Table Of Content

h.. S: 1 Newah Vijiiana Editorial (The Journal of Newar Studies) ISSN 1536-8661 112 5 Numberd 2004-05 One can sec that Newah VijiiLina has evolved wit11 time. It has seen much rnctarnorphosis since its first issue back in 1997 not only in the Publisher issues the~nselvesh ut also the entire Newah cornmunity. The Newah International Nepill BhashZ community has been impacted hy the demise of Inany great Newah Sev3 Samiti (INBSS) scholars and personals. We would like to extend our c~~ndolencctso Center For Nepale.\e Language Bhikshu Sudarshan. lswarananda Shrethacharya. Revati Ra~n:~nananda. & Culture Sahu Jyana Jyoti Kansakar, Pror. Rernhard Kolver and Bert van den Portland, Oregon USA Hoek. We are very grateful for their c~~ntrihutiontso the Newah c~~rnmunity. Another type of metamorphoses is seen in the creation of a worldwide community with the advent bo~~omf th e internet. Due to accesses of international exchanges of information in sophisticated way through the internet, the popularity of Newah Vijiiina is growing rapidly. Recently. last summer, a Nepal Bhasa web magazine, Editor nvw~v.ne~r.a~~osr.corwna.s~ ~lpa~un ched by dedicated Newah people Day3 R. Shakya whose voluntary work has lead to uploading of inforniation pertaining to the Newah Vijaana journal. We highly reci)mrnend you to please Assistant Editor visit the wehsite and click on the Ncw3h VijiiZna section to ohtain Sudip R. Shakya inform;rtion on previous issues of this journal. Of the rn.rny other websites that promotes the Newah heritage. ~rtviv.~~~.ajn.rrlu~~~l.rorn Advisor deserves a mention. The wehsite contains a froup mailing and Prof. Todd Lewis subscribers get a chance to participate in various topics on regular basis allowing than to update and promote thc Newah world. For further details of the availahlc wchsites information about Newah heritage is given in the page 30. One can feel the impact of the rapidly-spre;~dinp regarding the recognition of Newah heritage and values. Scholars wi~rldwideh ave disc~~ntiriuethde use of the word Newari since a paper w;~s submitted Designer on naming of Newah languagc Similarly. our voice against the Nepal Digital Babu ' Samhat as Newari Sambat or New;lr NewYear h;is also hecn taken into 2189W. 15"Ct. consideration hy Newah community around the world as well as by Eugene, OR 97402 world scholars. It is believed that Nepal Samhat does not pertain to a specilic ethnic group. hut it is a calendar of Nepal and rnust he fi~llowcdh y entire Nepalese peoplc. Within these 25 years of Blrinrrr,ra movement, the Nepal Samhat celebration has seen a global recognition. We have received news of Nepal Sa~nhaht eing cclehrated in faraway places such as London. The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Japan. Washington DC. California. Texas and Oregon. The founder of Mailing Address this Samhat, Shankhadhar Sakhwa. was honored for the estahlish~nent New3h VijKina of such amazing era. 1719N~47'~Ave. ' i Lastly. we would like to extend our apologies lilr the much delay Portland, OR 972 13 hetwcen current issye and past issue and thanks every one of their patience and constant support. Our thanks also go to Suva Shakya. Urncsl~ Shrestha for typing the Devnagari rnsterials. We itivitc everyone lo kecp submitting their papers on Ncwah herivage so that Newah VijRana can continue 111 prow. The valuable comments. suggestions and suhniission on relevant topics arc the glue that extends the life span of this journal. Like a met:~morphosis of seasons, we ;ire hoping that the Newah community will continue to evolve for the Cover: Siddhilaxmi at Patan Museum better. Thank you for your support Typical Newah Bhoye (Feast) Photo Courtesy of Raja and Sunita Shresfha, Portland Oregon c ontents m- Newah Vijiiana Number 5 AD 2004-05 NS 1125 BS 2061162 English The Challenges of Multilingualism in Nepal. ..................T ej Ratna Kansakar. ............0 1 The Karmacharyas of Bhaktapur L eCo yle. .........................1 2 The Ritual Composition of Sankhu :The Socio-Religious Anthropology of a Newar Town in Nepal. ....................................................... a Gopal Shrestha. ............. 22 Commercial Recordings of Traditional Newar Music: A Review Article. .................................................... Brent Bianchi .......................2 5 Newah Jhii Newah hey Jui. ........................................... Y R. Shakya. ..................3 1 In Memoriam Bert van den Hock Bal Gopal Shrestha and .......3 4 Han F. Vermeulen Newah Language Workshop: Newah Bhaye Jynsah. ...T ribhuvan R. Tuladhar 30 Cultural, Spiritual, and Nutritional Value of - Samaybaji(A Newah Cuisine). ............................... a Rajbhandari. ........... 44 .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 rams. ....................................... 0 0 Nepali Nepal Bhasha . -Flm , + 67 7rrTq m ; ~ m 4 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . . . ~ ~ 69 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ . ~ . ~ H w T ? ?m :-. * d m~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~. . . . ~ ~ ~ ~70 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ mhftr h ?4m "h ed 9 m w~ ~~~~ ~~~m~ ~- ~.3 ~l~w~~~~~m~~~~7~~.