Newar
Encyclopedia
The Newa are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's
Kathmandu Valley
. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.
Newas have lived in the Kathmandu Valley since prehistoric times, and immigrants that arrived at different periods in its history eventually merged with the local population by adopting their language and customs. Newars are a linguistic and cultural community of mostly Tibeto-Burman and some Indo-Aryan ethnicities. They are bound together by a common language and culture. Their common language is Nepal Bhasa
("Newari" according to Statistics Nepal) or the linguistic progenitor of that language. Scholars have also described the Newars as being a nation
.
According to Nepal's 2001 census, the 1,245,232 Newars in the country are the nation's sixth largest ethnic group, representing 5.48% of the population. In 2001, there were approximately 825,000 native speakers of Nepal Bhasa. Many Newar communities within Nepal also speak their own dialects of Nepal Bhasa, such as the Dolakha Newar Language
. Nepal Bhasa is of Tibeto-Burman origin but has been heavily influenced by Indo-Aryan languages
like Sanskrit
, Pali
, Bengali
and Maithili
.
form and Newar is the colloquial Prakrit
form. A Sanskrit inscription dated 512 AD found in Tistung, a valley to the south of Kathmandu, contains the phrase “greetings to the Nepals” indicating that the term "Nepal" was used to refer to both the country and the people. The term "Newar" referring to "inhabitant of Nepal" appeared for the first time in an inscription dated 1654 AD in Kathmandu. It is believed that Nepal may be a sanskritization of Newar, or Newar may be a later form of Nepal. According to another explanation, the words "Newar" and "Newari" are vulgarisms arising from the mutation of P to V, and L to R. Similarly, according to the National Archives of India, Nepal is also said to be the same word as Newar Napa.
The different divisions of Newars had different historical developments. The common identity of Newar was formed in the Kathmandu Valley. Until the Gorkha conquest of the valley in 1769, all the people who had inhabited the valley at any point of time were either Newar or progenitors of Newar. So, the history of Newar correlates to the history of the Kathmandu Valley prior to the establishment of the modern state of Nepal.
The earliest known history of Newar and the Kathmandu Valley blends with mythology recorded in historical chronicles. One such text, which recounts the creation of the valley, is the Swayambhu Purana
. According to this Buddhist scripture, the Kathmandu Valley was a giant lake until the Bodhisattva
Manjusri
, with the aid of a holy sword, cut a gap in the surrounding hills and let the water out. This apocryphal legend is supported by geological evidence of an ancient lakebed, and it provides an explanation for the high fertility of the Kathmandu Valley soil.
According to the Swayambhu Purana, Manjusri then established a city called Manjupattan (Sanskrit "Land Established by Manjusri"), now called Manjipā, and made Dharmākara its king. A shrine dedicated to Manjusri is still present in Majipā.
No historical documents have been found after this era till the advent of the Gopal era. A genealogy of kings is recorded in a chronicle called Gopalarajavamsavali. According to this manuscript, the Gopal kings were followed by the Mahispals and the Kirats before the Licchavis entered from the south. Some claim Buddha
to have visited Nepal during the reign of Kirat king Jitedasti. The Licchavi dynasty ruled for at least 600 years, followed by the Malla dynasty
in the 12th century AD.
Newar reign over the valley and their sovereignty and influence over neighboring territories ended with the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley in 1769 by the Gorkhali Shah
dynasty founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah
. Systematic brutal suppression of the Newar people was pursued for generations during early dynastic rule in order to discourage them from any political aspiration.
Prior to the Gorkha conquest, the borders of Nepal Mandala extended to Tibet
in the north, the nation of the Kirata
in the east, the kingdom of Makwanpur in the south and the Trishuli River
in the west which separated it from the kingdom of Gorkha. Newars developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilization unseen elsewhere in the Himalayan
foothills between Kashmir
and Assam
. They are best known for their artistic creativity and skilled craftsmanship, producing a culture which a few centuries ago ranked among the highest in Asia.
and Buddhism
. According to the 2001 Nepal Census, 84.13% of the Newars were Hindu and 15.31% were Buddhist.
Out of the three main cities of the Kathmandu Valley which are historically Newar, Patan is the most Buddhist containing the four stupas built by Indian emperor Ashoka
, Bhaktapur
is primarily Hindu while Kathmandu is a mix of both. Generally, both Hindu and Buddhist deities are worshipped and festivals are celebrated by both religious groups. However, for ritual activities, Hindu and Buddhist Newars have their own priests and cultural differences.
Classical Nepal Bhasa literature is represented by all the three major genres—prose, poetry and drama. Most of the writings consist of prose including chronicles, popular stories and scientific manuals. Poetry consists of love songs, ballads, working songs and religious poetry. The earliest poems date from the 1570s. The dramas are based on stories from the epics, and almost all of them were written during the 17th and 18th centuries. Nepal Bhasa literature flourished for five centuries until 1850.
