Visiting Nepal .com

Silver Beads
Every traveler to Nepal is captured by shop windows full of silver and gold bangles, earrings, ritual objects, chains and finger rings twinkling in the sunlight . There is so much to admire; the eyes and the senses seem to be o overload. Then one sees little saucers of silver beads. How curious !

The trail of silver beads in Nepal leads through at least three countries – Nepal, Tibet and India – and spans several centuries. Since the 8th or 9th century, Kathmandu was just a crossroads holding a prominent position on the trade routes between India and Tibet. For almost as many years, the Newar gold and silversmiths of Patan (Lalitpur) were the fashioners of much of the Nepalese and Tibetan jewellery and religious objects.

As in early times, today’s goldsmiths of the Hindu Sunar caste continue to specialize in etching, jailcutting and “cut our work.” The Buddhist Sakya artists are also considered by many to be the keepers of the traditional skills and styles. Their work, primarily in silver, is known by the use of filigree and deep carving in the traditional designs.

These metal workers, both of the Sakya and Sunar groups still maintain their small dark shops in Kathmandu and Patan where they work in the age-old manner. For exploring the streets between Thamel and Asan in Kathmandu – Thahity Tole, Teuda Tole, Naghal Tole – and the winding lanes between Patan Durbar Square and the Patan Gate, will set one on the trail of handmade silver beads in Nepal.

There, in tiny workrooms cluttered with scales and tiny weights, small fire boxes and blowpipes, and collections of home-made tools, craftsmen sit and create miniature miracles in metal.

For many generations it was common for young Nepalese metal workers to cross the Himalaya to set up shops in Tibet or to be employed by influential and wealthy Tibetan families. These Kathmandu Valley craftsmen would often marry Tibetan women, and after spending most of their working lives in Tibet, return with their families to Nepal. Many of the silver bead shopkeepers of the Kathmandu Valley are the childrean of these marriage .

With the expansion of the traditional Tibetan communities into Nepal and India, little of the historical commerce has disappeared – it is simply rearranged. The Nepalese/ Tibetan merchants continue to act as imports of silver beads and ritual goods now made in India for sale in Nepal.

Families who worked primarily in gold a generation ago are now working in silver as well, catering to travelers varied interests. Many silversmiths sell their work directly to tourist shops while others continue to serve the local population. Some of the craftsmen affect a compromise and work in their homes in the mornings and sell from shops in the afternoon.