Newar women cannot inherit property, but retain personal control over their dowry, often investing it in businesses such as money-lending or renting out livestock. //]]>, LOCATION: Nepal(KathmanduValley)POPULATION: 1,245,232 (Census of Nepal 2001)LANGUAGE: Newari; NeplRELIGION: Mixture of Mahyna Buddhism, Hinduism, and older animistic beliefs. The valley's trademark is the multiple-roofed pagoda which may have originated in this area and spread to India, China, Indochina and Japan. Mha means "me" in Newari and Mha Puja is a worshipping ritual that celebrates our individual essence to cleanse and empower the soul. For about a thousand years, the Newar civilization in Central Nepal preserved a microcosm of classical North Indian culture in which Brahmanic and Buddhist elements enjoyed equal status. (February 22, 2023). Jankwo or Janku is an old-age celebration. Marriage ceremonies are elaborate and may last for the better part of a week. Sports and games of the Newars tend to be of the indoor variety, many of them involving gambling. At last but not least, the Ihi the short form of Ihipaa means a marriage. On the fourth day, he disrobes and returns to his family and henceforth becomes a householder Buddhist for the rest of his life. She is kept in a room for 12 days hidden and is ceremonially married to the sun god Surya. These rites are also performed by newar people because they are affiliated with the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Nonetheless, Newar women still fulfill the roles of running the household and bearing children, preferably sons to continue the lineage, which are so typical of women in South Asian societies. The Indian sr and blouse are also popular with Newar women. [51] It was used universally in stone and copper inscriptions, sacred manuscripts, official documents, journals, title deeds, correspondence and creative writing. These are called shora sanskar karma which indicates the 16 rites in Hindu and Buddhist religions. Wind instruments include the bansuri (flute), payntah (long trumpet) and mwahali (short trumpet), chhusya, bhusya, taa (cymbals), and gongs are other popular instruments. Using the valley as a base of power, in the next few decades they succeeded in establishing the outlines of the modern state of Nepal. Death ceremonies generally follow Hindu or Buddhist rites, although there are some differences in specific practices. Nepal Bhasa is the term recognised by the government.[48]. 2019Encyclopedia.com | All rights reserved. These rituals address two critical junctures in the lives of women, in particular those which involve their sexuality and their relation with men. The ceremony is called Bare Chuyegu (becoming a Bar) where categorically Bajracharya boys go through Acharya Abhisheka. 2023 Bhaktapur.com All right reserved. Until the conquest of the valley by the Gorkha Kingdom in 1769,[29] all the people who had inhabited the valley at any point of time were either Newar or progenitors of Newar. Required fields are marked *. A baby boy must have this ritual at the age of six or eight months. People give such participants money, food and other gifts as a donation. Well, talking back to the ceremony, he must don the yellow/orange robes of the mendicant and beg rice from his relatives. To the north, visible from many places on the valley floor, tower the snow-clad peaks of the Himalayas. During the ritual, the young boy renounces family and lineage for the celibate religious life. Newar religious culture is rich in ceremony and is marked by frequent festivals throughout the year. Trade and industry developed. Thwon ( rice beer) and ayl ( local alcohol) are the common alcoholic liquors that Newars make at home. Rituals to be performed after cremation till the 13th day after death 1. Rice was another major export. On the 13th day, the girl is dressed up as a bride with makeup, A newer movie named Barasi detailly has shown the life of a girl processing the gufa and how she dies within that period. Another major festival is S Pru when people who have lost a family member in the past year dress up as cows and saints, and parade through town, following a specific route. Artisan castes are known for their skill in casting images in bronze, brass, copper, and other metals. Nepal Bhasa script is a group of scripts that developed from the Brahmi script and are used primarily to write Nepal Bhasa and Sanskrit. Thus, if haphazardly, even the girls husband dies later in the future, she is not considered a widow because she is also married to Vishnu, who stands alive always and forever. Annaprasan is the ritual of rice feeding. To perform the ceremony, first of all, girl's parents ask their priest to dedicate a suitable date. Bhaktapur.com is a knowledge-sharing website where anyone can obtain and share the most up-to-date information about Bhaktapur. The "yukan," the washing of the corpse. Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life. Many Newar cannot afford modern entertainment, however, and turn to religious festivals and folk traditions of song, music, and dance for their recreation. Musicians from the Nau (barber) and Jyapu (farmer) castes accompany the procession to the cremation ground, which is usually on the banks of a river. Out of the three main cities of the Kathmandu Valley which are historically Newar, the city of Patan is the most Buddhist containing the four stupas built by Indian emperor Ashoka. Refer to each styles convention regarding the best way to format page numbers and retrieval dates. Similarly, Bhai Tika is also done during Swanti. 