Tourism and impacts on traditional culture : a case study of Sirubari Village, Nepal

Abstract

This thesis entitled “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.