Language: The Newa

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

nEWAR: dANCES

The Newars are very much rich in traditional, classical and folk music as in dances. Various music and dance events take place in different parts of Newar societies on the occasion of different festivals. In fact, the Newars are so duly intermixed with music and dances that not a single festival, feast or ceremony, 'from womb to tomb', passes without a music or music and dances.

There are many mask dances, folk dances and classical dances the newars perform. A number of mask dances are also performed once in every twelve years. In general, these all types of dances can be classified into three categories

Masked Dances - Mahakali Dance, Bhairab Dance, Sikali Dance, Various Gan Pyakhan etc.

Folk Dances - Jyapu Dance, Ghintanmuni etc.

Charya Dances - ManjuShree, Arjya Tara, Sodasa Lasya etc.

Mask Dances

Mahakali Dance
This is one of the most popular masked dances of the Newars. It is based on the religious story from a Hindu Puran Called 'Mahakali Mahalaxmi'. According to this , the three goddess Mahakali, Mahalaxmi, and Kumari (three of the eight deities that protect the eight directions of Kathmandu Valley and have different ghost followers. These mother goddesses were practiced by Eighty four sidhhas to gain mystic power) came down to heaven to vanquish the demons who spread great misery and hardship among human beings. So the almighty Goddesses waged a great war with the demons and defeated them, thus stabilizing peace and order on earth. This dance shows the great joy and happiness after the great victory over the demons.

Lakhey dance
This is one of the classical dance of Nepal. Once in a year during the festival of Indrajatra which is celebrated for nearly a week during the end of September or first part of October. According to people's belief, Lakhey are man eating demons living in the dense forest. They hunt animals and people passing through the jungle. Whenever they have a good meal they dance with jog. Previously Lakhey dancers used to select victims for human blood sacrifices.

Monkey dance
it is performed by the teenagers wearing traditional customs and sticks in their hands. The Nepalese still pay great respect to the sacred myths and legends. According the religious epic Ramayan, the dance was performed by the monkeys to express their joy and happiness to their Lord Ram and his wife Sita after their victory over the demon king Ravan of Sri Lanka.

Khyak Dance
Khyaks are supernatural beings. They are believed to be followers of Goods and goddess. They were visible to the people before electricity arrived. They are quite harmless. They simple used to frighten people at night. What the dancers perform is just the expression of Khyak's naughty nature. They perform dances to entertain Gods and Goddess.

Kawan (Skeleton) Dance
According to people's belief, kawans are the evil spirits to be seen mostly at street-crossing and cremation-grounds. They accompany the Gods and Goddess during their adventures. Sometimes they trouble people, causing stomach pain. But one can get rid of it easily by making some offerings, following the advice of a witch doctor.

Devi Daitya Sangram (The battle of Goddess and Demon)
This is dramatic dance form, here the hand some brave demon sees a beautiful girl and immediately falls in love with her. Then he proposes to marry her, but she answers that she will only accept one who can defeat her in a battle. the egoist demon gets very angry and tries to catch her. But it is not possible. They start battling. The demon sees her in every where as the furious. Goddess kali and collapses on the ground with fear. Then the goddess, one who is the universal power stands on him.

Folk Dances

Jyapu- Jyapuni (Dhimey) Dance
This farmer's pair dance is generally performed during the harvest season in their community get together along with lively music and songs.

Indra Apsara (Nymph) Dance
In Veda, Indra is a divine supreme Hero of the Universe, king of Gods, who dances with Nymphs in the Heaven. This event as a memory for the local people of Thimi (Madhyapur) as if dead family members are watching this performance in the Heaven. The dresses of the dancers are, however, influenced by customs of Rana Minister's period. This Dance is in medieval style.

Lusi (Pestle) Dance
This is satirical street performance of social and political life, both on the local and international levels. However, the style of choreography and music are always same, only the story will be different according to time and space.

Charya Dances

Newar Buddhist Ritual DanceS

Manjushree
Manjushree, believed to have come from Mahachin, holds a special place in Nepalese culture as a Bodhisatwa who made Kathmandu Valley inhabitable by draining the water out of it. Long ago, the Kathmandu valley was a lake. Manjushree with his two consorts Barada and Mokshada came to Kathmandu to pay homage to Lord Swoyambhu.

Bajrayogini
Bajrayogini, the goddess of yogic practices dances joyfully in bright red color. She is the consort of Heruka and personifies the feminine energy. The temple of Goddess Bajrayogini is situated 3 miles from Kathmandu.

Pancha Buddha
The Pancha Buddha or Five Buddhas are Vairochana, Akshobhya, Ratnasambhava, Amitabha Buddhas and Amoghasiddhi. Each of these transcendental Buddhas has his particular color, posture, direction and wisdom.