Since then, it suffered a period of decline due to political oppression. The period 1908-1940 is known as the Nepal Bhasa renaissance period when writers defied official censure and braved imprisonment to create literary works. Modern Nepal Bhasa literature began in the 1940s with the emergence of new genres like short stories, poems, essays, novels and plays.
Masked dances are performed on stone dance platforms that exist at all major city squares. They are the highlight of religious festivals. Most dances are held annually while certain dances are performed once every 12 years. The performances are organized by dance societies in which membership is hereditary. The history of these traditional dances goes back centuries.
Musical bands accompany religious processions in which an idol of a deity is placed in a chariot or portable shrine and taken around the city. Devotional songs known as bhajan
may be sung daily in community houses. Dapa songs are sung during hymn singing seasons at temple squares and sacred courtyards. Musical bands parade through the streets during Gunla, the 10th month of the Nepal Sambat
calendar which is a holy month for Newar Buddhists. Musical performances start with an overture which is a salutation to the gods. Seasonal songs and ballads are associated with particular seasons and festivals. Music is also played during wedding processions, life-cycle ceremonies and funeral processions.
Food is also an important part of the ritual and religious life of the Newars, and the dishes served during festivals and feasts have symbolic significance. Different sets of ritual dishes are placed in a circle around the staple rice flakes to represent and honour different sets of deities depending on the festival or life-cycle ceremony.
Kwati (soup of different beans), kachila (spiced minced meat), choila
which is water buffalo meat marinated in spices and grilled over the flames of dried wheat stalks, wo (lentil cake), paun kwa (sour soup), stuffed lung, fried liver, fried tongue, tripe stuffed with bone marrow and jellied fish soup are some of the popular festival foods. Dessert consists of dhau (yogurt), sisabusa (fruits) and mari (sweetmeat). Thwon
and aila are the common alcoholic liquors that Newars make at home.
At meals, festivals and gatherings, Newars sit on long mats in rows. Typically, the sitting arrangement is hierarchical with the eldest sitting at the top and the youngest at the end. Newar cuisine makes use of mustard oil and a host of spices such as cumin, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, mint, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chili and mustard seeds.
Traditional Newar art is basically religious art. Newar devotional paubha painting, sculpture and metal craftsmanship are world-renowned for their exquisite beauty. The earliest dated paubha discovered so far is Vasudhara Mandala which was painted in 1365 AD (Nepal Sambat 485). Stone sculpture, wood carving, repoussé art and metal statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities made by the lost-wax casting process are specimens of Newar artistry.
Building elements like carved wooden windows, roof struts on temples and the tympanum
of temples and shrine houses exhibit traditional creativity. From as early as the seventh century, visitors have noted the skill of Newar artists and craftsmen who left their influence on the art of Tibet and China. Newars introduced the lost-wax technique into Bhutan
and they were commissioned to paint murals on the walls of monasteries there. Sandpainting
of mandala
made during festivals and death rituals is another specialty of Newar art.
World Heritage Sites and 2,500 temples and shrines in the Kathmandu Valley that illustrate the skill and aesthetic sense of Newar artisans. Residential houses, monastic courtyards known as baha and bahi, rest houses, temples, stupas, priest houses and palaces are the various architectural structures found in the valley. Most of the chief monuments are located in the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Lalitpur
and Bhaktapur
, the old royal palace complexes built between the 12th and 18th centuries.
Newar architecture consists of the pagoda
, stupa
, shikhara, chaitya
and other styles. The valley's trademark is the multiple-roofed pagoda which may have originated in this area and spread to India, China, Indochina and Japan. There is wide acceptance of the fact that Newar architects may have been responsible for developing Asia's hallmark multi-tiered pagoda architecture. The most famous artisan who influenced stylistic developments in China and Tibet was Arniko, a Newar youth who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan
in the 13th century AD. He is known for building the white stupa at the Miaoying Temple
in Beijing
.
Newars are highly urbanized and live in cities and villages that are a smaller version of the former. Durbar squares, temple squares, sacred courtyards, stupas, open-air shrines, dance platforms, sunken water fountains, public rest houses, bazaars, multistoried houses with elaborate carved windows and compact streets are the characteristics of traditional planning. Besides the historical cities of Kathmandu, Lalitpur
, Bhaktapur
, Madhyapur Thimi
and Kirtipur
, small towns with a similar artistic heritage dot the Kathmandu Valley where almost half of the Newar population lives.
Outside the valley, historical Newar settlements include Nuwakot, Nala
, Banepa
, Dhulikhel
, Panauti
, Dolakha, Chitlang
and Bhimphedi. Over the last two centuries, Newars have fanned out of the Kathmandu Valley and established trade centers and settled in various parts of Nepal. Bandipur
, Pokhara
, Baglung
and Tansen
in west Nepal and Chainpur and Bhojpur in east Nepal contain large Newar populations.
