Newa Heritages

Newar (), or Newari and known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal.

"Nepal Bhasa" literally means "Nepalese language", however the language is not the same as Nepali (Devanāgarī: नेपाली), the country's current official language of the central government. The two languages belong to different language families (Sino-Tibetan and Indo-European, respectively), but centuries of contact have resulted in a significant body of shared vocabulary.

Newar was Nepal's administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century until democratisation, Newar suffered from official suppression. From 1952 to 1991, the percentage of Newar speakers in the Kathmandu Valley dropped from 75% to 44% and today Newar culture and language are under threat. The language has been listed as being "definitely endangered" by UNESCO.

Name

The name Nepal Bhasa, which literally means ''Nepal Language'', originates from Nepal Mandala. Until 1960s, the Kathmandu Valley was known as ''Nepal Valley'' or ''Nepa Valley''.उनले भनेका थिए– ‘तिब्बतको दक्षिणमा ‘नेपाल’ छ, त्यसका बासिन्दालाई ‘नेवार’ भनिन्छ ।’ यो सन्दर्भलाई पत्याउने हो भने त्यतिखेर ‘नेपाल’ काठमाडौं वरिपरि मात्र भएको देशको नाम थियो र अहिले ‘नेपाली’ भनिए जस्तो त्यो ‘नेपाल’ देशका बासिन्दालाई ‘नेवार’ भनिन्थ्यो । उनीहरूले बोल्ने भाषालाई ‘नेपाल भाषा’ भनिन्थ्यो । यसको गहिरो अर्थ छ– ‘नेवार’ कुनै जात, जाति वा नश्ल समुुदाय हैन, एक ऐतिहासिक राष्ट्र वा राष्ट्रियता हो । A government report from 1961 describes the valley being grouped as ''Kathmandu District'', which is different from today's Kathmandu District, marks the commencement of referring the valley as Kathmandu Valley. The term ''Nepa Valley'' is still used among Newa populationहाल काठमाडौँ उपत्यका भनेर चिनिएको, पहिले नेपाल खाल्डो(नेपाः गाः) भनेर परिचित नेपाः उपत्यका, राजधानी यस्तो छ, यस्तो हुनुपर्छ, विकास यो हो, त्यो हो भन्ने आम जनमानसमा एउटा मानसिकता नै छ।लिपि नखःकै कार्यक्रममा 'सेभ नेपाः भ्याली' अभियन्ताहरू पनि रञ्जना लिपिमा आफ्नो उपस्थिति देखाए। काठमाडाैं उपत्यकामा विकासका नाममा सम्पदा मासिँदै गएपछि काठमाडाैं उपत्यका (नेपाः भ्याली) बचाउन लागिपरेका हुन्, उनीहरू।नेपाः देश आजको काठमाडौँ उपत्यका हो । and local governments, while senior citizens still tend to refer the valley as ''Nepal''.यो कुनै तर्क हैन, एक ऐतिहासिक सत्य हो । यसलाई पुष्टि गर्न डेशीदेरी जस्तो कुनै विदेशी विद्वानको सहारा लिइरहनु पर्दैन । हाम्रो पुस्ता बाल्यकालमा हुँदासम्म बूढो पुस्ताले काठमाडौं जानुलाई ‘नेपाल जानु’ भन्थे । ‘तीन शहर नेपाल’ भन्ने गीत खुबै चलेको थियो । स्वयं मेरी हजुरआमाले मलाई ‘नेपाल भ्रमणको संस्मरण’ सुनाएको सम्झना छ । मेरा हजुरबा आफूलाई ‘माझ किरातको बाहुन हुँ’ भन्ने गर्नुहुन्थ्यो । ‘माझ किरात’ बाट ‘नेपाल’ गए/आएको २२ दिनको पैदलयात्राको कथा हजुरआमाले बेलीविस्तार सुनाउँदा म मन्त्रमुग्ध भई सुनिरहन्थें । A larger region surrounding the valley is known as Nepal Mandala. Therefore, the language spoken in Nepal Valley and Nepal Mandala became known as Nepal Bhasa.When we were on the top of Chandragiri Mountain, I asked them- "Which one is Nepal?" They helped me to recognize Bhadgaun (Now Bhaktapur), Patan and Kathmandu. My heart, at that time, felt to be the King of those Three Cities.....also to see the Kathmandu Valley (the then Nepal).....Not to be recognized and arrested by the King of Nepal (Kathmandu) I was using Sayakhu( Woolen Blanket)....We may not conquer Nepal (Kathmandu) without sufficient human resource like in Kurukshetra...

The earliest occurrences of the name ''Nepālabhāṣā'' (Devanāgarī: नेपालभाषा) or ''Nepālavāc'' (Devanāgarī: नेपालवाच) can be found in the manuscripts o
a commentary to the ''Nāradasaṃhitā''
dated 1380 AD, an
a commentary to the ''Amarkośa''
dated 1386 AD. Since then, the name has been used widely on inscriptions, manuscripts, documents and books.

