Newars are primarily the original inhabitants of Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding districts. I will refrain from using the words indigenous, tribal, aboriginal to describe the entire Newar population here because unlike the general perception among anthropologists, sociologists, and general Nepalis themselves, the entire Newar population is not in any sense of the word tribal nor indigenous nor aboriginal, nor is it a single caste or ethnicity.

Newars are generally seen as a Tibeto-Burman race or of Mongoloid origin, but what the social scientists and general non-Newar population always fail to see is the obvious presence of Indic, Indo-Aryan admixture. Sure, some of you may know this fact already and will say Newars are basically cross between Indians and Tibetans. While this is true in a sense, as there is racial admixture of two or more races in almost all South-Asian phenotype. But the glaring lack of knowledge comes into play when people generalize all Newars as a single ethnic or racial group. In that sense, the view is of that ALL Newars are mixed-race. But the truth is that Newars as a whole cannot be taken as ONE sample as there is a lot of historical precedence. Newar or Newah is simply a person who historically lived inside Kathmandu Valley region. It never was a single racial/ethnic group of people like many of Nepal’s other groups – Magar, Gurung, Khas, Kirat, etc. are. Just like how all the diverse people living in present day Nepal today is called a Nepali, likewise all people who historically lived inside Kathmandu Valley (which in fact was what “Nepal” was called until the 1930s) was called a Newah or Newar which again is the corrupted form of the word Nepa(l) > Newa(r). Now, since Kathmandu Valley (then called Nepal) had been the centre of crossroads for the Indians and Tibetans/Mongols, people from far and wide came to this country. And Newars are the result of this melting pot of various races, ethnicities, castes of people from the south as well as the north.

Now, in the present context, Newars remain an intoxicating mix of people who in the 14th century were for the first time seen as part of one Nation. A king by the name of Jayasthiti Malla Deva, belonging to the Suryabanshi Kshatriya Karnat lineage of Mithila, organized these various people as part of a single nation. As was the traditional Vedic/Hindu division, Brahmins (priests, scholars) were given the highest position, followed by the Kshatriyas (king, nobles, courtiers), Vaishyas (traders and merchants, farmers), Shudras (artisan and occupational workers). Outiside of these four divisions were the Unclean and Untouchable service providers.

Now, among the Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya – otherwise the so-call Dwij (twice-borne) castes, Jayasthiti Malla Deva did not just randomly assign the already existing and indeed aboriginal/indigenous population into these castes. What he did was assigned the Kanyakubja Brahmins of Mithila who had come to Kathmandu, to stay and preach Brahamanical religion among the masses to which they obliged. Similarly, the Malla kings and their family along with his courtiers that immigrated from Mithila region in the 13th century (with King Harisimha Dev) some of them being from clans like Chauhan, Hada, Rathaur, Vaidhya, Acharya, Kayastha, etc. were enlisted as Kshatriyas. The Vaishya castes were made from the already existing and defeated Lichchavi-descendants and were given lucrative positions and power. Later on, many existing indigenous races who with time and trickery amassed the necessary requirements to include them among these Dwij Jatis were also enlisted among the Vaishya (for example Bhaktapur Jyapu groups) or Kshatriya (for example few present-day Srestha clans like Munankarmi, Sainju, etc.)

As with most of Newar festivals, traditions, culture, this caste-structure too has wethered the Rana and Shah (non-Newar races) domination of the state since the 19th century, and has survived till present time. (These Shah and Ranas of the Parbatiya Khas tribe for example dominated all non-Khas ethnicities including Newars, Newars especially by barring them from military and top leadership positions, making them a subjected race and officially below the Parbatiya high-castes, officially barring Nepalbhasa (the mother-tongue of all Newars), asking notable Newar families to delete their heritage like forcing to drop clan-names (Malla, Varman and Raathaur being examples.) But unlike the case of dominant Parbatiya (Bahun, Chhetri, Damai, Sarki, etc.) the importance and symbolism of caste for Newars is as much important as it was 500 years ago. The present caste-structure of Newars does not only present the ancient four-fold varna model of division, but it also encompasses and includes within it the non-Hindu or non-Aryan races and clans like the Buddhists (Vajracharyas, Shakyas, Tuladhars), Indigenous/Tribals (Jyapu like Maharjan, Dangol) and even communties which otherwise are historically only recent-arrivals to Kathmandu Valley (like the Kayasthas, Singh (Pradhans), Maithil Brahmins, etc.) Similarly, the importance and dominance of caste and varna is apparent in any of the major festivals, social events, chariot events, etc.