Outside Nepal, many Newars have settled in Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal and Sikkim
, India. Newars have also settled in Bhutan. Colonies of expatriate Newar merchants and artisans existed in Lhasa
, Shigatse
and Gyantse
in Tibet till the mid-1960s when the traditional trade came to an end after the Sino-Indian War
. In recent times, Newars have moved to different parts of Asia, Europe and America.
s throughout the year. Many festivals are tied to Hindu
and Buddhist holidays and the harvest cycle. Street celebrations include pageants, jatra
s or processions in which a car or portable shrine is paraded through the streets and sacred masked dances. Other festivals are marked by family feasts and worship. The celebrations are held according to the lunar calendar, so the dates are changeable.
During Swanti (Tihar), Newars celebrate New Year's Day of Nepal Sambat
by doing Mha Puja
, a ritual in which a mandala
is worshipped, that purifies and strengthens one spiritually for the coming year. Mohani (Dashain) is one of the greatest annual celebrations which is observed for several days with feasts and religious services. Another major festival is Sā Pāru
(Gai Jatra) when people who have lost a family member in the past year dress up as cows and parade through town.
In Kathmandu, the biggest street festival is Yanyā Punhi (Indra Jatra) when three cars bearing the living goddess Kumari and two other child deities are pulled through the streets and masked dance performances are held. During the festival of Jana Baha Dyah Jatra, a temple car with an image of Karunamaya is drawn through central Kathmandu for three days. A similar procession is held in Lalitpur known as Bungadyah Jatra which continues for a month and climaxes with Bhoto Jatra, the display of the sacred vest. The biggest outdoor celebration in Bhaktapur is Biska Jatra which is marked by chariot processions and lasts for nine days. Sithi Nakha is another big festival when worship is offered and natural water sources are cleaned. In addition, all Newar towns and villages have their particular festival which is celebrated by holding a chariot or palanquin procession.
For a female child, Ihi
(also called Bel Bibaha) is performed between the ages of five to nine. The next ceremony is Baray when a girl approaches puberty. She is kept in a room for 12 days hidden from the sun and generally taught domestic sciences. At the end of the retreat, a service is held. The next ceremony is marriage. Janku is an old-age ceremony which is conducted when a person reaches the age of 77 years, seven months and seven days. Further Janku ceremonies are performed at similar auspicious milestones after which the person is accorded deified status.
All Newars, except the Jogi caste, cremate their dead. The Jogis bury their dead. As part of the funeral, offerings are made to the spirit of the deceased, the crow and the dog. The crow and the dog represent ancestors and the god of death. Subsequently, offerings and rituals are conducted four, seven, eight, 13 and 45 days following death and monthly for a year and then annually.
, O
and H
among others is present in Newa people. The parental group of Newa people consists mainly of Central Asia (.566 +/- .315) and India (.434 +/-.208).
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
Kathmandu Valley
Kathmandu Valley
The Kathmandu Valley , located in Nepal, lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of Asia, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several places of pilgrimage for the Hindus and the Buddhists. There are seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites within this valley.-Etymology:The city of...
. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.
Newas have lived in the Kathmandu Valley since prehistoric times, and immigrants that arrived at different periods in its history eventually merged with the local population by adopting their language and customs. Newars are a linguistic and cultural community of mostly Tibeto-Burman and some Indo-Aryan ethnicities. They are bound together by a common language and culture. Their common language is Nepal Bhasa
Nepal Bhasa
Nepal Bhasa is one of the major languages of Nepal, and is also spoken in India, particularly in Sikkim where it is one of the 11 official languages. Nepal Bhasa is the mother tongue of about 3% of the people in Nepal . It is spoken mainly by the Newars, who chiefly inhabit the towns of the...
("Newari" according to Statistics Nepal) or the linguistic progenitor of that language. Scholars have also described the Newars as being a nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
.
According to Nepal's 2001 census, the 1,245,232 Newars in the country are the nation's sixth largest ethnic group, representing 5.48% of the population. In 2001, there were approximately 825,000 native speakers of Nepal Bhasa. Many Newar communities within Nepal also speak their own dialects of Nepal Bhasa, such as the Dolakha Newar Language
Dolakha Newar Language
Dolakha Newar is a divergent dialect of the Newari language spoken in Dolakha District, outside the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal, by 5,645 Newa people as of 1988. Some speakers of Dolakha Newar can be found in Kathmandu for education or work....
