The Religious World of guthis: Three facets of Newār civilization, Nepal

Abstract

Despite the impact of Hinduism and Tantric Buddhism, the religion of Jyāpu ‘farmers’ of the Newār ethnic group still presents features that do not fit in with these two ‘high religions’. This paper is devoted to this indigenous cultural heritage and deals specifically with religious aspects linked to the Jyāpu guthi (association, religious group) organisation. It first of all explores rites and beliefs associated with dance and music. The cult of the aniconic deity Nāsaḥdyaḥ, central to these questions, is analysed. Second, sīkābhvāy, the banquet during which the head of a sacrificial animal is offered to a specific deity and eaten by the eight seniormost men within the group is studied. This religious feast, imbued with hierarchy, male dominance over women, secrecy, prominence of senior people, thakāli, animal sacrifice and meat eating, echoes other indigenous religions of Southeast Asia. Third, death and cremation associations, si guthi and sanāḥ guthi, both key social units of the village organisation, are scrutinised. In Jyāpu villages, these death cult groups are closely associated with territorial bonds and with the symbolic protection of localities – a feature that figures to a greater degree in the indigenous tribal universe than in the Hindu world. Finally, I show how the two concepts of Indianisation and vernacularisation throw light on this ethnographic material and may explain some developments of religious faiths and beliefs in the Kathmandu Valley and in the Himalayas.