CHAPTER
III: FOOD IN NEWARI CULTURE
On the
Importance of Food
The
social importance of food in Newari culture is
readily apparent. For instance, the most common expression for greeting someone
is Ja naye dwuno la?,
i.e., have You had Your rice? (lit., completed to eat boiled rice?). To which
one replies, dwuno (completed) or madwunu (not completed). This greeting is used
daily. Even a casual visitor to the valley may notice Newars
having picnics at scenic, sacred groves by a temple or blocking off a whole
street for a bhoye (feast). The importance of
food to the Newars is also expressed in the Nepali
proverb: Parbate bigryo
moujle, Newar
bigryo bhojle.
Literally, this says, the Parbatya ruin (themselves)
by (excessive) sexuality, the Newars ruin (themselves)
by (excessive) feasting. Elaborating on the significance, Newars
explained that a Parbatya who comes into some money
will spend it on acquiring a second or even a third wife (although polygamy is
nowadays illegal), whereas a Newar will spend the
money on extravagant feasting.
Food is
also closely connected to the ritual and religious life of the Newars. Every Newari festival of
importance begins with a day which is referred to as choyala
bhu (lit., roast meat plate). At the choyala bhu one
abstains from the boiled rice in the evening. Instead one enjoys roasted meat
and flattened rice and drinks beer and spirits. Thus, the choyala
bhu is related to sacred events, as it initiates
important ritual periods when the Gods on which domestic and communal
prosperity and health are thought to depend are propitiated. Choyala bhu is also
observed at some life cycle rites. The choyala
bhu is generally accompanied by other ritual acts
which also mark the transition from daily life to a period of worship and festivities:
one has a purifying bath, cleans all household utensils, and purifies the
floors by besmearing them with a solution of cow dung and red clay.
Furthermore,
a number of calendrical feasts are named after the
foods which are prescribed to be eaten at them; for instance, Ghyöcaku sanlu, Yomari punhi, Sakimila punhi, Ukhu care, Sanya
duling, Lai care, Duru
cya cya yatra,
Mala ja nakégu, Kai sanlu, and
Bya ja nakégu.[1] The purposes of these feasts are
highly differentiated. According to my informants, some are only named after
foods because these particular foods are in season; e.g., at Lai care
(lit., the fourteenth of the dark moon of the radish) lai
(radish) is in plentiful supply. Others are related to religious beliefs
and observances: Mala ja nakégu, when maidens
are fed boiled rice and worshipped, is related to the Kumari
cult; and Bya ja nakégu, when the frogs are fed boiled rice, beans,
meat, and beer, is in order to ensure that they will provide sufficient rain
for the standing rice crop to ripen. I will not go deeper into the significance
of the calendrical rites named after foods, but
mention them only in order to give yet another indication of food’s symbolic
import in Newari culture.
|
|
Mala ja nakégu |
|
|
Bya ja nakégu
|
One can
also see the importance Newars attach to food in the
sanctity of the Newar kitchen, and in that the Newars sometimes idiomatically refer to the household unit
as bhutu, i.e., kitchen (lit., hearth). For
instance, in Sunakothi one does not count people or
houses at the annual census, known as bhutu
phaye and performed by the Bica
guthi, but kitchens (bhutu).
There are also certain occasions on which each “hearth” is obliged to give
grain to a particular guthi society, to
various specialists, or to send a representative to a certain feast. One then
refers to the obligation as tied to the hearth (bhutu).
On the
Classification of Food
Newari meals can be classified into three main
categories: 1) the daily rice meals (ja),
2) the
The Newars invariably eat with the right hand[4] Two styles are encountered: ja (boiled
rice) is mixed with ke (soup), and formed into
lumps which are pushed into the mouth with the fingers; eating baji (flattened rice), one uses the hand somewhat
like a spoon and scoops the food into the mouth with a throwing motion. The
left hand is regarded as unclean, and it is rarely taken up to touch the mouth,
though sometimes the food may be handled with it, e.g., one may use it to break
bread. The female is often associated with the left, and the Newars do have various complex conceptions concerning left
and right, which will not be treated here. Irrespective of these conceptions,
it also makes hygienic sense not to touch foods with the left hand as the
rectum is cleaned with water using the left hand when one defecates. The Newars, as other caste Hindus, do regard anything that has
touched the mouth of another person as polluted (New.,
cipa).[5] Indeed, foods or vessels that have touched one’s own lips are also
regarded as polluted. Hence, the food is made into suitable portions before
they are taken to the mouth, and bread is always broken off piece by piece.
That is to say, one pollutes the food, while eating, morsel by morsel.[6] Liquids are polluted when one has touched the rim of the vessel. Beer
and spirits are thus drunk polluted, whereas water is poured into the mouth
holding the vessel above the head and without touching it with the lips.
The meals
are almost invariably eaten while sitting on the floor, often on a long straw
carpet. If there is more than one person who eats, the participants will
generally (though not always) form a line (jho).