. Nepal Bhasa is of Tibeto-Burman origin but has been heavily influenced by Indo-Aryan languages
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages constitutes a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, itself a branch of the Indo-European language family...
like Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
, Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
and Maithili
Maithili language
Maithili language is spoken in the eastern region of India and South-eastern region of Nepal. The native speakers of Maithili reside in Bihar, Jharkhand,parts of West Bengal and South-east Nepal...
.
Origin of the name
The terms "Nepal" and "Newar" are phonetically different forms of the same word. Nepal is the learned SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
form and Newar is the colloquial Prakrit
Prakrit
Prakrit is the name for a group of Middle Indic, Indo-Aryan languages, derived from Old Indic dialects. The word itself has a flexible definition, being defined sometimes as, "original, natural, artless, normal, ordinary, usual", or "vernacular", in contrast to the literary and religious...
form. A Sanskrit inscription dated 512 AD found in Tistung, a valley to the south of Kathmandu, contains the phrase “greetings to the Nepals” indicating that the term "Nepal" was used to refer to both the country and the people. The term "Newar" referring to "inhabitant of Nepal" appeared for the first time in an inscription dated 1654 AD in Kathmandu. It is believed that Nepal may be a sanskritization of Newar, or Newar may be a later form of Nepal. According to another explanation, the words "Newar" and "Newari" are vulgarisms arising from the mutation of P to V, and L to R. Similarly, according to the National Archives of India, Nepal is also said to be the same word as Newar Napa.
History
The earliest known history of Newar and the Kathmandu Valley blends with mythology recorded in historical chronicles. One such text, which recounts the creation of the valley, is the Swayambhu Purana
Swayambhu Purana
Swayambhu Purana is a Buddhist scripture about the origin and development of Kathmandu valley. Swayambhu Purana gives detail of all the Buddhas who came to Kathmandu...
. According to this Buddhist scripture, the Kathmandu Valley was a giant lake until the Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is either an enlightened existence or an enlightenment-being or, given the variant Sanskrit spelling satva rather than sattva, "heroic-minded one for enlightenment ." The Pali term has sometimes been translated as "wisdom-being," although in modern publications, and...
Manjusri
Manjusri
Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom in Mahāyāna Buddhism. In Esoteric Buddhism he is also taken as a meditational deity. The Sanskrit name Mañjuśrī can be translated as "Gentle Glory"...
, with the aid of a holy sword, cut a gap in the surrounding hills and let the water out. This apocryphal legend is supported by geological evidence of an ancient lakebed, and it provides an explanation for the high fertility of the Kathmandu Valley soil.
According to the Swayambhu Purana, Manjusri then established a city called Manjupattan (Sanskrit "Land Established by Manjusri"), now called Manjipā, and made Dharmākara its king. A shrine dedicated to Manjusri is still present in Majipā.
No historical documents have been found after this era till the advent of the Gopal era. A genealogy of kings is recorded in a chronicle called Gopalarajavamsavali. According to this manuscript, the Gopal kings were followed by the Mahispals and the Kirats before the Licchavis entered from the south. Some claim Buddha
Buddha
In Buddhism, buddhahood is the state of perfect enlightenment attained by a buddha .In Buddhism, the term buddha usually refers to one who has become enlightened...
to have visited Nepal during the reign of Kirat king Jitedasti. The Licchavi dynasty ruled for at least 600 years, followed by the Malla dynasty
Malla (Nepal)
The Malla Dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Nepal from the 12th to the 18th century. Malla kings of Nepal visited Lumbini in the 11th and 12th century. It was during their reign the people living in and around the Kathmandu Valley began to be called as "Newars" . The Mallas were the ruling clan of...
in the 12th century AD.
Newar reign over the valley and their sovereignty and influence over neighboring territories ended with the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley in 1769 by the Gorkhali Shah
Gorkhali
Gorkhali was a Nepali language weekly newspaper published from Varanasi, India. It began its publication in 1919. Devi Prasad Sapkota was the editor of the newspaper....
dynasty founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Nepal was the first king of the House of Shahs to rule Nepal. He is credited for starting the campaign for a unified Nepal, which had been divided and weakened under Malla confederacy. He was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah , the founder of the ruling...
. Systematic brutal suppression of the Newar people was pursued for generations during early dynastic rule in order to discourage them from any political aspiration.
Prior to the Gorkha conquest, the borders of Nepal Mandala extended to Tibet
Tibet
Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
in the north, the nation of the Kirata
Kirata
The Kirāta is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who lived in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and North-East India and who are postulated to have been Mongoloid in origin. It has been theorized that the word Kirata- or Kirati- means people with lion nature. It is derived...
in the east, the kingdom of Makwanpur in the south and the Trishuli River
Trishuli River
The Trishuli River is a trans-boundary river and is one of the major tributaries of the Narayani River basin in central Nepal. It originates in Tibet Autonomous Region of China where it is called Kyirong Tsangpo...
in the west which separated it from the kingdom of Gorkha. Newars developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilization unseen elsewhere in the Himalayan
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
foothills between Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. They are best known for their artistic creativity and skilled craftsmanship, producing a culture which a few centuries ago ranked among the highest in Asia.
