Religions of the Newars: A Brief Observation
Razen Manandhar
Introduction
Newars are the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding hills in present-day Nepal. Actually, till the 17th century, the very word Nepal denotes the area where the Newars have been living. To add, some believe that the words Nepal and Newar are synonymous.
According to the official statistics of that census of 2021, the total population of the Newars is 1,341,363. That is, they constitute only 4.6% of the total population. That means they are ranked the 8th largest ethnic community in Nepal. In fact, it would be unfair to call them ethnic community because it is much more complicated. The Newars can be divided by religion, ethnicity, caste, dialect as well as geographic distribution, making the Newars a complex group of people. There is only one thing that binds them together — the language. So, it is safer to say they are a linguistic community. And, today Newar are living in scores of countries around the world; they may or may not be Nepalis, but they are definitely Newars. They have pious respect for their religion, culture, dresses, and language.
In history, the language they speak was called Nepalbhasha, a language that belongs to the Tibeto-Burman group of languages. Following the political changes, the whole area, which is now inside the political boundary is called Nepal, and along this, the name of the language is shrunk into Newar or even Newari. The oldest pieces of evidence of art and culture in Nepal are related to Newars and they are the makers of an unbroken chain of heritage of the Kathmandu Valley.
Newars are by nature a spiritual and religious community. The oldest sculptures, temples, traditions, festivals, devotional songs, etc of Nepal are in fact contributions of them. Having said so, it is quite precarious to observe and explain the religions of the Newars.
Generally speaking, the Newars are said to belong to Hinduism and Buddhism. But, if we investigate a little deeply, we will be surprised to find that they are in fact following four religions — Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. We will discuss each of them shortly.
Muslims
Muslims entered the Kathmandu Valley over 500 years ago. In the first phase, they took the Kathmandu Valley as a transit point for their trade route from Kashmir to Lhasa. Historical evidence states that the Kashmiri Muslims came to Kathmandu Valley and they got permission to enter here during the regime of King Ratna Malla, who ruled from 1482 to 1512 AD. Slowly, these merchants found this valley suitable for habitation too. Later, in the 17th and 18th centuries, Muslims were again “invited” by the kings of Nepal to settle in and around the Kathmandu valley. They were also given assignments to manufacture military armaments as well as agricultural tools. They have a specialty in making glass bangles and beads too.
In the past two millennia, the Kathmandu Valley has welcomed many communities from outside. Those who came and accepted the nature, language, and cultural diversity of the valley simply became “Newars”. Thus, this valley is also known as a melting pot. From the very beginning, the Muslim settlement was mixed up with the locals and the cultural assimilation produced a new colour in the variety of Newar culture here.
Those Muslims came to work as scribes in the court of the Malla kings. Even some Muslim rulers came to Kathmandu, to take refuge as the political scenario in the British rule became unfavorable to them. King Pratap Malla (1641–1674 AD) was influenced by the Muslim culture. He granted permission to the Muslim community to build a mosque here. And King Bhashkara Malla (1700–1722 AD) appointed some Muslims as scribes in the court.
A popular legend has it that there were some Iraqi Muslims who settled in a particular quarter of today’s New Road. The alley is now known as “Rakhi Bazaar”.
Thus, the Muslims who came here under different circumstances were later known as Newar Muslims. Even today, when lots of Newar have forgotten their mother language, some Muslims, at least from the earlier generation, fluently speak Newari and live in amicable harmony with the local Newars. The peaceful coexistence of Newars and Muslims in the Malla era is evidence of social harmony and tolerance from both sides.
However, In 1769 AD, the king of Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah, conquered the Kathmandu Valley. And in the new political situation, some restrictions were imposed on them. Their right to practice of religion and celebration of their festivals was secured but the government was not obliged to financially support them in religious or cultural activities.
The number of Muslim immigrants continued to grow in the valley in the 18th century and afterwards too, but the new situation was different and there was little chance or necessity of assimilation with the local community for the immigrants. The new community of Muslims grew but the old “Newar Muslims” remained as they were. Some Muslim families can still be found in the valley, who speak fluent Newari and are very friendly with the local Newars. Some of those families are found also in Trishuli, around 80 kilometers north of Kathmandu.
Christians
The history of Newar Christians is also similarly long. The first Nepalis to be converted to Christianity on an unknown date were some Kathmandu merchants in Lhasa, who were, obviously, the Newars.
In fact, the Christian missionary arrived in Kathmandu valley as early as in 1628 AD. It was Portuguese Missionary Jesuit Father Johan Carbal, who received a warm welcome by then-king Laxmi Narasimha Malla. He even received a copper plate in which the permission to propel Christianity was granted. Second, in 1661 AD, another missionary Albert from Belgium, and a missionary Johan from Austria arrived in Nepal. But, surprisingly, the evidences do not assert the continuation of their activities here for a long time.