Sitting down to eat, one generally gives a share of the food to the Gods before
the food has become polluted in any way, i.e., before one begins to eat oneself. This share is called dyo
chaye (God’s share), and it can be given to the
Gods at all meals. It generally consists of a few rice grains and a little
piece of each of the additional foods. If the meal is accompanied by water or
beer, a few drops[7] of it will be scattered into the
air, whereas the food items are set neatly next to the plate in front of the
person who eats. I have persistently tried to pin down this practice by asking
questions about its specific meaning and to which particular God the food is
offered. But, I have invariably been given vague and indeterminate answers. I
have been told that the meaning, or purpose, of the dyo
chaye is to “feed” and “please” the Gods, and
that it is not given to any particular God, but to God in a most general sense.
Pressing my informants to name a particular God, they would say it was given to
“any God.”
At feasts
people sit in lines, and there is a great deal of talking, although generally
people tend to eat rather fast. The lines in which the participants sit are
sometimes hierarchically ordered. The eldest sits to the very right followed by
the second eldest, and so forth. If there is a priest, officiating in a
household of non-priestly caste, he will sit to the very right, regardless of
his age, followed by the eldest. However, seating order according to seniority
and rank is generally observed only among the first ten participants. The rest
will sit in line but not in strict order according to seniority. Sometimes the
women will sit after the men. The children sit at the bottom end. If there are
several castes attending a bhoye, they will
sometimes sit in different lines. Whether they do, or do not, depends on what
is served, the purpose of the feasts and which castes attend.[8] For instance, at outdoor feasts and large marriage feasts with many
guests, I would be welcome to sit in any line, except among the first ten in
the honourary line. However, at small domestic feasts
of great ritual importance, events which outsiders, and particularly non-Newars, usually are not allowed to attend, I was set apart
from the others, i.e., in a personal line, for example, in front of everyone
where I could take part without committing an outrage against the traditional
rules.[9]
There are
yet two other classifications of food which are particularly relevant in
religious contexts, i.e., ritual foods, and offerings and prasad.[10]
One stems
from the high Brahmanical (Vaisnavite)
tradition of the Indian plain and divides food into three categories: 1) sattvic, 2) rajasic,
and 3) tamasic. The first is the food of
saints. The sattvic diet is strictly
(lacto) vegetarian and also regards certain vegetables as impure, e.g., onion,
garlic, and radish. The second is the food for kings and warriors. The rajasic food contains meat from goat and
chicken as well as eggs. The tamasi is
the food of demons and titans. It permits all the items in the two previous
classes, as well as buffalo meat, fermented foods, spirits, garlic, onion,
etc., in short, many of the foods which are explicitly excluded from the sattvic and rajasic
diets. The underlying conception is that the food determines men’s moods and
actions. Sattvic food will make a man
saintly; rajasic food will make him a
ruler or a warrior, i.e., powerful and sexually potent; tamasic
food will make a man an uncontrollable victim of lewd passions, like a
demon or a titan. This is a gross simplification. Hindus are well aware that
not all people can be saints or kings, but nevertheless it reflects the ideas
Hindus have about the effects of food on the state of mind. Newars
do apply the idiom expressed in this classification, but only selectively, for
instance, at vrta days when the pious observe
a fast or, according to this classification, abstain from polluting foods,
e.g., meat, garlic, onion, and alcoholic beverages. Sattvic
food stuffs are offered to certain deities, notably, to Mahadev
and Narayan (Vishnu), who are thought to be
vegetarian and who do not accept blood offerings. Milk, grains, sweetmeats,
etc., which are offered them are later eaten by the devotees as prasad. The sattvic
food is associated with the Hindu current which regards renunciation of
caste and society, abstinence from meat and alcohol, and celibacy as the proper
means to attain salvation.
However, the Newars
also have another idiom in which animal sacrifice and alcoholic beverages are
not only permitted but culturally prescribed. This is the Tantric
tradition. These foods are ritually classified as amkara,
because their initial letter is M (lit., ma). These foods are
classified together as the pancamkara, the
five Ms, although two of them are not strictly foods but concepts which
may be represented by food. These are mamsa
(meat), matsya (fish), mudra
(divine sign language), 
madya (alcoholic beverages), and maithuna (intercourse). In the Tantric
tradition, these five concepts and various ritualia
associated with them are tied to the religious practice to attain salvation.
The five concepts can, according to Pradhan,[11] be represented in Newari culture by food
items, particularly by the khe sagan. This contains the food
items mentioned as part of the pancamkara: mamsa (meat), matsya
(fish), and madya (ayela).
