Lo Manthang
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Lo Manthang लोमान्थाङ |
|
|---|---|
| city | |
Lo Manthang
|
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| Nickname(s): city of wall | |
 Lo Manthang
|
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| Coordinates: 29°10′59″N 83°57′24″E / 29.18306°N 83.95667°ECoordinates: 29°10′59″N 83°57′24″E / 29.18306°N 83.95667°E | |
| Country |
 Nepal
|
| Zone | Dhawalagiri Zone |
| District | Mustang District |
| Government | |
| • Type | Nepalese government |
| Elevation | 3,840 m (12,600 ft) |
| Population (1991) | |
| • Total | 876 |
| Time zone | Nepal Time (UTC+5:45) |
Lo Manthang was the walled capital of the Kingdom of Lo from its founding in 1380 by Ame Pal who oversaw construction of the city wall and many of the still-standing structures. After the Shahs of Gorkha forged Nepal out of numerous petty kingdoms in the 18th century, Lo became a dependency but kept its hereditary rulers. This arrangement continued as long as Nepal remained a kingdom, until republican government began in 2008 and Jigme Dorje Palbar Bista (c. 1933–2016) lost his title. His protector King Gyanendra suffered the same fate, however the Raja or gyelpo of Mustang was 25th in a direct line of rulers dating back to 1380 A.D. Gyanendra was only the eleventh Shah ruler since Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered Kathmandu in 1768.
More prosaically, Lo Manthang is a Village Development Committee in Mustang District, Dhawalagiri Zone of northern Nepal. The 1991 Nepal census counted 876 people living in 178 households. The population includes ethnic Lhobas.
Lo is the culturally and linguistically Tibetan northern two-thirds of Mustang District, while the southern third is called Thak, the homeland of Thakali people who speak a different language and have a synthesis of Tibetan and Nepalese culture.
Recently a series of at least twelve caves were discovered north of Annapurna and near the village, decorated with ancient Buddhist paintings and set in sheer cliffs at 14,000 feet (4,300 m) elevation. The paintings show Newari influence, dating to approximately the 13th century, and also contain Tibetan scripts executed in ink, silver and gold and pre-Christian era pottery shards. Explorers found stupas, decorative art and paintings depicting various forms of the Buddha, often with disciples, supplicants and attendants, with some mural paintings showing sub-tropical themes containing palm trees, billowing Indian textiles and birds.
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Wikipedia