~~. ~~.~ .~ ~~~.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.~~~~~ 7712~~ .~~~ ~. ~~ ~~~ ~ ~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~.~~. ~. .~~~ ~ .~~. . ~. ~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ ~. . mS . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FFF ? m :..... ~73 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ F q.rr (News Collection) ~~~7 4 Members and Subscribers' Directory .............................................................................. 79 SCTB (Newih Vijiiiina) (NcwZh VijZgna) The Journal of Ne~mrS ltrclic A Journal Of Nrwnr Studies k<3-. ,k5 .eii \*l I .%*..-,M NO I \.,,unhh"\trhrb,O. .i"rnhrn - 2 H5 11'8 1 1991 IW&W NS1119 2USSR6 k w ~ qf\q i 1 - (New5h Vijiiiina) (Newih Vijiiina) The Journal Of kwar Studies The Journal Of Nrwai ~ludies. ~hlmLhldlis.'i,lr,ih -. 3"...-p d,+d5",b.:, sI"d*..r.in., ,hC. .. liuinh.r l U"*..., AD2WIO2 N> 4i?l RS 2USM9 1D I.1. I1Md NS ,124 W >al. I < for subscription please contact the editor: Drashaaaol.c orn The ChaIIenges of Multilingualism in Nepal Tej R. Kansakar Tribhuvan University [email protected] Introduction generalired as a single language. e.g. the K;~i/Kiranti languages of which Hanson (1991) cites 37 distinct 'This paper seeks to provide an overview of the language names. See T e ! o n Languages of Nepal cornplex lingu~stica nd ethnic diversity of Nepal and the where Il ist over 100 languages and dialects. The one \;irious prohlen~sth at arise from this situation. It will important aspect of the demography of language users locus on three aspects of multilinguiilisrtl in Nepal, is that the Sino-l'ihctan family ha~sa large numher of n;irnely the distribution of dominant and mini~rity languages but few speakers, while the Indo~Arynnis I:~ngoages. language contact and language use. and charactcri7ed by few languages with a 1:lryc number of language endangerment due to rapid decline and nati\e speakers. extinction of languages spoken by minority groups. hlany Nepalese languages ;Ire also poorly The paper will illustrate these problen~sw ith data on documented and linguistic descriptions in the fotm 01' the demography of spcakcrs. lexical horrouings and gr;~~nmars.d ictionaries and written texts are a\aililhlc I~~ngua~fugnee tinns in a multilinguatl settine. only on a few languages 1h;lt have written scripts. It is quite possible thatt surveys in othcr parts of the country 1. Aspects of Multitingualisrn in Nepal $nay pro\'ide information on h~thcrto unknown Ii~nguagesa nd dialects. Althi,ugh Ncp;~l 1s a sn~all country of less than 132 thousand square k~lo~ncters. there is thus i~nlnenses cope for research on linpui\tic. Like nlafny rnnuntainous countries. Nepal is a social. cultur;~l and ethnic diversity prevailing in the country. cuontry of great lingui\tic and cultural di\ersity. The cxtcnt of this diversity can he sccn in the largc nulnher of languages spoken by over 60 ethnic groups. There ;arc no reliable sources on just how many languages and dialects are in active use in the country. while the When people speaking different languages come cstirnales of linguists and scholar?. hot11 native and into contact. their langua~gesc onverge and influence forcign. have ranged from 56 to 130 languages: see each othcr. Such con\.ergences take place through hlalln (1989): 56 languages: I'ohn (1902): 70 langua- increasing tnigrations and developmcnt of hasic g'" B.Grirnes (1991) : 104 l;~ngo;~gcsN: oonan (Z(XX1) : ir~frastructurei n communic;~tion systems such as roads. 130 I:~ngoages. 'l'l~eo fficial rcport of the Central air services. and electri~nicm edia whicl~s erve to bring Bureau of Sratistics(Cl3S). His Majesty's Goxrnment people together. The growth of social. culturnl and l had recorded 32 lalnguages and the 'Other' cornrnercial contacts in turn have encouraged lin2uistic category of unnamed languages uhich alone consists of influences (In. for example. Newar fro111 lndo-Aryan (I- half a rnillii~nsp eakers. 'The must rcccnt census data of A) and othcr Tiheto-Burman (T-U) languages of Nepa~l. 2001 records a dra~rlatici ncre;~sc in the number 11f Mutual inlluences of this kind lead to lexical and Innguages from 32 to 93. and these languages are the structoral borrowings and promote bilinpu;~lism or ~clrcxntativeso f four gre;at language families, namely ~nultilingualis~wni thin changing social relationships. I'ihetcr-Burman. Indo-Ary:~n. Austro-Asiatic and For example. it is very rare to find mono-lingual Newar l)ravidi;~n. tiigether with two controversial language speakers today. Borrowings itself Inay take various isol:ltcs: B;ldi and Kusunda Tile CBS cnurnerations. f11rms. as can he seen in Table 2a and 2h whrre wc howckcr. may not he reliable as language groups are notice various fi)rrns of loan words. sucll as (i) direct Newah Vijiiana-5 Kansakar, Tej R./ The Challenges of Multi1inguism.l 1i1 irnplernent any of the reco~rr~rrendationsT.h e various largc proportion of speakers for socio-cultural ancl Ci~nsututii~nins the past