The mudra is represented by wa (pulse cake) and maithuna by egg.[12] Here, I want to make the point that in Newari
cultural conceptions — although the pancamkara
may not be known to all it is not polluting to eat meat and drink alcoholic
beverages. On the contrary animal sacrifice, meat consumption, and drinking of
alcoholic beverages are culturally prescribed. The reasons given for this vary:
one, popularly held, is that the Tantric Gods are
blood thirsty[13] and relish alcohol (such deities
are known as hitva dyo),
and, if one did not sacrifice animals to them, they would satisfy their blood
thirst by causing accidents;[14] a second, more profound
reason, is that the Tantric Gods, to some extent,
represent various aspects of the devotee’s personality which have to be
satisfied. To become initiated into such a cult is known as receiving diksha, and, according to Greenwold,
“[w]hen the adept receives the ‘diksha’ of a
particular deity he is thought to become that deity himself. Or perhaps one
should say that the adept miraculously is absorbed into the deity and so takes
on his powers.”(Greenwold 1974b:120) Here, I have no
conclusive data. Indeed, the nucleus of some of the Tantric
cults of the Newars is nearly impossible to
penetrate, as absolute secrecy is required from those who become initiated. For
the anthropologist, even “under cover” methods are impracticable, as initiation
is strictly limited by the rules of caste and lineage.[15] To the deities that accept and crave blood sacrifice, one offers
buffaloes, goats, piglets (to Naudurga only), ducks,
chickens, eggs, and black pulses. The latter two are also regarded as blood
sacrifice and often serve as substitutes for proper animals among the poor.
Only male animals are sacrificed. The quadrupeds are slaughtered by cutting out
a piece of the throat of the animal with a knife, whereafter
the jugular is found and severed. The blood is then made to gush out onto the
deity.[16] Thereafter the sacrificed animal is
taken home to be prepared and eaten by the devotees. Occasionally, it may be
cooked and eaten at the site of the sacrifice.
|
|
|
The Tantric tradition has reversed the ideals (generally known
as ahimsa) upheld in ascetic Hinduism and Buddhism: the practitioners
drink alcohol ritually, eat meat ritually, marry and beget children, observe
caste rules, and occasionally, even copulate ritually. Thus, salvation can be
attained by the Tantricist, by indulging in the very
things which in other forms of Hinduism and Buddhism represent anathema to the
religiously virtuous.
Both
systems of classifying food are current, and the Newars
in general do not ponder the inherent contradiction. Instead, the two systems
are regarded as complementary and have validity on different occasions. On some
days one should (ideally) fast or refrain from food of the rajwik
and tamas categories (e.g., at vrta days), whereas at other times one should eat
meat and drink beer and spirits. However, during my field work I have often
seen Newars fail to observe vrta
days[17] (e.g., the ekadasi,
the eleventh of the bright half of the lunar month), but never to miss a choyala bhu.
Even the very poorest will provide some meat and beer on such days.[18]
The analyst
can make a different category of foods of the food which is related to Newar religion and cosmology and the expression of the
conceptions of the social order. This category includes the ritually
significant foods which are closely related to both the social order and the
pantheon. It would thus include: choyala bhu, a plate with roasted meat which heralds the
arrival of a major festival or rite; prasad,
any food offered to a deity in order to be consumed afterwards; same baji, fried flattened rice with meat and fish which
is eaten at certain occasions; ghasa, display
food; si, a ritual dish which generally marks
the order of seniority; and dyo chaye (lit., God’s share), the morsel set aside for the
Gods before one begins to eat.
Previous
Research on Newari Food Culture
Newari food culture is a subject relatively new to
anthropology. Toffin describes the food culture and
customs related to food in a chapter in his monograph on the material life of
the Jyapu village Pyangau.[19] He has also written an article on the “Si ka bhoye.” There are also scattered references to food in many
works dealing with the Newars. So far, I have
encountered four works which are devoted solely to Newari
food culture: one is written by the Frenchman Toffin,
the other three by Newars. Below I will briefly
recapitulate and discuss the main findings presented in these works, including Toffin’s monograph on Pyangau and
statements with theoretical import made by other authors.
In the
monograph on Pyangau Toffin
takes a descriptive approach.[20] He points out the importance of the
boiled rice, ja which
“...occupies a privilege place in every day meals. Among all culinary
preparations, it is the noblest, the one which gives most prestige. Next to it,
the other dishes have a secondary place.”(1977:9) I agree with Toffin that ja
is important and occupies a special place ritually and socially. However, it is
debatable if it is “the noblest, the one which gives most prestige.” I find it
hard to understand what is meant with prestige and nobility in this context; in
my experience prestige foods are special meat preparations, as, for example,
the jellied meat dishes takha, sanyakhuna, and gorma.
The list could also be extended to certain varieties of fried or roasted meats.
These are the foods which are crucial to a feast. Providing them well-prepared
and in large quantities does give prestige. Furthermore, Toffin
has constructed two tables which illustrate different types of meals and the
social patterns attached to them.
