Nepal, surely pop-ups as a mysterious country when it comes to talking about the distinctive types of culture including the lifetime ceremonies. These ceremonies roam up around a single person’s life from birth till death, actually even after death. These are called shora sanskar karma which indicates the 16 rites in Hindu and Buddhist religions.
People today, on the other hand, only perform 10 of the 16 rites. They are, nonetheless, required in one’s life. These rites are also performed by newar people because they are affiliated with the Hindu and Buddhist religions. However, in unique ways. In the newar community, the following are the most probable known ceremonies associated with the birth of a child:
The very first rite performed in anyone’s life is the Naam Karan (giving a name to the newborn baby). In the local term, it is called the Nwaran ceremony. This is a ceremony of cleping of a newborn baby which generally is held on the sixth day of the birth of a baby.
Annaprasan is the ritual of rice feeding. Somehow, there is a distinctive canon for a boy and a girl to be fed. A baby boy must have this ritual at the age of six or eight months. Whereas, a baby girl should do this ritual in the fifth or seventh month. The local name of this ceremony is Macha Janku.
Popularly known as bratabandha in Nepalese society, Chudakarma is an important rite of the male Newars. They call this loin-cloth and head-shaving ceremony Kaeta Puja. People are performing this tradition for thousands of years with religious affiliation.
To perform this rite, boys should be five to thirteen years old according to the Newari culture. While other communities have no age limit to do this ceremony.
By some means, Buddhist Newars like Gubhāju-Baré (Bajracharya-Shakya), Urāy, Jyapu, and Chitrakār perform their Pravrajyā and Chudākarma ceremony in a unique way. By sending their lads to vihar and Buddhist monasteries for three days to live a life like a monk. Abandoning all material pleasures.
They made their child attain monkshood and nirvana by mimicking Gautama Buddha’s ascetic and mooching way of life.
On the very fourth day of the ceremony, they returned to their home. And henceforward became a responsible householder.
The clan of Buddhist priests Gubhāju-Baré (Bajracharya and Shakya) goes through an additional initiation ceremony. The ceremony is called Bare Chuyegu (becoming a Baré) where categorically Bajracharya boys go through Acharya Abhisheka. This event is considered a Tantric grace rite that qualifies a Bajracharya to become a priest.
On the other hand, Hindu Newars perform this ceremony as a ritual of the first stage among the four stages of life. Which, the young boy again abandons his family for the celibate religious life.
This event also brought a ton of change to his life. For the first time, his head would be fully shaved except for a tuft left at the top. Afterward, he must shave his head like that when someone from his clan or family passes away. Well, talking back to the ceremony, he must don the yellow/orange robes of the mendicant and beg rice from his relatives.
And act as if he is preparing to wander out into the world. This symbolic act fulfilled the ascetic ideal so that he is now called a responsible family member.
Due to the caste culture, Rajopādhyāyas and Chatharīyas additionally perform the Upanayana initiation. There the boy receives a sacred thread along with a Vedic mantra called Gāyatrī mantra and Shiva mantra respectively. After, the boy is said to be fully inducted into his caste status as a Dvija with the obligation to observe all commensal rituals.
The Ihi ceremony becomes the most memorable moment for a Newari girl if she manages to remember it. Since this ritual is done from the age of five to nine years old, it is hard to remember for small girls.
This is a very unique culture of newar people where they manage to arrange the marriage of their children to lord Vishnu. Yes, you can call this a myth or a fact but a girl is married to a fruit named bael in this event.
The bael or the wooden apple, which is also assumed as a figure of the Lord Vishnu had a peculiar quality of not getting rotten and remaining fresh forever. Thus, if haphazardly, even the girl’s husband dies later in the future, she is not considered a widow because she is also married to Vishnu, who stands alive always and forever.
This two-day long ceremony holds a marriage ritual henceforth, you can see in a typical Newari marriage there is no need to go to the bride’s house for the groom. Since all the rituals are already performed in the ihi ceremony. At last but not least, the “Ihi” the short form of “Ihipaa” means a marriage.
Bahra tayegu or bahra choyegu is another tradition of the newar community. These rites again process the marriage of a girl to the sun. And of course, before the menstruation of girls. Somehow, they choose the odd age number to do this ceremony. This is the second mock marriage of a Newari girl, which marks the turning of a girl into a fertile woman.
Traditionally, the process of bahra starts with a pooja conducted by the eldest woman of the house. There, samyabji is offered to the sun god. Thereafter, the girl is sent into a dark room for the next 12 days with a friend or a female member of the family, where she is not allowed to meet nor see any male members of the family.
She is not even allowed to see the sunlight. The bahra means gufa. That’s why many people prefer saying gufa to this ritual.
During the gufa, many female relatives visit her and bring the delicacy of the food.
The girls are given a traditional Newari facial called khwao which is made of rice flour, roasted fenugreek flour, sandalwood, and other herbs to make them more beautiful.
On the 13th day, the girl is dressed up as a bride with makeup, traditional newa jewelry, and a traditional wedding dress. All the relatives and neighborhood get together to see the charm of the girl and finally, the ritual starts with the order of the priest. A gradual party is held by the family after the completion of the rite.
Here, check out the traditional Newa wear too.
Unfortunately, if any girl dies within the periods of the gufa, she is buried under the house where she died. It is done due to the belief that the body of that girl should not see the sun.
A newer movie named “Barasi” detailly has shown the life of a girl processing the gufa and how she dies within that period. Well, it is a horror movie.
Vivaha means marriage. It is a common ritual where the bride abandons her family and adopts her husband’s name and family. In a Newari culture too, almost every ritual is as same as in other communities. But there is no need to go to the bride’s house for the groom.
For this reason, as already explained in the Ihi ceremony. But today, the groom also went with the janti for the marriage.
This community does not allow marriage with cross-cousin and parallel-cousin. Traditionally, parents and go-betweens arrange the marriage. But today, we can see more love marriages than arranged marriages.
This rite seems more important to both the boy and the girl. In the girl’s case, she must have the Ihi and Bahra ceremony before their marriage and Bratabandha for the boys.
Jankwo or Janku is an old-age celebration. Normally, when a person reaches the age of 77 years, seven months, seven days, seven hours, seven minutes, and seven-quarter, they celebrate their Jankwo. Besides this, three more Janku ceremonies are consequently celebrated at the age of 83, 88, and 99.
Auspiciously, people call the very first Janwa “Bhimratharohan”. Likewise, the second one is “Chandrarat Rohan”, the third one is “Devaratharohan”, and last but not the least, the fourth one is “Divyaratharohan”.
This is a very common ceremony or an act done in every family of the newar community. In special or auspicious moments of life like birthdays, weddings, long journeys, return safely from the journey, or any kind of accident, Sagun is given. This shagun ceremony is incomplete without eggs and yogurt (JuJu Dhau).
You can also check out how exactly the famous Juju dhau of Bhaktapur is made.
The last but not the least ritual left in newar society is the death ritual. All the Newars except the Laakumi and Jogi caste, cremate their dead bodies. According to the myth, the crow and the dogs are the ancestors as well as the god of death. That’s why people offered offerings to them during the funeral.
Subsequently, people conduct offerings and rituals within four, seven, eight, 13, and 45 days following the death. The ceremony that annually occurs is shradh. The sons or the husband or wife of the dead one, wear white garments for a year and avoid eating things like yogurt.
Yes, they do. Though they do not perform it in its traditional way, they do practice it.
We are not sure about the death ceremony, Besides that, you could take participate in every other ceremony.
No review on this yet. Be the first one to review.