In the 1920s, the name of the language known as Khas Kura, Gorkhali or Parbatiya was changed to Nepali,Lienhard, Siegfried (1992). ''Songs of Nepal: An Anthology of Nevar Folksongs and Hymns.'' New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidas. . Page 3.आजभन्दा करिब नौ दशकअघि मात्रै देशको नाम ‘नेपाल’ का रूपमा स्विकारिएको हो भने, पहिले खस–पर्वते–गोर्खाली भनिने भाषालाई ‘नेपाली’ नामकरण गरिएको हो । Conversely, the term Gorkhali in the former national anthem entitled "Shreeman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951. ''Gorkha Bhasa Prakashini Samiti'' (Gorkha Language Publishing Committee), a government institution established in 1913 (B.S. 1970) for advancement of Gorkha Bhasa, renamed itself as ''Nepali Bhasa Prakashini Samiti'' (Nepali Language Publishing Committee) in 1933 (B.S. 1990), which is currently known as ''Sajha Prakashan''.

The term ''Newari'' is considered as a derogatory term. On 7 September 1995, the cabinet of ministers decided to use "Nepala Bhasa" instead of "Newari". On 13 November 1998, the Minister of Information and Communication issued another directive to use the name Nepal Bhasa instead of Newari. However, the Central Bureau of Statistics has not been doing so.

A colloquial term is ''Newa Bhaay'' (Devanāgarī: नेवा: भाय्, IAST: Nevāḥ Bhāy) is also used.

Geographic distribution

Newar is spoken by over a million people in Nepal according to the 2001 census.
* In Nepal: Kathmandu Valley (including Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur and Madhyapur Thimi municipalities), Dolakha District, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Bandipur, Bhimphedi (Makwanpur), Panauti, Palpa, Trishuli, Nuwakot, Bhojpur, Chitlang, Narayangarh, Chitwan.
* In India: West Bengal & Sikkim
* In Tibet: Khasa

With an increase in emigration, various bodies and societies of Newar-speaking people have emerged in countries such as the US, the UK, Australia, and Japan.

Official status

Nepal

Newar was Nepal Mandala's (then only known as Nepal) administrative language from the 14th to the late 18th century. From the early 20th century until democratization, Newar suffered from official suppression. The Language Commission of Nepal has recommended Bagmati Province to provide Nepal Bhasa (Newar) the status of official language, alongside Tamang. The commission also recommends Nepal Bhasa (Newar) for official status in specific areas and purposes in Province No. 1 and Gandaki Province. At local levels, Nepal Bhasa (Newar) has official status in Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Metropolitan City and Kirtipur Municipality Chandragiri Municipality, Shankharapur Municipality, Tarkeshwor Municipality of Kathmandu district; Banepa Municipality, Dhulikhel Municipality of Kavre district; Godavari Municipality of Lalitpur district; and Bhaktapur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality of Bhaktapur district have recognized Nepal Bhasa in some ways. Similarly, Bhimeshor Municipality has recognized and made policy-level decisions for Dolakha Nepal Bhasa.

India

Newar is an additional official language in Sikkim for the purpose of preservation of culture and tradition in the state. The official weekly publication ''Sikkim Herald'' has a Newar Edition. The Information & Public Relations Department also broadcasts news bulletin in Newar.

Education

Nepal Bhasa is included as elective mother tongue subject in schools by Curriculum Development Committee. Tribhuvan University offers Bachelors, Masters, Mphil and PhD degree in Nepal Bhasa. Expiates can study Nepal Bhasa at Bishwa Bhasa Campus in Kathmandu. Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Kirtipur Municipality is teaching Nepal Bhasa as a local language. Newar is taught in schools of Sikkim.

Relationship with other Tibeto-Burman languages

The exact placement of Newar within the Tibeto-Burman language family has been a source of controversies and confusion. Robert Shafer classified Newar as part of his Bodic division of Sino-Tibetan. George Van Driem classified Newar within the Mahakiranti grouping but he later retracted his hypothesis in 2003. Moreover, he proposed a new grouping called "Maha-Newari" which possibly includes Baram–Thangmi.

T. R. Kansakar attributes the difficulty about the placement of Newar to the inability of scholars to connect it with the migration patterns of the Tibeto-Burman speakers. Since Newar separated from rest of the family very early in history, it is difficult or at least arbitrary to reconstruct the basic stratum that contributed to present day Newar speech. He underscored the point that the language evolved from mixed racial/linguistic influences that do not lend easily to a neat classification.

A classification (based on Glover's) indicating a percentage of shared vocabulary within the labeled branch and an approximate time of split:

ɫ "%" indicates lexical similarity/common vocabulary between Newar and the other languages in the branch. The date indicates an approximate time when the language diverged.

ɞ Van Driem labelled this branch as "Parakiranti" and included it together with Kiranti branch to form Maha Kiranti group. However, he would later drop this hypothesis.

ʌ All languages within this branch have extensive Indo-Aryan vocabulary. It is hypothesised that either ancient IndoAryan admixture happened before Newar-Thangmi-Baram split or that Thangmi-Baram borrowed through Newari.

History and development

According to the linguist, Glover, Newari and the Chepang language