In the
first table on “etiquette” and “aliments,” Toffin
shows the following: the daily morning and evening meals are eaten in the
kitchen, the main food item is boiled rice, water is drunk with the meal,
people are silent while eating, and the men eat before the women. At the daily
The second
table presented by Toffin refers to the daily main
food (the rice meals), the snack-like meal in the fields, and the ceremonial
meals. The three categories of meals are related to two sets of descriptive variables,
one concerning the contents, the other, the etiquette. Here, one learns that in
Pyangau the daily meals consist of boiled rice, are
mainly vegetarian, contain seasonal vegetables, are served with water, are
frugal, and contain boiled and fried food items. The daily meals are eaten in
the houses on workdays, are characterized by economization, and are participated in only by the household members (“famillie restreinte”). They are
closed to other castes, men eat before the women, and silence is observed. The
meals in the fields have flattened rice as their basis, are vegetarian, contain
seasonal vegetables, are generous, and contain fermented and dried food items.
They take place outdoors on work days and are economical, a larger group of
relatives (“famille élarge”)
and friends may participate, they are open to other castes, men and women eat
together, and there is conversation and laughter. The ceremonial meals are
based on flattened rice, are non-vegetarian, contain the same (prescribed)
vegetables, are eaten with beer, are abundant, and contain roasted and stewed
food items. The ceremonial meal takes place indoors or outdoors on holidays and
demands gross expenditure and prodigality. A large group of relatives
participates, as do friends and guthyars. It
is open to other castes with certain limitations, men and women eat together,
and there is conversation and laughter.[22] These conclusions again corroborate my own observations.
In the
article Le si ka bhey ‘festin de la tête’ chez les newar, (1976) Toffin
describes and analyzes the significance of the si
rite in which an animal is sacrificed, divided, and consumed according to a
prescribed pattern. In Toffin’s account a goat is
sacrificed and its head is divided into eight parts which are eaten by the
lineage’s elders (thakalis). In his
interpretation Toffin points out how the si rite distinguishes the junior from the senior.
The former are dependent upon the latter for the performance of necessary
rituals. Here, Toffin links the interpretation to the
argument of Hubert and Mauss in the Essai sur la nature et la fonction du sacrifice (1899):
On y retrouve le même schéma général dans le déroulement de la cérémonie: des rites d’entrée visant a faire passer les sacrificiants
du monde profane au monde sacré, la préparation de l’aire sacrificielle, le choix et la décoration de la victime, consécration des instruments, l’immolation,
al cuisson des aliments sur
le feu sacrificiel, la répartition des parts, le banquet communiel,
phase extrèmement importante
du sacrifice, puique c’est à ce
moment précis que le monde
des hommes et celui des dieux son confondus. Les huit personnes qui cherchent, en mangeant la tête de l’animal, à acquérir des forces nouvelles, son a bien des égards des dieux eux-memes et sont traités en tant que tels.(Toffin 1976:337)
Furthermore,
Toffin sees a connection to the myth of Purusa in the Rig Veda, where the four varnas were created from the body of the mythical,
primordial man, Purusa. The head became the
Brahman, the arms the Khatrya, the hips the Vaisya, and the feet the Sudra,
all of which symbolizes the ideal (high caste) socio-political order of Hindu
society. According to this model the Brahmans do the thinking and the talking,
the Khatrya the fighting, the Vaysya
are lustful, and the Sudra less “clean,” serving the
upper varnas. Vaguely analogously, the goat
head is consumed by the elders of the lineage and the body by the juniors and
the women, thus marking the prescribed functions of the different social
categories,[23] i.e., that the elders are in
command of society.
One of the
three works by Newars, which I referred to, is R. Pradhan’s (1979) Some Aspects on Food and Ritual in
which he deals with the food culture of the high caste Hindu Newars.[24] Pradhan
is therein theoretically bold. However, I will not discuss his theories here as
his paper is said to be forthcoming in a largely revised form, which may be
rather different from the paper to which I have had access. Instead, I will
recapitulate his major empirical finding, namely, that certain vegetarian foods
are related to marginality. Certain foods are eaten at childbirth (macabu), at girls’ pre-menstrual rites (Baratayegu), and during the first period of mourning
by the closest mourners. He also argues that there are essentially two types of
marginality, one auspicious and one inauspicious. The former is associated with
marriages and other events which can be regarded as socially positive. Here he
analytically opposes the amkara foods
to non-amkara, which he refers to as non-ame, as he has not been able to find a Newari term. In this category he places pancamrita,[25] dhau, and
the prescribed absence of salt in food on certain occasions. It is argued that amkara foods are eaten on pure and auspicious
occasions:
There is
a very interesting switching of oppositions of the ritual state of the
participants and the food system. [The] [o]pposition
of ame:non-ame
inversely relate[s] to purity and auspicious[ness:] e.g., marriage, the most
auspicious and pure rite where ame food is
allowed and prescribed and death, the most inauspicious and impure where ame food is tabooed.(Emphasis mine. Pradhan 1979:13)
Thus
he is able to construct a four field matrix:
|
Auspicious |
|||
|
Pure |
Marriage: Salt, ame betel
nuts
|
Childbirth: no ame for ten, no salt
one day, betel nuts given. |
Impure |
|
Annual Sraddha: no ame day before sraddha |
Death: no salt, no ame |
||
|
Inauspicious |
|||
Pradhan’s
paper also contains some interesting data on high caste Hindu Newars which I will use in my analysis. Here, it may be
added that the choyala bhu,
too, seems to be related to auspicious occasions and marks the border between
everyday life and periods of sustained feasting and performance of rituals. Choyala bhu, which
contains roasted buffalo meat and beer and spirits should then be placed among
the “ame” food in the upper left field, i.e.,
as marking a pure and auspicious occasion.
