Medieval architecture in west and far-west Nepal. New insights into its origins and developments from the 8th to the 17th century
Résumé
The medieval architecture of west Nepal as a whole has yet retained little attention in academic literature. The basin of the Karnali River is notably known as being the centre of the Khaśa Malla empire, which lasted from the 12th to the 14th century. Hence it is naturally that the few authors who have investigated west Nepal’s archaeology have interpreted the śikhara temples (locally known as deval) and other standing monuments (mainly water architecture) as manifestations of the economic and political success of the Khaśa Malla emperors. Nevertheless, these considerations rest on important methodological issues, amongst which are the absence of a typo-chronological approach and the lack of comparisons with similar monuments from the neighbouring Mahakali River area (far-west Nepal and Uttarakhand).
To rectify these lacunas, the presentation will explore the origins and regional developments of stone monuments from western and far-western Nepal. Likewise, the vocation of śikhara temples and their posterity outside of western Nepal will be addressed.
By mobilising field data, the presentation will demonstrate that these monuments did not appear ex nihilo during the Khaśa Malla period. It will be demonstrated that they are in fact the results of centuries of a continuous development that involved travelling architects from various parts of India as well as local artists.