Rakta Ganesh
The image of Rakta Ganesh (Red Ganesh) is generally found along with Mahakala at the entrance to monasteries in the valley as a protective deity. He is elephant headed and has three eyes.

Arya Tara
She is of green color and regarded as a consort of Amoghasiddhi. She protects the suffering beings in crossing the ocean of Samsara, of this life of suffering.

nEWAR: rELIGION

Ask a Newar whether he's Hindu or Buddhist, the saying goes and he'll answer "yes" : after fifteen centuries of continuous exposure to both faiths, the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley have concocted a unique synthesis of the two. To religious scholars, the Newar religion is as exciting as a biologist's missing link, for some believe that it provides a picture of the way Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism functioned historically in India. Until only the past two centuries, the Newars held fast to original monastic form of tantric Buddhism – as the bahal of Kathmandu and Patan still bear witness – while their rulers pursued the Hindu tantric path. However, the Kathmandu Valley has become progressively "Hinduized" since the unification of Nepal in the eighteenth century: the monasteries have largely disappeared, their monks have married, and the title of Vajracharya (Buddhist Priest) has become a hereditary caste like that of the Bahun (Brahman) priests. Today, Newar Buddhists are perhaps the only Buddhist culture that no longer maintains active communities of monks or nuns. Although the acceptance of caste and decline of monasticism have shifted the balance in favor of Hinduism, at the popular level the synthesis remains as well bonded as ever.

When Newars refer to themselves as Buddha Margi (Buddhist) or Shiva Margi (Hindu), they often do so only to indicate that they employ a Vajracharya or Bahun priests; even this does not hold true, though, as many jyapu (farmers) call themselves "Hindu" and attend Hindu festivals, yet still use Vajracharyas. In any case, Newar rituals vary little from Hindu to Buddhist.

Puja (an act of worship) is performed to gain the favor of deities for material requests as often as for "spiritual" reasons. It is a profound and very personal ritual. An integral part of all Newar rituals is the "puja of five offerings", consisting of flowers (usually marigolds), incense, light (in the form of butter lamps), sindur (colored powder) and various kinds of purified food (usually rice, dairy products, sometimes sweets). Before darshan (audience with a deity), the devotee or the priest uses consecrated water to wash him or herself and to bathe the deity. After the deity has symbolically accepted and eaten some food, the remainder is taken back by the devotee as prasad (consecrated food). This, along with a tika made with the colored powder, confers the deity's blessing and protection.

Priests are ordinarily engaged for the more important life-cycle rites (birth, marriage, death) or for larger seasonal festivals; wealthier Newars may also seek private consultations at times of illness or important decisions. Bahun priests don't perform animal sacrifices, but they do preside over the rituals that precede them. This brings up one of the rare differences between Hindu and Buddhist Newars : while Hindu Newars are enthusiastic sacrificers – they call the bloody ninth day of Dasain festival Syako Tyako (roughly, "the more you kill, the more you gain") – Buddhists seldom participate. During dasain, Tibetan monasteries in Nepal hold special services to pray for good rebirths of the sacrificed animals.

nEWAR: pANTHEON

All the Hindu and Buddhist deities are fair game for Newars, along with a few additional characters of local invention. Some deities specialize in curing diseases, others bring good harvest – as far as Newars are concerned, it doesn't matter whether they're Hindu or Buddhist so long as they do the job. The following are some of the figures uniquely adapted by the Newars.

Machhendranath, honored as a rain maker par excellence, typifies the layering of religious motifs that so frequently takes place among the Newars. To be accurate. only Hindus call the god Machhendranath; Buddhist Newars know him as Karunamaya or any of a number of local names. He is commonly associated with Avalokiteshwara, the bohisattva or compassion, who is invoked by the mantra On mani padme hum. Depending o his incarnation (he is said to have 108), he may be depicted as having anything up to a thousand arms and eleven heads. While it's unclear how Avalokiteshwara came to be associated with the historical figures of Machhendranath and Gorakhnath – who are considered saints by Hindus – it was certainly in part the result of a conscious attempt by Hindu rulers to establhish religious and social bonds by grafting two Hindu saints on to a local Buddhist cult.

Kumari, the "Living Goddess", is another often-cited example of Newar syncretism (religious fusing: although acknowledged to be an incarnation of the Hindu goddess Durga, she is picked from a Buddhist-caste family. Bhimsen , a mortal here on Hindu Mahabharat, who is rarely worshipped in India, has some how been elevated to be the patron deity of Newar shopkeepers, both Hindu and Buddhist.