A second work by a Newar on Newari food culture is Ratna Kaji Vajracharya’s Jigu Sanskrit Ya bwo-ghasa (Items of our food culture) (N.S.1102).[26] Vajracharya is mainly dealing with a particular kind of food items known as ghasa, which are ceremonially displayed at various, generally festive occasions before the proper feast meal starts. There are many variants of ghasas: nyataghasa (five ghasa), cyataghasa (eight ghasa), cimitaghasa (twelve ghasa). Vajracharya’s main contribution, in my opinion, is that he describes how different sets of ghasa represent and honour different sets of deities.[27] For instance, a particular set of nyataghasa may represent the Pancabuddha (The five Buddhas) or the Pancapandava (The five Pandava brothers), whereas another set of nyataghasa represents five Hindu deities. Thus:[28]
Nyataghasa (First set)
|
|
Ghasa: |
Buddhist Deity |
Hindu Deity |
|
1 |
Palu (ginger) |
Vairocana |
Bhimsen |
|
2 |
Musya (soy bean) |
Aksobhya |
Arjun |
|
3 |
Wo (pulse cake) |
Ratnasambhawa |
Nahakula |
|
4 |
Khayapi (pumpkin) |
Amitabha |
Sahadev |
|
5 |
Waunca (vegetable) |
Amoghsiddhi |
Yudhisthir |
Nyataghasa (Second set)
|
|
Ghasa: |
Hindu Deity |
|
1 |
Palu (ginger) |
Mahadev |
|
2 |
Naye (fish) |
Vishnu |
|
3 |
Khe (egg) |
Brahma |
|
4 |
Hinla (raw meat mixed with blood) |
Singhini |
|
5 |
Panla (raw meat mixed with amaling,
a sour fruit) |
Byanghini |
Vajracharya
also points out the variation in the ghasa
encountered among different castes and in different toles
(localities). Here, it should be noted that the upper Buddhistic
castes have many different varieties of ghasa
and, that the lower one goes down the hierarchy of castes, the fewer ghasa are set. In referring to Vajracharya,
Sakya, and Uray, he
enumerates ten different sets of ghasa, the
simplest containing only five food items, the most complex eighty-four,[29] whereas the Ghatu have only two sets of ghasa of eight or twenty-four items, respectively.[30] Certain ghasa are not strictly tied to
any rite but may be set at different occasions. Others are used only in certain
rites, e.g., the upper Buddhistic castes have
particular ghasa for choyalabhu,
kaulabhu, kumaribhu,
wedding ceremonies, purification, and after childbirth. Vajracharya
makes no attempt to provide sociological explanations. He is rather inclined
towards explaining and justifying the ghasa in
terms of dietary rationality. In this vein he writes:
Our
forefathers have used the ghasas which have the
necessary elements for our body. And they have used them according to the cold
and the hot season. On this subject the shastra has
said as follows: ‘To have strength to be healthy, to have long life ... all
depends upon fire, grain and water. If people take food cautiously on time, and
with balance, they will be healthy and live 36.000 nights. [Idiomatically one
hundred years] .... Those who consume a balanced diet,
their lives become longer: those who do not take a balanced diet become ill.’[31] According to the wisdom above the displaying of ghasas
and eating them had been composed two thousand years
back. Since that time, the displaying of ghasas had
been practiced. So our food was scientific since that time.(N.S.1102:5)
Vajracharya also argues that ghasas
are beneficial in terms of vitamins, etc.[32] Indeed, this may be true, though it can also be understood as an attempt
to rationalize the ancient Newari cultural heritage
in order to give it purpose and legitimacy in modern Newari
society. An interpretation analogous to Ortner’s[33] concerning the use of torma among the Sherpa would imply that the ghasa
are set to embody the Gods, to incarnate and bring them closer, and to make
them accessible to the worshippers. However, there is little data to support
such a hypothesis. An alternative interpretation, which has support in R.K.Vajracharya’s work, is that the setting of ghasa is a replication of the pantheon, which is
thought to move the world with food materials. Foods are labelled as Gods in
the same manner as a Nuer may call a cucumber an ox
and sacrifice it as being an ox, although it is perfectly clear to all
concerned that the “ox” is really a cucumber.[34] Here, it is noteworthy that the food items per se do not always
represent the same deities. Ginger may represent Vairocana
or Bhimasen or Mahadev in
different ghasa (See above). The knowledge of
the traditional meanings of the ghasa seems to
be limited to a few Vajracharyas and other high caste
persons. Most persons I asked about the significance of the ghasa
said it is set “for God” or that they did not know. Nevertheless, the ghasa is regarded as indispensable in certain
feasts, somewhat similar to the way that the Christmas tree is an indispensable
part of Christmas for many northern Europeans, where few would attribute any
particular significance to the Christmas tree except as a symbol representing
Christmas.
