Abstract
This article explores issues related to the symbolism of power and the power of images in Nepal, a country situated on the periphery of the area of Indian cultural influence. The scenography enacted during the late Malla period (17th–18th) in Kathmandu Valley ceremonies clearly reveals that ancient Nepalese kingship could not simply be reduced to warfare, domestic political matters, and disputed successions. It was rather based on a symbolic system of representation that was regularly re-enacted in the course of suitable selected rituals. During these events, the king appeared mainly as a pious figure, responsible for the welfare and prosperity of the kingdom. The semiotics of power during the period of Rana absolutism (1846–1951) reinforced another set of ideas: Kings and Rana Prime Ministers were widely represented by photos, paintings and sculptures in a warrior secular posture. These images, influenced by Western patterns, induced a new topography of power and were consistent with a much more ‘heterogenetic’ model of state. Lastly, the iconoclastic violence towards the statues of Shah Kings by Maoist activists in 2007 echoes similar stances that have emerged during other national revolutions. This phenomenon reveals some measure of continuity with the preceding period, as well as important signs of rupture.
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