Religion
Newar practice both HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
and Buddhism
Newar Buddhism
Newar Buddhism is the form of Mahayana-Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar ethnic community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on a caste system and patrilinial descent...
. According to the 2001 Nepal Census, 84.13% of the Newars were Hindu and 15.31% were Buddhist.
Out of the three main cities of the Kathmandu Valley which are historically Newar, Patan is the most Buddhist containing the four stupas built by Indian emperor Ashoka
Ashoka
Ashok Maurya or Ashoka , popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty who ruled almost all of the Indian subcontinent from ca. 269 BC to 232 BC. One of India's greatest emperors, Ashoka reigned over most of present-day India after a number of military conquests...
, Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
is primarily Hindu while Kathmandu is a mix of both. Generally, both Hindu and Buddhist deities are worshipped and festivals are celebrated by both religious groups. However, for ritual activities, Hindu and Buddhist Newars have their own priests and cultural differences.
Literature
The earliest known document in Nepal Bhasa is called "The Palmleaf from Uku Bahal" which dates from 1114 AD during the Thakuri period. Nepal Bhasa is one of the five languages in the Sino-Tibetan family with a literary tradition. Literature in Nepal Bhasa began as translation and commentary in prose in the 14th century AD.Classical Nepal Bhasa literature is represented by all the three major genres—prose, poetry and drama. Most of the writings consist of prose including chronicles, popular stories and scientific manuals. Poetry consists of love songs, ballads, working songs and religious poetry. The earliest poems date from the 1570s. The dramas are based on stories from the epics, and almost all of them were written during the 17th and 18th centuries. Nepal Bhasa literature flourished for five centuries until 1850.
Since then, it suffered a period of decline due to political oppression. The period 1908-1940 is known as the Nepal Bhasa renaissance period when writers defied official censure and braved imprisonment to create literary works. Modern Nepal Bhasa literature began in the 1940s with the emergence of new genres like short stories, poems, essays, novels and plays.
Dance
Newar dance consists of sacred masked dance, religious dance without the use of masks known as Dyah Pyakhan, dance performed as part of a ritual and meditation practice known as Chachaa Pyakhan (Charya Nritya in Sanskrit) and folk dance. There are also masked dance dramas known as Daboo Pyakhan which enact religious stories to the accompaniment of music.Masked dances are performed on stone dance platforms that exist at all major city squares. They are the highlight of religious festivals. Most dances are held annually while certain dances are performed once every 12 years. The performances are organized by dance societies in which membership is hereditary. The history of these traditional dances goes back centuries.
Music
Traditional Newar music consists of sacred music, devotional songs, seasonal songs, ballads and folk songs. Common percussion instruments consist of the dhimay, khin, naykhin and dhaa. Wind instruments include the bansuri (flute), payntah (long trumpet) and mwahali (short trumpet). Chhusya, bhusya and taa (cymbals) and gongs are other popular instruments. String instruments are very rare.Musical bands accompany religious processions in which an idol of a deity is placed in a chariot or portable shrine and taken around the city. Devotional songs known as bhajan
Bhajan
A Bhajan is any type of Indian devotional song. It has no fixed form: it may be as simple as a mantra or kirtan or as sophisticated as the dhrupad or kriti with music based on classical ragas and talas. It is normally lyrical, expressing love for the Divine...
may be sung daily in community houses. Dapa songs are sung during hymn singing seasons at temple squares and sacred courtyards. Musical bands parade through the streets during Gunla, the 10th month of the Nepal Sambat
Nepal Sambat
Nepal Sambat is the national lunar calendar of Nepal. It was used throughout Medieval Nepal, and into early modern Nepal, until Chandra Sumsher decided to remove it in BS 1960. It was started in 880 AD during the reign of King Raghav Dev to commemorate the payment of all the debts of Nepalese...
calendar which is a holy month for Newar Buddhists. Musical performances start with an overture which is a salutation to the gods. Seasonal songs and ballads are associated with particular seasons and festivals. Music is also played during wedding processions, life-cycle ceremonies and funeral processions.
Cuisine
Meals can be classified into three main categories: the daily meal, the afternoon snack and festival food. The daily meal consists of boiled rice, lentil soup, vegetable curry and relish. Meat is also served. The snack generally consists of rice flakes, roasted and curried soybeans, curried potato and roasted meat mixed with spices.Food is also an important part of the ritual and religious life of the Newars, and the dishes served during festivals and feasts have symbolic significance. Different sets of ritual dishes are placed in a circle around the staple rice flakes to represent and honour different sets of deities depending on the festival or life-cycle ceremony.