A third
work dealing with Newari culture is by C. Vajracharya Nasa,
twansa wa ritithinta jigu jatoya vibhajan (N.S.1102).[35] This work is a M.A. paper, published in Newari,
and deals with food, drinks, and caste division in Newari
society. It puts forth some interesting data, which are presented later in
Chapter IV. Basically, the article is a descriptive account of which foods are
subject to restrictions in terms of caste, with special reference to the
Buddhists. It also describes how pollution extends beyond food to household
utensils, and how rules concerning from whom one may not accept boiled rice may
be circumvented by the addition of ghyö (clarified
butter). It is also characterized by an egalitarian undertone: Vajracharya is ideologically opposed to the caste system as
it divides Newari society, although she also states
that the traditional sentiments are strong and that it is difficult for the
high castes to overcome their feelings of repulsion towards close contacts with
lower castes. Apart from the ethical and moral objections one may raise against
caste systems, the egalitarianism also reflects a new attitude brought about by
the influx of non-Newars to the valley. The
increasing population pressure and competition (for scarce resources, jobs,
market shares, and education) in the valley have had the result that many Newars wish to rule out the old divisions in Newari society. Gopal Sing Nepali
(1956) has offered a classification of the Newars
related to ritual and food. Here he has written:
From the
ritual point of view, as regards food, we can distinguish three groups. The
larger group or the smoking group the members of which can smoke from the same hookha [water pipe]; the inner group or the feast
groups the members of which can eat together at a feast in which a special kind
of meat dish, Thalthale is served; and finally
the innermost group or the rice-group, the members of which, can eat boiled
rice touched by each other and can also enter the kitchen. This group consists
only of relatives. (Nepali 1965:149)
This
paragraph deserves some comment. Firstly, tobacco is hardly a food. However,
Nepali’s statement makes sense if one adds that the verb for smoking in Nepali
is khannu, the same as for eating, and in Newari smoking is twune,
the same as for drinking. Indeed, there is an outer category of people and
foods, e.g., at restaurants. Here one will generally eat only flattened rice,
beans, potatoes, and possibly fried meat. However, one will not smoke the hookha with any of these people, at least not
sharing the same mouthpiece, unless one belongs to the same caste. Those with
whom one smokes the hookha are generally of
the same caste, or higher, although in the latter case, the high caste person
may decline to share the mouthpiece. The second category in Nepali’s
classification, I find even more strange. I have never
encountered any dish called “thalthale,” nor
could I find any Newar who had. Possibly, Nepali has
misunderstood the word takha, which stands for
a special kind of meat-jelly (See appendix I). Takha
is indeed subject to caste rules (see chapter IV). Lastly, the group one eats
rice with is larger than the circle of relatives, though it is correct that
boiled rice is primarily eaten with one’s own relatives. Non-family members do
enter the kitchens, although access to the kitchens is indeed restricted to a
few who are generally relatives or very close friends. Whether or not close friends
are allowed into the kitchen may be a matter of caste. If the hierarchical
distance is great, it is highly likely that the lower caste person may not be
invited into the higher caste kitchen.
Nepali also
accounts for a somewhat sensational food habit:
...the
consumption of an organism produced by the rotting of meat. I did not, however,
come across a single individual eating such a thing. But the consensus of
opinion among the Newars themselves asserts that it
still forms a favourite dish of the Jyapoos in the Patan area. Some of the high caste
Buddhist Newars are also reported to relish
it. It is prepared in the following manner: Raw meat is stuffed into half a
foot-long bamboo tube, which is closed tightly at its both ends. It is allowed
to rot till the flesh is transformed into maggots. These organisms begin to eat
one another and finally become a single organism of the size the volume of the
tube. It is boiled in water and cut to pieces.(Nepali:1965)
Just
as Nepali, I could not find a single person who had eaten this food item, and
only a few who had heard of it, and then, in an utterly vague manner. I also
particularly asked Buddhists (Uray) in
Rosser
(1966) has discussed the significance of the boiled rice in the relationships
between the Uray merchants and their Vajracharya priests and accounted for a conflict which
occurred when the latter refused to accept boiled rice from their Uray clients, although the Vajracharya
had traditionally accepted rice from the Uray.