Caste Structure of Newars

Caste system in Nepal has been officialy abolished since the 1960s. Many divisions have gone out of use. But to illustrate the point I am making, it is important to understand and know about the castes themselves. In the following, I will write about the historically Hindu higher-castes (Dwij ‘twice-born’ jatis) of Newars –

1.Brahmins – Rajopadhyayas (Rajopadhyaya, Sharma, Subedi, Acharya) and Maithil Brahmans (Mishra, Jha)

2.Kshatriyas – All Rajput/Kayastha/Rajbanshi clan have since coalesced into one caste – Chhathari or Chathariya (all corruption of Kshatriya). Ancient Suryabanshi or Chandravanshi or Agnivanshi clans have been transformed into surnames/clan-name titles like Malla, Rajbhandari, Pradhan, Patrabansh, Kayastha, Amatya, Shrestha, Pradhanang, Hada, Bijukchhe (Rathaur), Gongal, Dhaubhadel, or Piya (all three were Chauhans), Rajbanshi, Rajvaidhya, etc. It also includes Brahmin-Kshatriya and Brahmin-Vaishya descendants like Josi, Karmacharya. “Shrestha” surname although was synonymous with Kshatriya even up till the 20th century. However since then, vast majority of the Vaishya clans (who were traditionally Hindu merchants of Kathmandu and cuturally were very similar to the Kshatriya/Chathariya) began adopting the word Shrestha/Srestha as their clan names. Similarly, many other Newar clans but especially lower castes adopted the ‘Shrestha’ surname as a means of upward moblity. Similarly, vast majority of Newars (both high and low, Hindu or Buddhist) also started using the Shrestha name once they migrated out of Kathmandu Valley. Some other surnames used by lower-classes to establish themselves on the Chathariya or Shrestha caste are ‘Pradhan’, ‘Josi’, ‘Singh’ in places like Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Bhutan, and various parts of Nepal. The historically Chathariyas/Kshatriyas clans therefore find anyone with a “Shrestha” surname with doubtful eye, and only proceed with marital or dining situations once the caste status of the Shrestha in question is cleared.

3.Vaishyas – The “Shrestha” who indeed trace their lineage to Malla times as being the foremost traders and merchants of Nepal are occupiers of the Vaishya varna. They were the most successful caste among the Newars as trade with India and Tibet had brought a lot of cash and social respect. As opposed to the Kshatriya/Chathariya, these families have come to be known as “Panchthariya” (five-clans) or “Bagha-Srestha” (half-Shrestha) (“half” because historically the children begot from the Kshatriya/Chathariya and a woman of ‘lower’ caste were put under this category), or these days simply “Shrestha”. There is a completely dubious perception among non-Newars and many Newars themselves that since Newars have been primarily traders and shopkeepers, they belong to Vaishya caste. While this may be marginally true for some, this is not true for many as trading/business was the ONLY OPTION many higher caste Newars had as the Rana/Shah dictators disallowed Chathariyas from their occupational work in the government/palace, and most of their land had been ceased.

There are many other Newar castes like the indigenous Jyapus who technically should fall outside the varnashram. Similarly there are many “Buddhist” castes like Bare (Vajracharya/Shakya), Uray (Tuladhar/Tamrakar/Baniya/Shilpakar/Rajkarnikar/Kansakar etc.), who in theory should also reject the caste system. But the social reality is that these Buddishts and the Indigenous Jyapus practise caste as a way of life, and follow the norms and practises that governs the social structure. Chitrakar (Pu), Manandhar (Sayami), Chipa (Ranjitkar), Napit (Nau), Mali/Malakar, Dui (Putwar), Balami, Pahari,and others like Karanjit (Bha), Kapali/Dhobi (Jogi), Khadgi/Shahi (Naye), Deula (Pode, Chamakhala) who from the upper-caste (from both Hindu and Buddhist) perspective all fall under the artisan/occupational caste/varna, below the Shresthas and the Bare/Uray.

