-Aryan languages|Indo-Aryan]], [[Tibeto-Burman languages|Tibeto-Burman]] and [[Indigenous peoples|indigenous]]. The official national language of Nepal is [[Nepali language|Nepali]], written in [[Devanagari]] script. It is the [[first language]] of about half the country's population, and is used by people of most [[ethnic group]]s to communicate with each other. Both [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]] in Nepal date back more than 2000 years. The 2001 [[census]] recorded that 80.6% of the population was Hindu. Buddhism was practiced by about 11% of the population, although many people often practice their own mix of Hindu, Buddhist, and/or [[animist]] traditions. About 3.2% practice [[Islam]]. Another 3.6% of the population follows the native [[Kirant]] religion. [[Christianity]] is practiced officially by less than 0.5%. Nepalese people have several [[festival]]s that they celebrate each year. The longest and the most important of these is [[Dashain]]. It is celebrated for 15 days, and is dedicated to the Hindu goddess [[Durga]]. Most festivals include dancing and music, as well as all kinds of local food. Some Nepalese dances include: *Charya: popular among the Buddhist community *Kartik: started by King Siddhi Nasingh Malla in Kathmandu valley *Ghatu: popular among the Gurung and Magar communities at Gandaki Zone ==Related pages== * [[Nepal at the Olympics]] * [[Nepal national football team]] ==Other websites== * [http://www.planetnepal.org/cgi-bin/view/Main/CategoryCultural Nepal Encyclopedia culture category] {{Webarchi