Rosser’s work points to the great significance of the boiled rice as a status
marker, and the importance attached to with whom one does or does not eat
boiled rice. The article concludes with a discussion of caste politics in terms
of caste status and the means used to assert one’s aspirations. The Uray began to boycott the Vajracharya
priests who refused to take rice from them. The Vajracharya
priests tried to maintain their cohesion through a caste council (the Acharya guthi),
much like a trade union, but failed to attain their objectives due to the
economic strength of the Uray, who succeeded in
boycotting the services of the Vajracharya. As many
of the Vajracharya were economically dependent on the
Uray, the result was that the Vajracharya
became temporarily divided into two groups: one which wanted to accept boiled
rice from the Uray and one which did not.[37] Rosser’s work indicates that the custom of refusing boiled rice from
lower castes, at least in the Vajracharyas’ case, may
be a rather recent phenomenon in Newari society, an
emulation of high caste Parbatya Brahman behaviour
stimulated by the Rana regime’s ardent support of
orthodox Brahmanism.
Particular
attention has also been paid to the mutual obligations, which are occasionally
ruinous, of giving feasts for relatives and fellow-guthyars.
Oldfield commented that “...fulfilment of this duty
is often a very heavy tax upon a poor man; but it is not optional with him to
comply with it, as, were he to neglect it, he would be disowned by the rest of
his own class and would thus practically be outcasted.”(1880
vol. II 154) Fürer-Haimendorf has also noted that
these feasts cause
...the donor a considerable financial strain. Indeed it is said that the
inability to fulfil the numerous social obligations of this type has forced
many Newars to emigrate from the Valley and settle in
distant villages. A recent enquiry into the economic position of the Newars of Kathmandu made by a Newar
organization has revealed that some Newar families
spend on the entertainment of guests about ten times the amount normally spent
on the food consumed by the members of their household. If this figure is even
approximately correct it suggests the prevalence of a system of reciprocal
rights to hospitality which amounts to a pooling and common consumption of food
resources by social units comprising very large numbers of primary families.(1956:31)
Today,
there is less of this type of mutual feasting. There are still many occasions,
particularly in connection with life cycle rites and the last rites, when a
great many persons are invited and feasted, but it does not go on continuously
as described by Fürer-Haimendorf. Here, internal
reform seems to have played a part, on which I unfortunately have not been able
to obtain information. In Sunakothi I collected data
on participation in feasts, and I found that people do go to many feasts and
also give feasts quite often. However, the numbers are restricted to a few a year, and hence one cannot really call it “a pooling and
common consumption of food resources.” However, the ritually prescribed
feasting is probably nutritionally significant at the household level, as a
great many feasts are observed in which participation is restricted to the
household members. The restriction to household members is not necessarily
ritually imperative but merely due to the fact that the other households are
also celebrating the same feast.
In the
concluding remarks in his monograph on the Newars,
Nepali has noted the integrative function of the mutual feasting: “Complete
integration of the members of the community is sought through a large net-work
of feast-dominated institutions, which are not found among the other ethnic
groups of
The
entire net-work of social relations in the Newar
community is kept strong through the feasts and festivals under the auspices of
the various guthis. These feasts and festivals
are numerous. They are not so much religious as are [sic] social. It is through
the participation in these feasts that a Newar
individual enjoys the protection of the society. Solidarity is sought to be
maintained through the feasts and festivals on four different levels — family, patrilineal grouping, caste and community. On the other
hand, the feasts and festivals not only effect the integration of the different
living individuals but also act as a bridge between the living and the dead. In
the Newar social organisation, the living and the
dead both go to make the social group.(1965:420-21)
I
agree with Nepali’s main argument here, although I would like to add that
participation in many of the guthi feasts is
often restricted to one man from each household, usually the eldest. It is also
debatable if being social, in Newari society, with
its emphasis on social cohesiveness and religion, is not tantamount to being
religious. Here, it seems that Nepali has taken a Durkheimian
stand and elected to draw a sharp line between the sacred and the profane.[38]
[1] The literal meaning of
these terms are as follows: Ghyöcaku sanlu, 1st (of the solar month) of ghee and molasses; Yomari punhi, the
full moon of fig breads; Sakimila punhi, the full moon of sake seeds; Ukhu care, the 14th of the dark half when
sugar cane is offered to the Gods, lit., ukhu
= sugarcane, care = the 14th of the dark half of any lunar month; Sanya duling, the
12th of the lunar month dedicated to eating fermented fish; Lai care,
the 14th of the dark half of the lunar month dedicated to radish; Duru cya cya, the yatra of
babies weeping for yatra milk; Mala ja nakégu, to make maidens eat boiled rice; Bya ja nakégu, to make frogs eat boiled rice.
[2] This classification is
both etic and emic.
[3] There are some
exceptions here. In some areas people eat dhiro
(maize porridge) as a staple instead of rice. Indeed, among the Newar farmers the poorest eat dhiro
daily when they are short of rice. However, one prefers to eat rice, and some
will even feel embarrassed to admit that they eat dhiro.