Manjushri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, has been pinched from the Buddhist pantheon to play the lead part in the Kathmandu Balley's creation myth (although he is often confused with Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knoweldge). He is always depicted with sword, with which he cuts away ignorance and attachment, and sometimes also with a book, bow, bell and vajra. Likewise Tara, the embodiment of the female principle in Vajrayana Buddhism , assumes special meaning for Newars, who consider her the deification of an eight-century Nepali princess.

Quintessentially tantric, the Bajra Joginis (or Bajra Yoginis) command their own cult centred at four temples around the Kathmandu Valley. They are regarded as the female aspect of the Buddha and are the subjects esoteric cults and closely guarded secrets. harati, the Buddhists protector of children, is zealously worshipped by Newars under the name Ajima, the grandmother goddess.

Throughout Nepal, stones and trees marked with sindur may be seen: vestiges of older animist practices, these may mark the place where a nature goddess (generically known as Mai), local spirit or serpent (nag) is supposed to live. There are many types many of these lesser spirit beings who require offerings to safeguard passage through their respective domains.

nEWAR: rITUALS

Pre Natal
There are many pre natal rituals, however majority of those : pusawan kriya, simatopanayan, for example are no longer in existence. Nevertheless, Dhau baji nakegu (offering yogurt and flattened rice along with yomari, sweets etc) during pregnancy is still practiced by many castes.

Birth
After child birth, it is informed to maternal home of the mother. It is done by sending sugar candy, nutmeg, ginger etc. After the birth, concerned family becomes ritually impure. They become pure after 'Machaboo byanke' tradition which is done on forth, sixth or tenth day after the child birth.

There is also a tradition of offering different kinds of foods from maternal home of the mother within a month of delivery, which is known as 'Baji nakah wonegu' or ' Machaboo swahwanegu'.

Macha Janko (the rice feeding)
The rice feeding is done in 6th or 8th month (in case of a boy) and in 5th or 7th month (in case of a girl). After worshipping Ganesh, the child is offered rice pudding with verities of food. It is believed that the child gets similar food throughout his life as the food offered on that day.

Busankha (Boys)
Busankha means shaving of hair. it is done at the age of 6 or 7. Shaving of hair is done by the maternal uncle of the boy, sister of the boy's father holds the shaved hair. These days, busankha is done at the time of 'kayatapuja'.

Kayatapuja (Boys)
Kayatapuja or fixing of loin cloth is done to mark the attainment of puberty. Bajracharya and Shakyas perform the tonsure ceremony, Chudakarma. During this, one has to visit shrines and pay homage to Kwahpahdyoh and make offerings. After kayatapuja, Jyapus and Sayamis undergo Ohla (which is less practiced these days.)

Ihi (Girls)
This is a ritual symbolic marriage with a bel (byah) fruit, the symbol of lord Vishnu. This ceremony, celebrated at the age of 5-11 , is done to prevent widowhood. As they are married to immortal lord, the Newar girls never become widow.The girls are also taught household works in Ihi.

Bahra (Girls)
After Ihi, a Newar girl undergo bahra, ritual confinement of a girl before the onset of menstruation. A girl is kept separated from all males and from sunlight for 12 days. On 12th day the girl has to pay homage to the sun.

Ihipa (Marriage)
Marriage in Newar culture is social union of two families. The parents arrange marriage for their sons and daughters. After the groom's and bride's families decision, the marriage is confirmed by giving 10 betel nuts along with fruits, sweets etc (known as lakha) from groom's family to the bride.

Marriage ceremony is performed at the time scheduled by the astrologer. Swayamber, Honkegu, Chipa Theeke (symbol of sharing everything) is performed. Bride presents 10 betel nuts to all her family members. Brother of her mother, paju, takes on his back and carries her out of the house. He then presents her to the groom's family.

The bride's family visit the groom's house on the 4th day , to see how the bride is being treated , which is known as Khwah soye (seeing the bride's face).

Jyah Janko
Jyah janko is old age ceremony to mark one's longevity. It is celebrated for five times.

First - Bhimratharohan - At the attainment of 77 years, 7 months, 7 days
Second - Chadraratharohan - At the attainment of 83 years, 4 months, 4 days
Third - Devaratharohan - At the attainment of 88 years, 8 months, 8 days
Forth - Divyaratharohan - At the attainment of 99 years, 9 months, 9 days
Fifth - Mahadivyaratharohan - At the attainment of 105 years, 8 months, 8 days

Sithan
As soon as a person dies, all the Guthi (social organisation) members are informed. Four lamps are set around the four direction of the corpse. Mha gele, adoration of the corpse is marked. Funeral procession is accompanied with Nayahkhin drum followed by a lot of people wailing and crying. Cremation is different in different castes.