had designated Nepali as a professional purposes is often recogni~cd as the national language in view of its status as a lingua frar~ca standard language. A language also becomes arnong diverse linguistic communities and its role in the standardized through extensions of use in written riational life of the country. While no one has disputed literature, education (literacy. school, and higher the status of Nepali as an official national language. it education), linguistic descriptions (dictionaries. \\;as abundantly clear that the policy of His Majesty's grammars), print and electronic media. Governrnent was to promote only the use of Nepali in One important aspect of language contact is the edocation. administration, publication. and the media. specialization of function of one language or the other. Only two Nepalcse languages. Maithili and Ncwar, Which language is appropriate or desirable in which were intnlduced as optionallelecti\e subjects in the situations rnay meal interesting details abilut tlre schi>i~aln d higher education curricula. This dr~nlin;lnt sociology of each language fnr a particular speaker or 4 language policy of the governlrlent Itas been questiimed proup of speakers. 'Table /S a surnrnary irf the uses of and resisted in recent years. 'he nation;ll referendurn in bnrious languages hy an average educatvd Newnr 1979 raised the dernand for assigning functinnal roles to person in Nepal: \srious native languages so that each ethnic group ci)uld preserve and strengthen their linguistic and (1) Everyone at hi~mes peaks only Ncwar: e.g. in cultural identity. Following thc restoration of gathering of Falnily members and relatibes on democracy in 1990, the new Constitutinn recognized all occasions such as festivals, life cycle rituals such indigenous languages of Nepal 21s "national languages" as annaprssana, bratabandha. hudliua janko. etc. irnd guaranteed each community the right to presclve (2) Use of Newar at home only with peers (husband- i~rrdp rornote its language, script and culture. 'l'trc wife). but Nepali or English with childrcr~. Constitution also assrrts the hndirmcnt;ll right of each (3) Sorne Newar hut niore Ncpirli on social community to operate schools up to the primary le\el in occasions such as marriage or hirthdny parties its own rnother tongue for inlpilrting education to its where the guests include rnany non-Ncw:~rs. children. Although sorne language groups such as (3) In academic or professional life. Newar is lrardly Tihct;~n. Ncunr, Mngar ar~di .imbu have developed used as a rrledium of discourse. Ncpali imd primary level materials in the mother tonpuc. thrs is a English are used predominar~tly in meetings. remote possibility for most minority languages n'lrich seminars. conkrences. lectures and speeches. In lack functional script or written literature. In tlrc school education. Nepali is the primary rnediun~ ahsence of official commitment and conrdination from of instruction in the classroom and ;IS ;I the government. progr;irns of literacy in the illother communic;lti\c medium outside ttre class. At the tongue c;lnni,t he implemente~l f milst national higher education levels. hr~wc~ctrh.e re is clore languages. Thc prevailing low rate of literacy use of English than Nepali. cspcci;rlly among the minority groups rcrnains ;I major (5) Ncpali is used exclusi\ely in go\.crnmcnt i~ffices. challcngc to Ncpal's development efforts and the Nepalese Ranks, NGO officcs. ci>rpi~r;~tions. growth of its sociil-political infrastructure. lihrarics and private agencies. (h) In market places one can hear more Ncpali than Newar. and increasingly Hindi due to influx of 2, Language functions and Hindi-speaking traders and worklnen frorn Language Use southern Nepal and India. (7) Newar speakers today are exposed to a good deal A large nu~rihero f unwritten language? in Nep;~l of print and electronic media where Nepali and are poorly developed in forrrr and usage. Most of these English dominate over Newi~arn d llindi. langu;~gcs have no literature or descriptive rn;iteri;rls (8) Newar is still used widely as a written language like grammars, dictionaries end teaching m;~tcri;rls. in creative literature arid pcrs~~nill Thcrc is thcrefi~rea very urgent need to develop the correspondence. hut official rcpi~rtsa nd lcilcrs ti] functii~nal uses of n~inorityl anguages (or language non-Newar arc mainly in Nepali or English. varieties) in written and spoken discourse. including (9) The Newars use Sanskrit to say their prayers, and literacy programs and rnass media (radio/TV nr they listen to the Vajr2C;lrya pricst recite the publrcations) to upgrade the status of a language, hot11 Buddhist sutras in Sirnskrit without socially and politically. in thc multilingual situations understanding their meaning. that prevail in many parts of the country. diaglossi;~i lr tlre varieties of the sitme 1;tngunge in the fort11 of soci;~l Points i1f interest in Table 4: or rcgiorlal dialects is a common phenomenon. In each ilf these dialcct clusters. the \,ariety that is used by a Newah VijiiSna-5 Kansakar, Tej R./ The Challenges of Multilinguism..3