The art of Peace? Dêudã culture and its role in community ‘Peacebuilding’ in Nepal’s far-western communities
Bahadur Saud, Nar (2025) The art of Peace? Dêudã culture and its role in community ‘Peacebuilding’ in Nepal’s far-western communities. PhD thesis, University for the Creative Arts.
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Traditional peacebuilding in post-conflict settings often prioritises political settlements and institutional reforms, frequently overlooking the role of cultural expression in fostering trust, solidarity, and healing. This thesis examines Dêudã culture – a song, dance, and storytelling tradition from Nepal’s Far-western region –
as a participatory practice that supports emotional connection and social cohesion after conflict. Rooted in local customs, Dêudã culture has historically enabled collective reflection and unity, particularly during and after Nepal’s Maoist conflict, through shared embodied experiences (Stirr, 2012; Air, 2023; Upadhyaya, 2024). Drawing on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed (1979), the research
conceptualises Dêudã as a performative space that transforms audiences into active participants – “spect-actors” – engaged in dialogue, critique, and communal problem-solving. This framework is developed through the Dêudã Triangle Model, which explores the dynamic interplay between performance, positionality, and peace. The model illustrates how Dêudã culture nurtures empathy, reinforces cultural continuity, and enables inclusive participation in ‘peacebuilding’ practices. This research draws on perspectives and experiences of purposely selected and the analysis of selected lyrics of Deuda cultural performances to provide a grounded analysis of how culturally embedded practices like Dêudã culture can complement institutional approaches by embedding equity, voice, and collective resilience. Future research should adopt mixed methods designs and broader comparative samples to
assess the scalability and long-term impact of such practices. Nonetheless, the findings suggest that by centring culture and collective joy, Dêudã culture offers a sustainable, community-rooted alternative to dominant peacebuilding paradigms in Nepal and other post-conflict contexts.
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