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. The Newar festival always includes a grand feast that consists of several delicious native Newari items. One such text, which recounts the creation of the valley, is the Swayambhu Purana. Buffalo, goat, and chicken are eaten, although pork is avoided, as is yak, which is considered as on a par with the cow. Most of the 140 cm (55 in) of annual rainfall falls during the summer monsoon period from June to September. [79][80] Sandpainting of mandala made during festivals and death rituals is another specialty of Newar art. In the last of these rituals, held at 99 years of age, a man enters his house through a window on the top floor (he is placed on a wooden shrine that is hoisted up by ropes). [97] Many festivals are tied to Hindu and Buddhist holidays and the harvest cycle. Once such important rite of passage ceremony among the male Newars is performing the loin-cloth and head-shaving ceremony called Chudkarma (Newar: ) followed by the Bratabandha or Kaeta Puja (Newar: ) which is traditionally performed for boys aged five to thirteen according to the religious affiliation Newars identify with. Today, they are engaged in modern industry, business and service sectors.[38][39]. Supari is the name of a Newari wedding tradition in which the groom's family welcomes the bride. There the boy receives a sacred thread along with a Vedic mantra called Gyatr mantra and Shiva mantra respectively. In Nepal, there are certain groups of people who for historical, social, or cultural reasons have become, or remained poor, and the government of Nepal has classed these people as "janajatis" (similar to adivasis or "indigenous peoples" in India). Buddhist stupas (shrines) dating to the 3rd century bc are all that is left of the early cultures of the Kathmandu Valley, but numerous magnificent stone sculptures survive from the subsequent Licchavi period. In the Upper . According to the 2011 Nepal Census, 87.38% of the Newars were Hindu and 10.74% were Buddhist. The major cults are Vajrayana Buddhism and Tantric Hinduism. The next ceremony common to both men and women is marriage. Following the wedding, the young couple moves in with the husband's family. For instance, Newar girls undergo a Bahra ceremony when . [14] Newar community within it consists of various strands of ethnic, racial, caste and religious heterogeneity, as they are the descendants of the diverse group of people that have lived in Nepal Mandala since prehistoric times. Nepal: Profile of a Himalayan Kingdom . During this time, mourners can't eat certain vegetables or meat. One of the major parts of Newar dress ups is bracelets (chra) and mala(necklaces). Orientation Vivaha means marriage. This no doubt reflects the fact that the bulk of the Newar live in the Kathmandu Valley, where access to educational institutions is easier than in the rest of the country. This ritual is done among the girl between the ages of four to eleven before reaching the period of puberty, where they are married to lord Shiva that the fruit is kept in his place. Many rituals relate to the stages of life stages from birth, first rice-feeding, childhood, puberty, marriage, seniority and death. From Kin to Caste: The Role of Guthis in Newar Society and Culture. Kathmandu, Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1972. Method according to the Scriptures Immediately after cremation, bathe by taking a dip in a river, lake or with well water while chanting continuously. Nevertheless, Dhau baji nakegu (offering yogurt and flattened rice along with yomari, sweets etc) during pregnancy is still practiced by many castes. For a thousand years, it was used on stone and copper plate inscriptions, coins (Nepalese mohar), palm-leaf documents and Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts. Gods, Men, and Territory: Society and Culture in Kathmandu Valley. The dramas are based on stories from the epics, and almost all of them were written during the 17th and 18th centuries. LANGUAGE: Oriya The games which had been played by prasanga people from their ancient time can be classified as Newa games. It is decorated with glitters and colorful beads (potya). Both creeds have been established since antiquity in the valley. Later they were made Thikadars or Sikkimese feudal lords with judicial and administrative powers within their respective estates. Liquor, mostly brewed at home from rice, is indispensable in Newar social as well as ritual life. Newar women's roles are both like and unlike those of women in patrilineal households in other cultures in South Asia. Newars forms an ethnolinguistic community distinct from all the other ethnic groups of Nepal. But there is no need to go to the brides house for the groom. They founded the Kiranti rule in the Kathmandu Valley. Newar people are much innovative in terms of cuisine. An unusual feature of the Newar life-cycle rituals is a series of ceremonies (Bura Jankwa) marking the attainment of old age. The Vajracharyas, Buddhist priests, will adamantly maintain that they are Buddhists, and so will the Bare (Shakya). The Indo-Aryan groups came from India and simulated into the existing Tibeto-Burman culture. By sending their lads to vihar and Buddhist monasteries for three days to live a life like a monk. The initiation ceremony for boys is called Kayta Puja, and among the higher Hindu castes, it is often accompanied by the putting on of the sacred thread, a rite viewed as a symbolic rebirth. And also the longest jatra of Nepal Rato Machindra Nath Janka is celebrated by Newars mostly on Patan. 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