May
04, 2015 The Daily Star
Surrounded by ochre
rubble, Pannakaji beds down on a mattress wedged between Buddha
statues at Kathmandu's "Monkey Temple", hoping to deter looters
from the quake-ravaged site where his ancestors have served as
priests for 1,600 years.
The hilltop
Swayambunath Temple complex, one of Nepal's oldest and most sacred
religious monuments, was partly reduced to debris by the 7.8
magnitude earthquake that struck on April 25.
Some of the
seventh-century stupas remain intact and a few statues miraculously
survived the disaster, but those that did now risk being pillaged
by looters or desperate devotees hoping for a bit of good luck
after the devastation.
"We have been
priests here for the last 1,600 years, so I stay," said 61-year-old
Pannakaji, who goes by one name, as he sat barefoot under a
tarpaulin in a makeshift camp with 200 other temple
inhabitants.
The earthquake razed
the community's small wooden shacks, leaving behind a scene
reminiscent of a war zone, with families salvaging what they could
from the ruins -- medicines, cooking utensils and some
clothes.
The temple guardians
are not only worried about spending nights in make-do shelters and
the threat of aftershocks that could bring down the remaining
structures -- but also fear that looters may come at night to take
what they can.
"I don't sleep. I
keep watch. I want to stop people stealing the statues," Pannakaji
said as he twisted wooden prayer beads in his hands.
UNESCO has sent a
group of experts to evaluate the damage to the temple and to try to
protect the unique religious site from thieves.
Archeologist and art
historian David Andolfatto, who is part of that delegation, is
particularly concerned about looting during Buddha's birthday
celebration that takes place on Monday.
"Many tiny statues
made out of clay remain intact in the ruins, and it would be very
easy to take them. I worry that when devotees come on Monday they
may take pieces because the temple is very important to Nepal and
Tibetan Newar Buddhists," Andolfatto said.
According to the
Frenchman, who says he wept on discovering the extent of the damage
wrought on the temple in the disaster, 70 percent of the World
Heritage site has been destroyed.
A statue of the
deity Ajima, who offers protection against smallpox, stands mostly
intact in one of the temple's prayer rooms, and Andolfatto is
worried that people may try to take a piece of the figure in the
hope it may provide protection.
Art
thieves
The theft of art is
already widespread in Nepal, and Andolfatto says that the ruins of
the Monkey Temple would be a honeypot for professional art thieves
hoping to sell artifacts on the international art
market.
Along with a group
of volunteers and experts, he is photographing and cataloguing all
the artifacts as quickly as possible to thwart them.
He also hopes to
persuade the Nepalese authorities to block the trade of Himalayan
art globally, particularly through prestigious international art
houses like Christie's and Sotheby's.
But amid all of the
destruction there has also been some good news.
The site's striking
centrepiece, a white-domed stupa topped with the painted eyes of
Buddha survived the quake.
And inside one of
the monuments, the devastation revealed a series of progressively
smaller statues -- constructed like a Russian babushka doll -- that
would have otherwise remained hidden.
Some
unusual coins with Persian inscriptions were also found, exciting
the experts who plan to have them investigated.
Despite the risk
that the few remaining temple structures could collapse, no one
dares make the temple guardians leave.
Tashi Phuntsok, a
monk who has lived there for 11 years, chose to pitch his tent
facing a panoramic view of Kathmandu and mountains -- a perfect
spot for meditation.
"I stay so I can
help," he said, with sunglasses perched on his nose.
The temple's
namesake monkeys lounge on the steep stairs that go up to the
temple, enjoying the absence of tourists, as a group of novice
monks begins to clear the ruins.
"As Buddhists, we
come to help clear up, as we can," says Gyurmey Sopa, 21, who has
been a monk since he was 12.