Last week, the Nepalese Student Association celebrated Nepal Night. The event featured traditional Nepalese food, fashion, music, dancing, a Rath and several group activities.

The night also had a large turnout. One of the attendees, freshman political science major Carson Kreager, came for the food.

“It was very good. It is always nice to experience other cultures’ cooking,” Kreager said.

According to a Kahoot quiz from the event, one of the foods served is called “Momo” and it is the most popular food in Nepal. 

Aika Ota helped cook and serve the food. She related Nepalese food to her home culture in Japan.

“I am from Japan so I don’t know exactly about this culture, but sometimes I feel like it has something in common with Asian culture,” Ota said. “For example, the dumplings look very similar to Japanese ones or Chinese ones.”

She also pointed out some of the differences between the two cultures.

“Many people in Nepal are Hindu so they cannot eat beef, so they are chicken instead of beef,” Ota said.

Nepalese fashion was shown at the beginning of the event with Nepal students going up on stage in their outfits and holding a pose for a few seconds. Their attire could also be seen during the many dances of the night.

“I particularly enjoyed the fashion show. I do appreciate fashion from different cultures and countries,” Kreager said.

The organizers also played a game called “Chungi” with a few attendees. The game is essentially a one-person hacky sack.

Kreager said that one of the things he liked about Nepalese fashion was its simplicity compared to other cultures.

“Well ours may be more showy and have more materials, eastern fashion may tend to be more conservative and one material throughout,” Kreager said.

The music of the night was mostly flute based, but one song was sung in Nepali by a student.

The final activity of the night was a “Rato Machindranath Jatra.” The host said that building the chariot for the event was “nostalgic” for the students from Nepal.

They also had a Lakhe dance where a person in the large red mask and hair of Lakhey came out and danced vigorously. In Nepali culture, Lakhes are demons of fire that came from the forest but now protect townspeople. 

The Nepalese Student Association plans to have another Nepalese night next year, so students who want to go should be on the lookout for it.