Traditional Nepalese Doors and Windows

- Kashinath Tamot

Doors and windows are the ‘perfume in gold’ in the Nepalese architecture. In the words of Dr. Nil Ratna Banerjee, these are “an inevitably essential part of the architectural complex and received considerable embellishment in spite of the limited scope offered by the trellis-like tracery of the window-panels. They are examples of artistic perfection within the confined frame-work of geometric precision.” Wood-carvings on a window or door is not only a decoration, but there are religion, myths and tantras (mysticism) interwoven in it.

The master craftsmanship of Ancient and Medieval Nepal has bestowed an eternal beauty on the doors and windows of this country, where as the doors are of the same types, only varying in embellishments, the windows are of different types. They have different significance and purpose. The most common ones are the tikijhyāḥ (the latticed window) and the saṃjhyāḥ (the oriel window). These words are from Nepālabhāṣā (Newari), language of the Newars, the natives of the Kathmandu Valley. They are famous for their art and culture from the very ancient times.

You may not imagine that there are technical names for the component parts of a window. But there are meaningful words for them. Every part of a window represent something of religious significance. I am going to describe here only the names of the parts of a common window. Significance, indication imagination, development and history of such parts cannot be described in this digestive article.

Our artist ancestors had imagined a window as a face of a devotee. Thus a window has a kolāṃ the front face of the kopu (lintel) which have carvings representing hairs or clouds. kolāṃ is the eye-lid in the face design. At the top layer of it, there is mikhāphusi (eyebrow). Below the kolāṃ at the top sill of the caukot (frame) of a window, there is a sinhaḥ (sacred mark) in the middle, generally a figure of a god, or third eye is carved at this point. Below the mark (the point where the panels (khāpās) of a door join, there is the nhāe ‘nose’ which has the design of a sword or crocodile. At the bottom sill, between the base of the lateral vertical columns there is a carved elevated portion. It is known as calu, seems to be like the chin in the face-design. There is also a figure of a god in the middle.

This point, therefore, has special significance in the face. Or, there is a garuḍa with two snakes caught on its legs.

On the vertical columns (stambha) and sub-columns (upastambha) are commonly the pānasa (ceremonial oil-lamp) and pūrṇakalaśa (ceremonial water-jar). The minacos make the ears to the face-design. These are seen in between the top and the bottom horns attached to the vertical columns. The horn is called laco which is artistically carved maṅgala (sacred emblem) - a snake or a branch of a tree, or a plant with flowers and leaves. Some windows have got tympanum (toraṇa) over it. It is another most important part of the Nepalese architecture. An exhaustive essay can be written about its arts and significances. As there are the flying creatures and pulling animals at the base of the vertical columns, windows are the symbols of the air and land vehicles mounted and driven by the gods and goddesses. So, the windows are very often symbolic to the ‘gods and goddess with their respective mounts’. A particular number of the windows placed on one line in the house or temple also indicate some religious significance.

The famous traditional model windows of different shapes, signs and symbols and embellishments can be seen in the Matha Chẽ or Pujārī Matha in Bhaktapur, Kumari Chẽ (Living goddess palace) in Kathmandu and in the ancient palaces and temples around in the Durbar Squares of the three old cities of the Kathmandu Valley.

[Reprinted from: Nepal Digest (Bimonthly, Shakya Research Institute, Kathmandu), 1:1 (March-April 1971), pp. 116-119.]