The third entry of Christian missionaries took place in 1715 AD. They started their journey in 1703 AD and arrived in Kathmandu in 1707 AD. It was a Catholic Capuchin missionary, which made the first step, so far as the pieces of evidence today show, on this sacred valley. The historical texts, made mostly by the missionaries, do not explain how they first entered but it is known they made their camps in three major settlements or principalities of the valley, i.e., Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhaktapur. By nature, the people of the valley were shy and reserved. It was hardly possible that they had ever seen any white-skinned people earlier than that. Still, it is said that the king of Bhaktapur, Ranjit Malla welcomed them and his royal hospitality made the chief of the missionary happy.
Again, they started their missionaries only in 1715. It was not easy for the Europeans to understand the language and culture of the Newars here. They started their missionary, as in other parts of the world, with social work. Converting the traditional Newar society into Christianity was their motto, evidently. It is said that on the very first occasion, 76 people from Newar society were converted and the Christian society grew naturally. And only after 53 years, they could eventually open their first church here. In 1760 AD, a church of Our Lady’s Assumption was built somewhere around Thamel Kathmandu and in Bhaktapur.
Though history does not reveal details of the Christian society in the valley, it can be assumed that there was a small society of theirs here among the Newars during the Malla regime. King Jaya Prakash Malla supported the Christians to build a church near the village of Machhe Narayan.
In 1767, the king of Gorkha, Prithvi Narayan Shah, subjugated Kirtipur in the third attempt. In a rage, he ordered his soldiers to cut off the ears and noses of the inhabitants. The Christian missionary showed their benevolence in providing health assistance to the victims. This must be the reason that the new king of the valley, Prithvi Narayan Shah, put an end to the missionaries in 1769 after he conquered the Kathmandu Valley. He even expelled all Christians from his new kingdom. The Newar Christians left the valley and took refuge in Bettiah, a small settlement near today’s Raxaul, India.
In addition, lots of Newars were converted in the post-1990 democratic environment. Now, they have a Newar Christian Society too.
There are differences between the Newar Christians and Newar Muslims. The Christians (those whose ancestors were converted some five centuries ago) are “non-existent” in today’s Kathmandu Valley and the decadents of the Muslims who arrived here some four centuries ago of are still living in the Kathmandu Valley.
Buddhists
A legend states that Ananda, one of the principal disciples of the Buddha himself visited Kathmandu Valley. So we can say that Buddhism prevailed in the Kathmandu Vally right at the time of the Buddha himself. Another legend also asserts that the daughter of Emperor Ashoka came to Kathmandu from India with a mission to spread Buddhism here. Beyond those legends, we have pieces of evidence that excellent Buddha images were started to be carved here as early as by the 5th century. That means Buddhism has been prevailing here for the past 1500 years. And the followers were none other than the Newars.
Interestingly, hardly any of the kings of the Kathmandu Valley were Buddhists, but many of them provided financial support for the construction of Buddhist temples and monasteries. Thanks to the Buddhist community, and ever-prospering the valley, Nepal is now known for the mesmerizing art and architecture in the world.
The well-known chariot festival of Avalokieteshwara, locally known as “Bunga-dyo” is believed to have been started as early as the 7th century. Since the 9th century, the Kathmandu Valley has been developed as one of the major Buddhist centers of South Asia. Many Buddhist scholars from India and Tibet also came here to study Buddhism.
By the early Malla dynasty, that is around 1200 AD, A special “cult” of Buddhism was developed in the Kathmandu Valley, which was heavily influenced by Tantrism or Hinduism. So to say, the Buddhists here witnessed unprecedented syncretism between Hinduism and Buddhism. This was exhibited mostly in art, culture, and traditions which is still observable here among the Newars. From one perspective, it was the time of the stronghold of Buddhism and from another, it was actually the time when Buddhism deviated from the original teaching of the Buddha.
The kings continued to be hostile to growing Buddhism here. King Jayasthiti Malla (1382–1395 AD) banned celibate monks and forced them to get married. This was a major blow for Buddhism, which slowly turned into Hindu-style rituals for centuries to follow.
So to say, during that time, the Newars “developed” their own kind of Buddhism. This is generally called “Newar Buddhism” or “Buddhism of Nepal Mandala”, which is a localized variety of Vajrayana Buddhism. Some say that this version of Vajrayana is older than that prevailing in Tibet or Northern India. Highly influenced by Hinduism, it has even recognized the concept of a hierarchy of castes.
The political situation changed in the 18th century. The New Shah king sat on the throne and the royal patronage of Buddhism was further destabilized. Some incidents show the kings were helpful to the Buddhist community but many Buddhist heritages deteriorated, historic hand-written books were destroyed and people’s dedication to Buddhism also seemed to be weakened in this period.
The traditional Buddhism, which was highly ritual and had little space for teaching was somehow tolerable to the government, but when some people revived displaced Theravada Buddhism here in the 1920s, the government became alert. The Buddhist monks were banished from Nepal in 1926 and 1944, in charge of spreading Buddhism. They could return to their homeland only by the end of the Rana rule.