Kwati (soup of different beans), kachila (spiced minced meat), choila
Choila
Choila or Chwelaa is a typical Newari dish that consists of spiced grilled meat. Though the dish is traditially popular with water buffalo, nowadays chicken and duck meat are being used. Usually eaten with beaten rice, this dish is typically very spicy....
which is water buffalo meat marinated in spices and grilled over the flames of dried wheat stalks, wo (lentil cake), paun kwa (sour soup), stuffed lung, fried liver, fried tongue, tripe stuffed with bone marrow and jellied fish soup are some of the popular festival foods. Dessert consists of dhau (yogurt), sisabusa (fruits) and mari (sweetmeat). Thwon
Thwon
Thwon is a type of alcoholic beverage. It is prepared on festivals and special occasions by the Newars. It is brewed from rice. This is a kind of Country Beer.Generally we can also called Rice beer.-Types:It is of two types-* Red* White...
and aila are the common alcoholic liquors that Newars make at home.
At meals, festivals and gatherings, Newars sit on long mats in rows. Typically, the sitting arrangement is hierarchical with the eldest sitting at the top and the youngest at the end. Newar cuisine makes use of mustard oil and a host of spices such as cumin, sesame seeds, turmeric, garlic, ginger, mint, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, chili and mustard seeds.
Art
Traditional Newar art is basically religious art. Newar devotional paubha painting, sculpture and metal craftsmanship are world-renowned for their exquisite beauty. The earliest dated paubha discovered so far is Vasudhara Mandala which was painted in 1365 AD (Nepal Sambat 485). Stone sculpture, wood carving, repoussé art and metal statues of Buddhist and Hindu deities made by the lost-wax casting process are specimens of Newar artistry.
Building elements like carved wooden windows, roof struts on temples and the tympanum
Tympanum (architecture)
In architecture, a tympanum is the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch. It often contains sculpture or other imagery or ornaments. Most architectural styles include this element....
of temples and shrine houses exhibit traditional creativity. From as early as the seventh century, visitors have noted the skill of Newar artists and craftsmen who left their influence on the art of Tibet and China. Newars introduced the lost-wax technique into Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and they were commissioned to paint murals on the walls of monasteries there. Sandpainting
Sandpainting
Sandpainting is the art of pouring colored sands, powdered pigments from minerals or crystals, and pigments from other natural or synthetic sources onto a surface to make a fixed, or unfixed sand painting...
of mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
made during festivals and death rituals is another specialty of Newar art.
Architecture
There are seven UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Sites and 2,500 temples and shrines in the Kathmandu Valley that illustrate the skill and aesthetic sense of Newar artisans. Residential houses, monastic courtyards known as baha and bahi, rest houses, temples, stupas, priest houses and palaces are the various architectural structures found in the valley. Most of the chief monuments are located in the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Lalitpur
Patan, Nepal
Patan , officially Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, is one of the major cities of Nepal. It is one of the sub-metropolitan cities of Nepal located in the south-western part of Kathmandu valley. Patan is also known as Manigal. It is best known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly its...
and Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
, the old royal palace complexes built between the 12th and 18th centuries.
Newar architecture consists of the pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
, stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of Buddha, used by Buddhists as a place of worship....
, shikhara, chaitya
Chaitya
A chaitya is a Buddhist or Jain shrine including a stupa. In modern texts on Indian architecture, the term chaitya-griha is often used to denote assembly or prayer hall that houses a stupa.-History:...
and other styles. The valley's trademark is the multiple-roofed pagoda which may have originated in this area and spread to India, China, Indochina and Japan. There is wide acceptance of the fact that Newar architects may have been responsible for developing Asia's hallmark multi-tiered pagoda architecture. The most famous artisan who influenced stylistic developments in China and Tibet was Arniko, a Newar youth who traveled to the court of Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
in the 13th century AD. He is known for building the white stupa at the Miaoying Temple
Miaoying Temple
The Miaoying Temple , also known as the "White Stupa Temple" , is a Chinese Buddhist temple on the north side of Fuchengmennei Street in Xicheng District of Beijing....
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Settlements
Patan, Nepal
Patan , officially Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City, is one of the major cities of Nepal. It is one of the sub-metropolitan cities of Nepal located in the south-western part of Kathmandu valley. Patan is also known as Manigal. It is best known for its rich cultural heritage, particularly its...
, Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...
, Madhyapur Thimi
Madhyapur Thimi
Madhyapur Thimi is a municipality in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 47,751....
and Kirtipur
Kirtipur
Kirtipur is an ancient city in Nepal. It is located in Kathmandu District of Bagmati Zone 5 km south-west of the Kathmandu. It is one of the five municipalities of the Kathmandu Valley.-Etymology:...
, small towns with a similar artistic heritage dot the Kathmandu Valley where almost half of the Newar population lives.
