Heritage in Focus: Blessings of Apparitions Underground (Hitis, Nepal)
Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi Shrestha investigate Kathmandu Valley's traditional public fountains, which are under threat as urban development disrupts their precious water supply.
By World Monuments Fund
Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi Shrestha
Canal by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Legend has it that the water in Alko Hiti sprung out of stones. The Serpent God, desperate to cure his wife’s eye ailment, reaches the doorstep of a revered tantrik, Tuhun Dev, of Ikhachhen.
Tuhun Dev heals the Serpent God's wife, and in return he is gifted five stones infused with a sacred vow—wherever they rest, an eternal stream of water shall flow. The five stone spouts in Alko Hiti thus came into being around 600 years ago.
Vessel by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Hitis are traditional water spouts that served as the most important source of water for the people of Kathmandu valley. There are nearly 1,000 hitis spread over 18 local municipalities within the Kathmandu Valley.
Tadpoles by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Some 50 years ago, two sisters from Ikhachhen, Ratna Sobha and Nani Sobha, would come to fetch water from the same hiti every day and encounter countless frogs and leeches, as well as snakes nested like flowers.
Snake by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
When they swam, their body would be covered in leeches. When they walked, they had to watch their steps for frogs. When they filled their vessels, they had to keep an eye out for snakes.
Tapa Hiti by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
While it is uncommon to find such animals there today, they continue to linger on in the myths, stories, and structures of the hitis.
These stone spouts are often carved to resemble makaras, guardians of gateways that take the form of animals like crocodiles, elephants, lions, fishes–all entwined in one.
Hiti detail by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Below, yakshas, protectors of the underground realm, support the earth above.
Tapa Hiti by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
It is their blessings that grant passage to the underground water as it flows through the hitis.
Map of traditional water systems by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Hitis are part of an intricate and scientifically designed system connecting springs, rajkulo (ancient royal canals), ponds, wells, and aquifers.
In the last three decades, the valley has seen rapid unmanaged urbanization. Many houses are connected to piped water or private bore well systems, making access to water more convenient. But this has also deteriorated traditional water systems such as hitis, wells, and ponds.
Many hitis now stand merely as relics of their glorious history, with almost 10 percent already lost. Many of those that remain are in dire condition, urgently needing serious renovation and rehabilitation.
Lagankhya Hiti by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
There has also been a large influx of people coming into Kathmandu. Among them, the working class, laborers, and students that make up the urban poor end up living in old centers like Patan.
Not only because the rents are cheaper but also because these older neighborhoods have been designed with common resources like hitis.
Jugs by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Often, they don’t have access to running water in their rented rooms and must collect water in plastic containers.
Archana Khadka, originally from the southeast of Kathmandu, moved here over a decade ago. Since then, she has relied on the water from Alko Hiti for cooking and drinking.
“If this hiti wasn’t here, we would have to buy water. It is only because of this that a lot of people living on rent can access water for free. It has made life a lot easier.”
Like Archana, thousands come to these hitis with recycled jars, paint buckets, and
bottles to collect water for their daily needs.
Over time the valley has undergone profound changes, and the ones who use the hitis have also changed. Nowadays, it is predominantly the urban poor who depend on and make use of these shared resources. Yet they are seldom seen as participants in the decision-making process.
Water by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Who are the commons meant for? How can we reimagine the commons and the commoning that is required for these spaces to continue to exist in a rapidly changing world?
How can we make room for mythologies and beliefs while recognizing the science behind these systems?
Eel by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
At a time when, as Ratna Sobha puts it, “humans are greater than gods,” will the yaksha’s blessings still endure?
Ripple by Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi ShresthaWorld Monuments Fund
Heritage in Focus is a collaboration between World Monuments Fund (WMF) and Magnum Foundation to aid local emerging photographers in capturing historic places and their stewards. The Hitis of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, were included on the World Monuments Watch in 2022. Since then, WMF and Chiva Chaitya Organization have collaborated to research and protect the traditional infrastructure of the hitis as climate change strains the piped water supply in the region.
The photographers of Heritage in Focus were tasked with documenting the sites of the 2022 World Monuments Watch. The featured sites are Asante Traditional Buildings, Ghana (Eric Gyamfi); Garcia Pasture, USA (Tahila Moss); Heritage Buildings of Beirut, Lebanon (Elsie Haddad); Hitis of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal (Prasiit Sthapit and Shristi Shrestha) ; Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home, Australia (Tace Stevens); Lamanai, Belize (Morena Pérez Joachin); La Maison du Peuple, Burkina Faso (Adrien Bitibaly); Sumba Island, Indonesia (Fransisca Angela); Teotihuacán, Mexico (Yael Martínez); Tiretta Bazaar, India (Soumya Sankar Bose); and Yanacancha-Huaquis Cultural Landscape, Peru (Victor Zea and Diego López Calvín).
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