Now, we can see two different sects or communities, belonging to Buddhism, among the Newars. One is traditional Buddhism and the other is Theravada. The orthodox Buddhists follow traditional or Vajrayana. And the others follow the Theravada, which has been on the rise since the 1920s. Most of the Theravadians also do not stay away from the Vajrayana tradition too. Apart from them, a small part of Newars also follows Himalayan Buddhism, known commonly as “Tibetan” Buddhism. In the open democratic environment today, the Buddhists are practicing their culture and living happily with followers of other religions in an amicable society.
It is said that the relationship between Buddhism and Hinduism is both simultaneously competitive and also integrative. Showing clear-cut differences between the Hindu and Buddhist society at present is again difficult as well as risky. Most of the festivals are common and many rituals are overlapped. The only clue is their priests — the Hindu Newars call Hindu priests, the Rajopadhayays for their family rituals, while others call Buddhist priests, the Bajracharyas. Otherwise, they commonly celebrate all the festivals in their own ways and visit most of the shrines of either religion without much discrimination. It has this side-effect that most of the people have a common misunderstanding that they are one. Or, to higher levels, some experts even fail to differentiate the two distinct religions and often mislead the people by saying the two are the same.
Hindus
As the history of the Kathmandu valley extending to some 2000 years assert that the rules have been only the Hindus, it is not uncommon that the majority of the Newars have been following Hindus from the beginning. Due to political reasons, all ethnic groups of present-day Nepal are heavily influenced by Hinduism, and so are the Newars. In the early and medieval history of Kathmandu Valley the major religions were called Shivamargi and Buddhamargi, as the word Hindu entered Nepal quite later.
The earliest dynasty with historical pieces of evidence was the Lichhivis. They were the Hindus and the construction of Hindu monuments reached the highest point. Thakuri and Malla period followed them. And the Hindus only added more of magnificent temples and other monuments in the valley. It is still unexplainable how come this small almost inaccessible valley to the outsiders happened to be rich in such artful monuments, festivals, legends, songs, texts, dances, etc, which all belonged to the Newars. Further, by the year 1482 AD, this small valley was again divided into three small principalities. Unaware of the danger hovering around the valley, the kings were involved in internal competition among the cousins. It resulted in the most magnificent monuments one after another in all three principalities.
The political situation and economy fell after King Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley in 1769. There was less development in tangible and intangible heritage in comparison to the previous dynasty. Still, the people remained equally devotional, spiritual or simply religious and diligently involved in the celebration of festivals.
The Hinduism of Newars itself was unique. Originally they were worshippers of “ Aju and ajima” (grandfather and grandmother). Finding a relation between their original religion and that of the later fashion occurred later. Most of the Newars do not differentiate among the cults of Vaishnava, Shaiva, or Shakta, which are commonly known as Hinduism at present. They jumble up everything that is related to the Eastern religions of culture. They visit all the Hindu temples they see in the streets, either of Krisha, Mahadeva, or Durga and also participate in all festivals as well as other religious activities of all the cults accordingly, without any feeling of discrimination. This attribute of the Newars can be named benevolence or open-mindedness. However, they are mostly seen as inclined to the mystic tantric Shakta cult.
Shakta is the major cult, the Hindu Newars follow. This is the reason Dashain (or Mohani, in typical Newai style) is the biggest festival of the Newars. And sacrificing animals at the temples is a common phenomenon seen in the Newar locality. Newars believe that eight mother goddesses protect their settlements. Each Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhatapur are encircled by those goddesses. People not only worship the idols but they even take the guise of the goddesses and dance in their ways with specific masks. There are over a dozen such dance troupes associated with the goddess temples.
Ambiguity is witnessed in many cases or occasions. In many cases, the same deity is being worshiped by Buddhists with one name, which by Hindus with another name. For example, the deity of Bodhisatwa Aryawalokiteshwar is worshipped by Hindus in the form of Guru Gorakhnath. In addition, two religions are mixed up idiosyncratically by Newars. For example, the Living Goddess Kumari is brought up in a Buddhist family, and after enthronement, she is worshipped as the prime Hindu Goddess.
Caste hierarchy is one major characteristic of Hindu Newars. Thanks to the heavy influence of Hinduism, the Newar society is still in the unbreakable clutches of the caste system. So much so, even though the Newar society has been extensively open these days, in some cases, marriage between two Newar Hindu families has to face social obstructions. On the other hand, this Hindu-ness of Newar society still carries some original features, which, is not common even in general Hindu society. For example, the women in Newar society are much freer than in others in terms of matrimonial rights.
Newar Hindus are different from others also due to additional rituals which they carry on. The performance of death rites, for example, of Hindu Newars is completely different from other Hill Brahmin castes.
At present, the Newar society in the Kathmandu Valley is made up of these four religions. The two previous are seen as quite dormant while the two later are quite visible. However, the co-existence and collaboration of all they all have made Kathmandu Valley a distinct habitat of Newars.
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Published in the Souvenir of Sikkim Newar Guthi, Sikkim, 2023 September
