Newar boys are somewhat less privileged in this regard. An unusual feature of the Newar life-cycle rituals is a series of ceremonies (Bura Jankwa) marking the attainment of old age. Somehow, today people perform only 10 rituals out of 16. A wedding is another example of a ritual that may involve religious practices but doesn’t necessarily have to. Chanting of the Anthem. This shagun ceremony is incomplete without eggs and yogurt. This rites again process to the marriage of a girl to the sun. ‘Nwaran1 is performed within 4 to 11 days of the baby’s birth. After this, he resumes his normal life as a full-fledged adult of his community. The ceremony is called Bare Chuyegu (becoming a Baré) where categorically Bajracharya boys go through Acharya Abhisheka. Since the 12th day of the ceremony requires the girl to fast until she views the sun god, the last meal of the ceremony is fed to the girl in the wee hours of the final night. Mha Puja is an annual ritual performed by the Newar community of Nepal. After a member has finished his telling the others say the standard phrase: “Thank you for your dream (name)”. This rites again process to the marriage of a girl to the sun. Elaborate ceremonies chronicle the life cycle of a Newar from birth till death. But there is no need to go to the bride’s house for the groom. More specifically, this fieldwork gave me a good opportunity to meet members of the community who were active in reviving their language, culture and rituals. The mourning period held for 13 days. Janku is a celebration performed when a man or woman of Newari community turns 77 years old. The significance of this ritual is to ensure that the girl remains chaste and fertile for the rest of her life. Ihi, Ehee (Nepal Bhasa:ईही) is a ceremony in the Newar community in Nepal in which pre-adolescent girls are "married" to the Suvarna Kumar which is a symbol of the god Vishnu, ensuring that the girl becomes and remains fertile. Ergo, we feel proud to share the enlightments of this ancient city with you and wait for your inscribes too. By marrying a little girl to a bel fruit and then to the sun, Newar traditions ensures that even in the unfortunate death of the girl’s husband in life later on, because of her prior marriages, the girl will not be deemed a widow, a title that was looked upon with great disdain and intolerance by older societies. Likewise, the second one “Chandrarat Rohan”, the third one “Devaratharohan”, and last but not the least, the fourth one is “Divyaratharohan”. The materials on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, Ltd. A little Newar girl is put into a darkened, locked room for 12 days in her home. There, samyabji is offered to the sun god. When I first got the book Kusunda Tribe and Dictionary in my hands, I couldn’t put it down... Rudraksha, a seed that comes from Elaeocarpus ganitrus, is used extensively in Hindu culture and by... Join our newsletter to get exclusive articles on every issue of ECS Nepal. To my sister this sounds strange, because she experienced the barah and considers it one of her favorite childhood memories. Should a Newar man or women live long enough, there are five rituals, known as ‘janku,’—which can be confusing, as the first rice feeding ceremony of a child is referred to as ‘janku’ as well—performed between the age of 77 and 106. ṣṭ. Janku is celebration of life, when a man or women from Newar community in Nepal turns to 77 years old.The date for celebrating janku is calculated by the priest on the basic of lunar calendar. When a baby is born, the name-giving ceremony (Nwaran) is performed on the eleventh day. Consequently, it again happens at the age of 83, 88, and 99. This community does not allow marriage with cross-cousin and parallel-cousin. The Newari equivalent is called barahacchuigu. In the girls’ case, she must have the ihi and bahra ceremony before their marriage and bratabandha for the boys. Newar lives and life crisis rituals are living examples of old world traditions in the Kathmandu valley. There is seldom a month when a Newar festival does not take place. Or, when someone comes back home. Every morning each family unit must share their dreams since the age of three. Janku is celebration of life, when a man or women from Newar community in Nepal turns to 77 years old.The date for celebrating janku is calculated by the priest on the basic of lunar calendar. For her services throughout the ceremonies, it is tradition for the guthi to present the aunt with clothes and gold. And of course, before the menstruation of girls. While newar people are bind within the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Normally, when a person reaches the age of 77 years. Whereas, a baby girl should do this ritual in the fifth or seventh month. Before returning to domestic life, the boys take part in one last ritual where another puja is done and the strands of hair collected by the aunt are released at a holy confluence such as that of the Bagmati river for people living in the valley as an apology to the Buddha for ending the life of a monk and getting back to domestic life. Utsav Shakya is a freelance writer and can be contacted at utsavshakya@gmail.com. except with the prior written permission of ECS Media Pvt. Newar or Newah (/nɪˈwɑːr/) are community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepal Bhasa as their common language. The dead are taken to the bank of a holy river, most sacred being the bank of Bagmati in Pashupatinath. Abandoning all the material pleasures. She is not allowed to have salted food and she cannot look at herself in the mirror or comb her hair. Ihi rite also enforces the right of the widow’s remarriage in the Newar Community, thus liberating the women form Hindu orthodox viewpoint of one life one marriage system. It is performed in Non-Newar Hindu marriage. The bael, a wooden apple which is symbolized as the lord Vishnu had a peculiar quality of not getting rotten and remaining fresh forever. By sending their lads to vihar and Buddhist monasteries for three days to live a life like a monk. They also celebrate the name giving ceremony and marriage ceremony. This is a horror movie, if you wanna see then you can. Bhaktapur: An interesting tale of the ancient trade city. Without the presence of guthiyaars, there are instances where proceedings come to an eerie stop altogether. Subsequently, people conduct offerings and rituals within four, seven, eight, 13, and 45 days following after the death. That is why the annaprasan takes place in front of a sukunda that has the image of Ganesh carved on it. At six months of age, the child is fed his first grains of rice, the staple food of Nepal. The barahacchuigu ceremony sees the boy observing life as a monk for four days. The 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 (Nepal Bhasa: चचा प्याखं) (Charya Nritya in Sanskrit) and folk dance. Since all the rituals are already performed in the ihi ceremony. Bahra. The Newar custom, similar to that of Hindus, is that the bride almost always leaves home at marriage and moves into her husband’s home and adopts her husband’s family name as her own. Jankwa or Janku is an old-age ceremony which is a celebration. On the other hand, Hindu Newars perform this ceremony as a ritual of the first stage among four stages of life. 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