Outside the valley, historical Newar settlements include Nuwakot, Nala
Nala
Nala , a character in Hindu mythology, is the king of Nishadha Kingdom, son of Virasena. Nala is known for his skill with horses and culinary expertise. He marries princess Damayanti, of Vidarbha Kingdom, and their story is told in the Mahabharata. His main weakness is gambling...
, Banepa
Banepa
Banepa is a Municipality town located 26 km east of Kathmandu, Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 12537 and had 1956 households in it. The main attraction of Banepa is the temple of Chandeshwori, located approximately 1 km northeast of the town along the...
, Dhulikhel
Dhulikhel
Dhulikhel is the administrative centre of Kavrepalanchok District, Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 9812 people in 1624 households. Dhulikhel lies along the B.P. Highway and Arniko Highway. Arniko Highway connects Kathmandu, Nepal's capital city with Tibet's...
, Panauti
Panauti
Panauti is a historical city in Nepal. It is 32 km SE from the capital Kathmandu. It was a small state given by King Bhupatindra Malla as dowry to his sister.-Origin:...
, Dolakha, Chitlang
Chitlang
Chitlang is a VDC located in Makwanpur District, Narayani Zone, CDR, Nepal.-Geography:Chitlang is located to the south west of Kathmandu valley in mid-hills called Mahabharat range.The VDC is bounded by-...
and Bhimphedi. Over the last two centuries, Newars have fanned out of the Kathmandu Valley and established trade centers and settled in various parts of Nepal. Bandipur
Bandipur
Bandipur is a hilltop settlement in Tanahu District, of Nepal. Because of its preserved, old time cultural atmosphere, Bandipur has increasingly been coming to the attention of tourism...
, Pokhara
Pokhara
Pokhara Sub-Metropolitan City is the second largest city of Nepal. Pokhara is city of close to 350,000 inhabitants in central Nepal located at 28.25°N, 83.99°E, which is the centre of the country from east to west or from north to south, 198 km west of Kathmandu or 90 km west of Mugling, and...
, Baglung
Baglung
Baglung, is a town in western Nepal, 275 km west of Kathmandu. It is the administrative headquarters of Baglung District and Dhawalagiri Zone. Baglung is a major business, financial, educational, and healthcare center for the people of Kali Gandaki valley....
and Tansen
Tansen
Mia Tansen is considered among the greatest composer-musicians in Hindustani classical music. He was an extraordinarily gifted vocalist, known for a large number of compositions, and also an instrumentalist who popularized and improved the rabab .He was among the Navaratnas at the court of the...
in west Nepal and Chainpur and Bhojpur in east Nepal contain large Newar populations.
Outside Nepal, many Newars have settled in Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal and Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
, India. Newars have also settled in Bhutan. Colonies of expatriate Newar merchants and artisans existed in Lhasa
Lhasa
Lhasa is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China and the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau, after Xining. At an altitude of , Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world...
, Shigatse
Shigatse
Shigatse is a county-level city and the second largest city in Tibet Autonomous Region , People's Republic of China, with a population of 92000, about southwest of Lhasa and northwest of Gyantse...
and Gyantse
Gyantse
Gyantse is a town located in Gyangzê County, Shigatse Prefecture. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region , but there are now at least ten larger Tibetan cities.-Location:The town is strategically located in the Nyang River Valley on the ancient...
in Tibet till the mid-1960s when the traditional trade came to an end after the Sino-Indian War
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
. In recent times, Newars have moved to different parts of Asia, Europe and America.
Festivals
Newar religious culture is rich in ceremony and is marked by frequent festivalFestival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
s throughout the year. Many festivals are tied to Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
and Buddhist holidays and the harvest cycle. Street celebrations include pageants, jatra
Jatra (Nepal)
Jatra refers to the types of Newari Festivals involving street festival or carnival....
s or processions in which a car or portable shrine is paraded through the streets and sacred masked dances. Other festivals are marked by family feasts and worship. The celebrations are held according to the lunar calendar, so the dates are changeable.
During Swanti (Tihar), Newars celebrate New Year's Day of Nepal Sambat
Nepal Sambat
Nepal Sambat is the national lunar calendar of Nepal. It was used throughout Medieval Nepal, and into early modern Nepal, until Chandra Sumsher decided to remove it in BS 1960. It was started in 880 AD during the reign of King Raghav Dev to commemorate the payment of all the debts of Nepalese...
by doing Mha Puja
Mha Puja
Mha Puja, , is unique festival to the Newar people of Nepal. The newars believe that one needs to understand and respect oneself before he/she can understand others. Mha puja is purification, strengthening and understanding to oneself. Mha puja carries all the grandeur that a typical Newa festival...