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Now that I have made it clear about the history of castes of Newars, let me go through the legends. Legends backed by genealogical maps, local religious texts like the Swayambhu Puran, as well as evident cultural practises and scientific DNA tests says that except for the Jyapus, most other present day Newars came from either the north or the south. Historical records shows that when Delhi Emperor Gayasuddin Tulgak attacked Mithila and its capital Simraungarh, its king Hari Simha Dev fled to Nepal. As I earlier wrote, many of the king’s Brahmans, his Kshatriya courtiers and their families, and few occupational castes (present day Khadgi/Shahi and Dhobi/Kapali) also came along. The Brahmins among them in due time came to be known as Rajopadhyaya Brahman. Rajopadhyayas of Kathmandu Valley have three gotras – Bharadwaj, Garg, Kaushik. Later on in the 14th and 15th century, other Brahmins who settled in the Kathmandu Valley who did not adopt Newar rituals and especially the intricate Tantric worship were differentiated from the Rajopadhyayas and were formed a separate, a bit lower ranked, set of Tirhute (Maithili speaking Bihari-ethnic)Brahmins who are still today seen by other Newars as ‘they’ rather than ‘we’. They have two major surnames – Mishra and Jha. No matter their identity, many social scientists today include them within Newars. Now these two Newar castes of Brahmins have continued their Brahminic practises, and their physical features are sharply Indo-Aryan or Caucasoid. It is evident there is little intermixture, if any, with other races.

Now with the Kshatriyas, the Chathariya, their clans intermixed with other non-Aryan races which is why many of their population have Mongoloid influences. Since many kings and courtiers had multiple wives, even of lower castes, it can be assumed that this was how the Mongoloid admixture was brought upon the Chathariyas. However, still many people belonging to the clans of Chathariya look comparitively more Indic-Aryan looking if we compare them to the more indigenous (Jyapu) Newars or other ‘pure’ Mongoloid races of Nepal. Since only legitimate children begot from Kshatriya clans were introduced to the Chathariya fold, this in some sense filtered out the racial homogeneity.

This isn’t the case with the Panchthariya or the ‘Shrestha’. In comparison, they tend to look a bit more Indid-Mongoloid than the Chathariya or Brahmins. Obviously, people from lower castes or indigenous tribes like Jyapu who managed to rise up the social hierarchy became ‘Shrestha’ in due time. As mentioned, Chathariya who married any lower classes also produced children who were simply called ‘Shrestha’. Merchants and traders who went to Tibet for trading purposes also brought back with them many children from their Tibetan wives or concubines. This is also the case for the largely Buddhist Uray or Udas caste who were the Buddhist equivalents of the Panchthariya Shrestha, and they too brought back sons and daughters from Tibetan mothers. Hence, this fairly large upper-middle caste of merchant caste are today largely heterogenous in their physical look, many look distinctly cross.

The Jyapus of Kathmandu Valley are the true indigenous inhabitants, otherwise called Adivasi or Janajati. They are the first-settlers of the Valley before anyone else. Although the skin tone is generally on the darker side (this has to due to the fact that they have been farmers for generations), they are distinctly Mongoloid in appearance, but here too the admixture of Indo-Aryan tribes like the Ahirs and Lichchavis is apparent. Among the lower occupational caste, legend has it that the Khadgis or otherwise known as Shahis also came from Hari Simha Deva. Their traditional occupation as butchers and meat-sellers they say were not always the case. They say they were the younger of one of the descendant of Hari Simha Deva, and during a huge famine the younger son volunteered to kill a buffalo which was given as prasad by goddess Taleju Bhawani during the famine. Since then, Newars have been voracious buffalo-eaters which is peculiar in traditional Hindu socities. They consider this act as not impure as their Goddess herself allowed it. These Khadgis and Shahis also in general tend to look a bit more on the Indo-Aryan side, but of course with observable Mongoloid influences.

And in relation to linguistics as well, the mother-tongue of Newars in Nepal Bhasa or also called Newa Bhay or Newari. Yes it is a Tibeto-Burman language, but it has to be noted that the language is not much of a help to fully comprehend the complexities of Newar civilization. We all know the primal indigenous inhabitants of Kathmandu Valley (most probably today’s Jyapus) spoke this. Due to the numerical dominance of Jyapus (they are around 40% of all Newars), others smaller castes and castes that came much much further adopted this language as a means of communication. It is also to be noted that many Malla kings have written poetry and published works in Maithili – the mother-tongue of the Mallas. It is also believed that the kings and the courtiers then were well-versed in Maithili and Sanskrit along with the local Nepal Bhasa. Nepal Bhasa’s closest cousin is the Chepang language which is another Tibeto-Burman language. Important thing to also note is that Nepal Bhasa although termed Tibeto-Burman is a language that has 50% or more of its grammatical roots, words, lexicon based in Sanskrit, Pali, and Maithil – all Indo-Aryan languages. Basic words like Water, Father, Mother, God, Nose, Mouth, etc. all come from those ancient languages again suggesting definite labelling are not really applicable for Newars. Similarly, among non-Bahun and non-Madhesi population of Nepal, Newars have the highest amount of Y-DNA Halogroup R1b DNA, which again shows intermixture with the Indic population in the past.