General Information about Item:

Superstition

Language: English

Culture of Origin: Nepali

Informant: AK

Date Collected: 10-28-2021

Informant Data:

AK was born in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 12th, 1996. She grew up in Nepal before immigrating to the USA when she was 16. In America, AK calls Davenport, Iowa her hometown. She has one younger brother, BK, who is 4 years younger than her. AK’s hobbies include painting, running, and netflix. 

Contextual Data:

Social Context:

AK grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal. In Kathmandu, Naag Daha is a popular tourist attraction and lake. It literally translates to the lake of the Naag. The lake has a notorious reputation for drowning people who swim in it, especially young kids due to its depth. Thus, many people say that it is the Naag that pulls kids down into the lake. AK learnt about this through her mom. Nobody really remembers when the drownings started but every year 2 to 3 people drown in the lake. 

Cultural Context:

The Naag is a giant Cobra-like snake that calls the lake Naag Daha its home. It is said to live deep beneath the lake. The Naag can be both benevolent and malevolent depending on the context. Sometimes it is known to protect while other times it is known to kill. Culturally lakes and bodies of water are fun but also dangerous places due to the drowning hazard so it is not surprising that the Naag is seen as both benevolent and malevolent. 

Item:

One should not swim in the deep end of the Naag Daha unless they want to get pulled down and drowned by the Naag. 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):