, a ritual in which a mandala
Mandala
Maṇḍala is a Sanskrit word that means "circle". In the Buddhist and Hindu religious traditions their sacred art often takes a mandala form. The basic form of most Hindu and Buddhist mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point...
is worshipped, that purifies and strengthens one spiritually for the coming year. Mohani (Dashain) is one of the greatest annual celebrations which is observed for several days with feasts and religious services. Another major festival is Sā Pāru
Sa Paru
Sā Pāru is a festival celebrated chiefly in Nepal by the Newars. The festival commemorates the death of people during the span of a year.See also: Gaijatra...
(Gai Jatra) when people who have lost a family member in the past year dress up as cows and parade through town.
In Kathmandu, the biggest street festival is Yanyā Punhi (Indra Jatra) when three cars bearing the living goddess Kumari and two other child deities are pulled through the streets and masked dance performances are held. During the festival of Jana Baha Dyah Jatra, a temple car with an image of Karunamaya is drawn through central Kathmandu for three days. A similar procession is held in Lalitpur known as Bungadyah Jatra which continues for a month and climaxes with Bhoto Jatra, the display of the sacred vest. The biggest outdoor celebration in Bhaktapur is Biska Jatra which is marked by chariot processions and lasts for nine days. Sithi Nakha is another big festival when worship is offered and natural water sources are cleaned. In addition, all Newar towns and villages have their particular festival which is celebrated by holding a chariot or palanquin procession.
Life-cycle ceremonies
Elaborate ceremonies chronicle the life cycle of a Newar from birth till death. Hindu Newars consider life-cycle rituals as a preparation for death and the life after it. Macha Janku, the rice feeding ceremony, is performed at the age of six or eight months for boys and at the age of five or seven months for girls. As a male child approaches puberty, the Kayta Puja, a rite of initiation, is performed. Shakyas and Bajracharyas perform Bare Chhuyegu which is initiation into the monkhood. The boy disrobes and goes back to being a layman after four days.For a female child, Ihi
Ihi
Ihi, Ehee or Bel Marriage is a ceremony in the Newar community in Nepal in which pre-adolescent girls are 'married' to the bel fruit , which is a symbol of the god Vishnu, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile...
(also called Bel Bibaha) is performed between the ages of five to nine. The next ceremony is Baray when a girl approaches puberty. She is kept in a room for 12 days hidden from the sun and generally taught domestic sciences. At the end of the retreat, a service is held. The next ceremony is marriage. Janku is an old-age ceremony which is conducted when a person reaches the age of 77 years, seven months and seven days. Further Janku ceremonies are performed at similar auspicious milestones after which the person is accorded deified status.
All Newars, except the Jogi caste, cremate their dead. The Jogis bury their dead. As part of the funeral, offerings are made to the spirit of the deceased, the crow and the dog. The crow and the dog represent ancestors and the god of death. Subsequently, offerings and rituals are conducted four, seven, eight, 13 and 45 days following death and monthly for a year and then annually.
Genetics
Y chromosome haplotypes of RHaplogroup R (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, haplogroup R is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup very common throughout Europe, Central Asia and South Asia, and also common in parts of the Middle East and Africa...
, O
Haplogroup O (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup O is a Y-chromosome DNA haplogroup. Haplogroup O is a close cladistic brother group with Haplogroup N, and is one of several descendants of Haplogroup K ....
and H
Haplogroup H (Y-DNA)
In human genetics, Haplogroup H is a Y-chromosome haplogroup.This haplogroup is found at a high frequency in South Asia. It is generally rare outside of the South Asia but is common among the Romani people, particularly the H-M82 subgroup.-Origins:...
among others is present in Newa people. The parental group of Newa people consists mainly of Central Asia (.566 +/- .315) and India (.434 +/-.208).
Further reading
- Bista, Dor Bahadur. (2004). People of Nepal. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
- Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
(2011). Newar. - Kayastha, Chhatra Bahadur (2003).Nepal Sanskriti: Samanyajnan. Nepal Sanskriti. ISBN 99933-34-84-7.
- Scofield, John. Kathmandu's Remarkable Newars, in National Geographic, February 1979.
- Vajracharya, Gautama V. Elements of Newar Buddhist Art:Circle of Bliss - a review article.
External links
- A Window to Newar Culture (ज्वजलपा डट कम)
- Nepal Ethnographic Museum
- Art of Newar Buddhism
- Rastriya Janajati Bikas Samiti
- An authentic source of information on Madhyapur Thimi, a rich Newar town
- Importance Of Wine In Newari Culture
- Journal of Newar Studies
- Newa Bigyan Journal of Newar Studies
- Newar wiki site (नेवा विकि)
- Newah Organization of America
- Newah Site Pasa Puchah Guthi, United Kingdom
- Amar Chitrakar
- Chitrakars
- Bhintuna.com (Newa entertainment site)