People who never have widows

Abstract

The research article is focused on the peculiarities of the ethnocultural identity of the Newars.This is one of the many Nepalese peoples that is practically not studied in Russian oriental studies.Newars are considered the descendants of the ancient population of the Kathmandu valley,but it is not known for certain whether their ancestors were indigenous here or came to the valley from other places. Currently, the number of Newars is about 1.5 million people, this is the 6th population of the people of Nepal. They live mainly in the cities of the Kathmandu Valley.The Newars have long been famous as the creators of a rich and original culture. Their pronounced eth-nocultural identity has deep historical roots, and among its distinctive features there are many unique ones.The Newar religion is a synthe-sis of Hinduism and Buddhism, while many of its features are enshrined in a strictly ranked caste society. The caste system originally associated with Hinduism extends among the Newars and Buddhism, although initially it was incompatible with it. A distinctive feature of the social life of the Newars is the guthi, social and religious formations that regulate and control the social and ritual life of the people and help them maintain internal unity.Unique features are also preserved in ritual practices, for example, in the ihi wedding ceremony, during which girls are symbolically married to the deities Vishnu-Narayana and Surya.When a girl later marries in the usual way and her husband dies for whatever reason, she does not become a widow.The cult of the living goddess Kumari is also unique.