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Glossary

Nepal



Bahas




Baha is a type of courtyard found amongst Newar communities in Nepal. It is the most dominant type of courtyard in Newari Architecture.

Chaitya




A Nepalese chaitya is not a building but a shrine monument consisting of a stupa-like shape on top of a plinth, often very elaborately ornamented.

Chaupadi




Monastry


Chaupadi




Menstrual hut in Nepali architecture. Colloquial term for ‘Chau’ meaning menstrual period and ‘Padi’ meaning a girl.

Chowk/Chok




(in South Asia) an open market area in a city at the junction of two roads.

Dakarmi





Occupational caste of masons in Nepal.

Durbar Square





Palace square in monarchical Kathmandu

Dharamshala





(in South Asia) a building devoted to religious or charitable purposes, especially a rest house for travellers.

Dhokha

 Door in Nepali language 

Gaddi Baithak



Throne room in Nepali language

Ghar


Home in Hindi or Nepali

Guthi





Guthi is a voluntary social organization that takes care of the maintenance and upkeep of community property.

Licchavi





Licchavi (also Lichchhavi, Lichavi) was an ancient kingdom on the Indian subcontinent, which existed in the Kathmandu Valley in modern-day Nepal from approximately 400 to 750 CE. The Licchavi clan originated from Vaishali and Muzaffarpur in modern northern Bihar, India and conquered the Kathmandu Valley.

Maiti





In Nepali language the word ‘maiti’ means the home of the girl’s birth parents.

Mandapa





A standalone resthouse for travellers along trade routes. 

Muluki Ain




The National Code is a single comprehensive code that includes criminal and civil code along with the code of procedures of Nepal.

Newar




Newar or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal.

Pati




Elevated plinth, designed to be a resting space for travellers. 

Sattal

A resthouse for travellers along trade routes.

Shangri La Shangri



Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains.


Sikarmi

Occupational caste of carpenters in Nepal 

Tij/Teej




Baha is a type of courtyard found amongst Newar communities in Nepal. It is the most dominant type of courtyard in Newari Architecture.


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