Ninth World Newah Day celebrated

The Newars living around the world engaged in celebrating a common cause

The Newars living in Nepal and abroad celebrated the last Saturday of March as World Newah Day. This has been continued since 2018.

Regarding the celebration of this year’s Newah Day, the Nepal Chapter of the World Newah Organization has stated that a formal programmewere held at BasantapurDabali in Kathmandu.

Moreover, the Newars have been celebrating various festivals. Currently, Newah of America have been celebrating Yenya: Punhi, Sithinakh, Saparu, Pahancharhe, Yohmari Punhi, Swanti Nakha, Nepal Sambat, Mohaniand other festivals. There is a growing trend of celebrating these different festivals in Canada, Australia, Japan, and other countries in Europe.

The official website has information about this year’s World Newah Day. The 4th WNO General Convention and General Assembly of the World Nevah Organization Executive Committee (WNO EC) is coming to an end on March 27, 2022, and the election of a new executive committee will be held on Saturday, June 25 at the 4th World Neva Organization General Assembly in New York.

In most of the foreign countries where Newah people reside, the practice of celebrating Mhapuja every year had already started. During these festivals, the entire program focuses on cultural activities. There is some time to discuss on Newah language, culture, and rights. Therefore, the celebration of World Newah Day has been started in 2018 AD to discuss language and culture, raising awareness on a specific day for these activities. This is the fifth edition of World Newah day.

The Newars are primarily inhabitants in the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilization. The Newars are a distinct linguistic and cultural group, primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Berman ethnicities, who share a common language, Nepal Bhasa, and predominantly practice Newar Hinduism and Newar Buddhism. The Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. They have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal. This ethnic community is known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and fine cuisine, all at the finest level. They consistently rank as the most economically and socially advanced community in Nepal, according to the annual Human Development Index published by UNDP. The Newars are ranked the 8th largest ethnic group in Nepal according to the 2021 Nepal census numbering 1,341,363 people constituting 4.6% of the total population.

The Kathmandu Valley and surrounding territories constituted the former Newar kingdom of the Nepal Mandala. Unlike other common-origin ethnic or caste groups in Nepal, the Newars are regarded as an example of a nation community with an exclusive identity, derived from an ethnically diverse, previously existing policy. The 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. Different people with cultural assets from different parts of present day and China arrived at different periods eventually merged with the local native population by marriage as well as adopting their language and customs. The rule of the Newars ended with its conquest by the Gorkha Kingdom in 1768.

With development in trade, education and employment opportunities in foreign lands, the Newars have migrated to many countries of the world. Most of them are engaged in prestigious occupations. They are united for mutual cooperation, restoration of culture and social values in foreign lands as well observing festivals and rituals together creating cordial environment as they were in the homeland. (By R. P. Narayan)