“Tourism and its Impact on Traditional Culture: A case study of Sirubari village, Nepal” intended to focus on the village tourism being practiced by the Gurung people in the Sirubari village of Syangja district. Gurung peoples are one of the indigenous populations mostly residing in the hill area since the historic times. For this study, the locality Sirubari village as chosen which is inhabited mainly by the Gurung peoples and Sirubari is regarded as the model village for the introduction and the promotion of village tourism. This is newly introduced practice and one of the immense areas of entire tourism in Nepal. Rural tourism as a phenomenon is concerned with river, sun, environment, rural society and household. It represents conservation, life style, experience, adventure and above all benefit to the local people. The main objective of rural tourism includes tourists to plan a trip, immerse into the local community along with minimizing the eco-cultural impact. When an organized group of tourists reached Sirubari , the villagers descend down the village and welcome tourist with garlands, tika, and traditional Gurung musical bands. While music and dances are performed and traditional farewell songs are also sung when guests depart. The Village Tourism Committee distributes the guest into the different households having the facility of home stay. Guests are presented to different cultural programs such as Dohari song, Gantu dance and Krishna Charita dance in the premise of community Hall. Besides that hiking, fishing in the local river and observing the local people daily life are other fascinating aspect of the stay. This study has been conducted to assess the impact of village tourism on local culture; for which changes that have occurred or occurring these days have also observed closely. Tourism is a global phenomenon. So, impacts of globalization are crucial factors for leading changes to such rites and rituals. It guides the society into the new dimension. On the other hand cultural revitalization is also directly connected to the globalization. When the culture is increasingly homogenous then indigenous culture are more important to provide differentiations and authenticity. In this sense, even village tourism as modern institution it plays vital role to promote and restore the root culture. So, basically this study aims to identify the impacts of globalization on the Gurung cultures and the role of village tourism to revitalize the traditional culture as a whole. Panchamul Sirubari- A model Village Panchamul Sirubari is the first model village designed to experience village based tourism in Nepal. It is a nature gifted place and one of the richest Gurung village in terms of culture. Panchamul Sirubari is a unique example of eco cultural tourism in Nepal and is a new tourism product originated by local people. The idea was that of retired army captain and Member of Parliament Mr. Rudra man Gurung who approached the government for support to develop village tourism in Sirubari. Luckily, Australian expatriate Mr. Tony Park and a tour operator came into contact with Mr.Rudha man Gurung. After having decided to choose Siurbari as the site for promoting village tourism, Tourism Development and Management Committee (TDMC) was established in the village with the VDC chair as its head. At the same time, the expatriate and his associates formed a company to take sole responsibility of promoting and marketing village tourism in Sirubari. Thus, Sirubari became the first village which has introduced the concept of the village tourism in Nepal by 1997. (Sharma, P.2000). In May 2001, Sirubari in conjunction with the Nepal Tourism Board was awarded the Pacific Area Travel Association (PATA) Gold award in recognition for its effort to preserve the culture and heritage (NTB 2001). The village of Sirubari lies in Ward Number 4 of Pachamul VDC of the district of Syangja in the western hills of Nepal. The main village is located at an altitude of 1700 meters above sea level. The Village lies on the southern slopes and is a five and a half hours trek from the nearest road- head of Arjun Chaupari. The landscape of Panchamul Sirubari is unique as the topography varies from agricultural fields to steep land features. The height of the village varies from 1250 to 2003 meters. The highest peak is “ Thumera Hill” (2003m or 6509.75 ft) and is also the highest hill in the Syangja district. Other important hillocks are Hile Danda and Dahere Deurali . From these hill tops, visitors can see a panoramic view of Mt. Annapurna. The trek to Sirubari is ideal for less experienced trekkers unwilling to go on long treks. The best season for tourist to visit Sirubari is in the winter or before the rains. It is compact farming community village. The climate is ideal at any time especially during September to June with warms days and cold nights. Most of the houses in the village are built from local materials which are environmental friendly and comfortable. Foot trails through the village are all stone paved. Flowers are blossoming all year round. Village lies on the southern slopes of the ridge.
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 06:44:31 +0000
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