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Home  Newar in Nepal
Newar Civilization in Nepal [Continue...] The term 'Kirat Pradesh' can be found in earlier documents. According to this, it is understood that the term 'Kirat' not only stands for Rai, Limbu or Sunuwar but also stands for all the people living here at that time, including the Newas... The term 'Swasti Naipalavya' is inscribed in three inscriptions of Tistung. (One dated 512 AD & other two dated 607 AD). 'Naipalavya' means the Nepals i.e. plural form of Nepal. (Here, 'Nepal' has been used as the people living in a particular place.). The term 'Newa' is derived from this very term 'Nepal' According to the researches, Indus Valley civilization is the ancient Vedic civilization and it evolved before the Aryans came to India. Newa civilization is believed to be much older than the Indus civilization. The nature and geography of Nepal prove this fact. The Newa civilization began in 6th century B.C. The Newa civilization evolved much earlier than the period of the Buddha and the Guptas. The temples and other monuments in Nepalmandala prove this fact without any doubt. The written history of Nepal begins with the dynasty of Gopal (Sa Poo) and Mahispal (Mey Poo). The Gopali people are still found in Tistung, Palung and near villages. According to the research done on Gopali people by Dr. Chunda Bajracharya, she has concluded that the Gopali people are still following Newa culture and language. So the Gopali people are the Newas. This clarifies that the Newas are the first rulers of Nepal. Since then, the Newars are still living here. However, many immigrants came to Nepal mandal from different places in different time and followed Newa language & culture and became Newas. This brought cultural and lingual diversity among the Newas. The Newas are regarded as the original inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, but their origins are shrouded in mystery. They speak a Tibeto-Burmese language, which indicates they originated in the east, but their physical features range from distinctively Mongoloid. In balance, it seems most like that the Kathmandu valley has long been a cultural and racial melting pot, with people coming from both east and west. This fusion has resulted in the unique Newa culture that is responsible for the valley's superb art and architecture The Newa golden age peaked in the 17th century when the valley consisted of small city-states, and Nepal was a vitally important trading link between Tibet and the north Indian plains. the valley's visible history is inextricably entangled with the Malla kings. It was during their reign, particularly in the 1600's and 1700's, that many of the valley's finest temples and palaces were built. Competition between the cities was intense and an architectural innovation in one place, such as the erection of a column bearing a statue of the ruling king, would inevitably be copied in the other cities. Sorting out who built what and when is considerably complicated by the fact that at any one time there was not just one Malla king. Each of the three city-states in the valley – Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur – had its own. The unification of Nepal in 1768 by Gorkha's king Prithvi Narayan Shah signaled the end of the Kathmandu Valley's fragmentation. Nepali, an Indo-European language spoken by the Khas of western Nepal. replaced Nepalbhasa as the country's language of administration.
Newas - The Newa People It is not surprising that the Newa people were influenced by Tibet and India. What is surprising is their creativity response to this stimulus, which actually led to a genuine exchange with their giant neighbors. Mediaeval Near society has left a religious architectural and artistic legacy that is unique, and spectacular by any standard. Although most Newas have Mongoloid physical characteristics, some don't, so their origins are shrouded in mystery. It is now generally accepted that they are a mixture of many different peoples who were attracted to the valley, possibly origination with the Kiratis, or an even earlier group, Perhaps the Newas' most striking characteristic is their love of communal life. Newa houses were invariably clustered together, usually around sites of religious significance. Although their economy was centered around agriculture and trade, they created sophisticated urban communities which catered to a breadth of human needs in an integrated way that has rarely been matched. Today there are around 600,000 Newas largely centered in the Kathmandu Valley. Always traders and merchants, the Newas continue to fill this role throughout the kingdom. Their proximity to the center of power has also led to them having a disproportionate influence in the bureaucracies of Kathmandu. many now live in heartbreakingly ugly bungalows on the outskirts of the city proper, and many of their traditions are on the wane. |
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