Furthermore, the Tibetan-speaking people who live near the northern border have
tsampa (roasted barley) and alu (potato) as staples.
[4] See Das
1982:95 on the complexities of the symbolism of right and left in Hindu
culture.
[5] Here, my observations
are that the Newars are similar to the Rajputs, as described by Carstairs
1970:77-88, as far as the body image is concerned. The Newars
also regard faeces and all other secretions from the body as polluting. Feet
are also polluting, and the head is regarded as sacred and is covered in strong
sunshine. However, Newars seem to be less preoccupied
with these conceptions than the Rajputs. For
instance, women are allowed to cook, both among the Uray
and the Jyapu, while menstruating, although they are
not allowed to worship either the domestic Gods or the public Gods.
[6] The Scandinavian way of
eating sandwiches is quite abhorrent to Newars, to
whom it seems as if the eater pushes the whole bread into the face while
eating, thus polluting the whole sandwich instantly.
[7] A similar custom exists
among Tibetans, who give the offering to Mkhon-chog. Personal communication with Dr.Claes Corlin.
[8] There are also other
seating orders: e.g., in the sacred grove by the Bajravarai
temple in the southern part of the valley, I saw a guthi
sitting in a pattern which had an unmistakable resemblance to labia majora. However, as soon as I approached I was asked to
leave and to refrain from taking photographs. All I could ascertain through my Newari companion was that it was a guthi
from Thecu having a bhoye
to which no outsiders were welcome.
[9] Harper has pointed out
the ambiguity which sometimes occurs when one places a guest in a different
line; it may be taken to imply either that the guest is of higher or lower rank.(1964:157)
[10] Prasad is food that has
first been offered to a deity before it is eaten.
[11] Pradhan
1979:16.
[12] Khe sagan is generally
served at, for instance, Macabu benke (purification after child birth), Kyeta puja (boys
initiation), marriages, and Jyajanko
ceremonies for the old.
[13] Not all Tantric deities crave blood sacrifice. Often the deities
have both malevolent and benevolent forms: the benevolent forms of Siva are the
vegetarians Mahadev, Siva and Pashupati,
whereas the malevolent are known as Bhairavas. The
latter crave blood sacrifice.
[14] The sacrificial methods
are, according to western standards, exceedingly cruel. When I inquired about
how one feels about this, I have been told that it is the Gods who are doing
it, totally dissociating the impersonator from responsibility and guilt.
However, this applies merely to instances where the Gods are impersonated by
possessed persons at festivals. The answers are ambiguous concerning other
sacrifices, such as those for a special purpose or those which are calendrically prescribed. Most people tend to think that
they are necessary, though some people, on the other hand, regard them as a sin
(pap).
[15] There are different
degrees of initiation. Some persons may choose to become initiated only into
the cult of the lineage deity (new., Digudyo or Agamdyo
[16] There are also other
methods. Cocks have their throats cut, and the piglets sacrificed in the Naudurga cult have their hearts torn out by the hands of
possessed members of the Ghatu caste, who represent
the deities. In some cults the warm blood is drunk by such representatives, as,
for example, by Swetta kali in Nardevi
tole and by Kaumari in the Ganadeya phyakhan
in Sunakothi.
[17] Brta is used in
[18] The only exceptions are
households which observe the first twelve days of death pollution.
[19] Toffin 1977.
[20] Pyangau
is situated at the very outskirts of the valley. The Pyangau
Jyapu are regarded by the
main body of Jyapus as a separate group, and one has
little contact with them. Pyangau is an endogamous
village (at least ideally) (Toffin 1978b:468),
whereas Sunakothi, where I worked, is closer to the
mainstream of Jyapu culture. For instance, women from
Sunakothi often marry into other villages, and in Sunakothi there are women who have their parental
households in Thecu, Khokana,
Bode, Harisidhi, and Patan.
[21] Toffin
1977:122.
[22] Toffin
1977:135.
[23] Toffin
1976:337-38.
[24] Rajendra
Pradhan is in a Ph.D. program at the
[25] Pancamrita is a sacred substance used for purificatory purposes. It has five components derived from
the cow.
[26] Ratna
Kaji is a Vajracharya
(Buddhist priest) by caste and profession. He is also known as a Newari writer and a teacher of Tantric
dances. I am grateful to Siddhartha Man Tuladhar who
has translated R.K.Varjacharya’s work from Newari and Sanskrit to English on my behalf.
[27] However, this is rather
esoteric knowledge mainly held by the priests. Generally, people do not know
what the ghasa represent, and if asked, will
say that they are necessary, connected, or devoted to the deities. Occasionally
they will even say that the ghasa represents
“blind culture,” i.e., rituals performed without the participants having any
knowledge of the meanings that may once have lain in the rituals.
[28] Vajracharya
R.K., N.S.1102:3.
[29] Vajracharya
R.K., N.S.1102:18-24.