Search

The failure of globalist pushes towards ‘modernization’ through the transfer of Western practices in public administration (PA) and governance using aid-driven means has led to accepting that there is no one single best practice in PA for the world. Yet, the pressures from globalization and the all-pervasiveness of digital technologies continued to influence policies in the Global South. Nepal was from the late 1900s to the early 2000s transitioning to ‘modernity’ through policy reforms, poli...

The Buddhism of the Nepal Valley, typically labeled “Newar” Buddhism, is largely overlooked in the overall study of Buddhism. When it does receive mention by a non-specialist, it is invoked as a relic, a kind of fossil of late “Indian” Buddhism. This dissertation argues that the Buddhism of the Nepal Valley is characterized by its ability to adapt to change, often in the form of external pressure, and cannot be uncritically identified with late Indian Buddhism. This argument is made by examining those Nepalese Buddhists that adapted, or failed to adapt, to wider social changes in two periods—the 13th century and the present day. It is shown that the practices and exegetical tradition of those who displayed resilience to the shifting religious landscape of 13th-century Nepal survived up to the present day. Nepalese Buddhists that were unwilling to adapt, instead favoring stubborn conservatism, were swiftly forgotten, their positions unimpactful. In the present day a reinvigoration of the Newar Buddhist tradition is underway. Those Newar Buddhists that display the most flexible positions have experienced increased success, while those attempting to preserve a staid, conservative tradition, are experiencing decreasing patronage and influence. In a way that mirrors the 13th century, those Newar Buddhist who recognize that changes must be adapted to, and resilience must be displayed, are seeing their respective influences grown, and witnessing a reinvigoration of their tradition as a direct result of their willingness to widen the parameters regarding who may participate in the tradition. Far from the ossified relic often presented in broad Buddhist Studies scholarship, the success of the Buddhist tradition in the Nepal Valley is due to its resilience in the face of pressure, and reinvigoration when it manages to adapt to those pressures accordingly.

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.

La plupart des panthéons asiatiques comportent une dimension verticale essentielle. L’Inde, qui a toujours manifesté un penchant pour les systèmes de classification les plus sophistiqués, n’échappe pas à cette règle. Basé sur les textes les plus anciens du sous-continent, le védisme distingue ainsi trois mondes superposés : la terre, bhūh, l’atmosphère ou espace intermédiaire, bhuvah ou antarikṣa, domaine des vents et des souffles, et le ciel, svah. À chacun d’eux est attaché un certain nombr...

Les représentations associées à la royauté Malla sont donc inséparables d’un fonds religieux polythéiste. Trois divinités à forte composante royale ont été identifiées : Viṣṇu, dieu souverain, régent du cosmos, figure prototypique du roi, dont ce dernier n’est que l’avatāra sur terre ; Paśupati, maîtres des ascètes (... et du Népal), qui fournit à la figure royale une légitimation transcendantale ; et Taleju, déesse tantrique secrète, véritable reine de la cité par l’entremise de laquelle le ...

La théorie des trois fonctions indo-européennes s’applique-t-elle au monde hindou post-védique ? Georges Dumézil le pensait qui s’est employé à identifier des traces de cet ancien héritage commun aux peuples indo-européens dans certains textes et institutions du brahmanisme classique : le système quadripartite des « ordres » varna, la classification des différents types de mariage dans les traités de droit, la série des cinq héros Pāndava de l’épopée du Mahābhārata, etc. Daniel Dubuisson, un ...

Il existe, en Inde comme au Népal, une relation étroite entre le monde des dieux et celui des hommes. Gonda (1976, ch. I) a tenté par exemple de montrer comment, par ses liens avec Agni – le feu du sacrifice –, le dieu śiva se situe du côté des prêtres Brahmanes et du renoncement, alors que Visnu, qui est proche d’Indra et qui soutient le monde, appartient davantage aux Kṣatriya, représentants de l’imperium et de la royauté. De même, les travaux de Dumézil (1968) ont démontré que les principa...

Sculpture du roi Yoganarendra Malla (1693), en posture d’adoration devant le temple de sa divinité lignagère, Taleju (palais royal, Patan). Le souverain est protégé par le capuchon d’un dieu-serpent Nāga déployé au-dessus de sa tête. Le pilier, en forme de fleur de lotus, et la statue furent érigés du vivant de Yoganarendra Malla. Deux autres membres de la famille royale sont également représentés aux côtés du roi. Ce livre traite des relations entre la royauté et le surnaturel. Il y...

Histoire ou anthropologie des royaumes Malla ? Les conclusions auxquelles nous sommes parvenus prennent largement appui sur une lecture des chroniques, vaṃśāvali, locales. Il y a quelque intérêt, je pense, arrivé à ce point de l’analyse, à considérer de plus près ces documents captivants car, s’ils fournissent une masse de renseignements inestimables sur l’anthropologie du monde népalais médiéval, les historiens les jugent avec une certaine circonspection. Comment faut-il comprendre cette hés...

Les recherches récentes sur la royauté en Inde remettent sérieusement en question la séparation entre pouvoir spirituel et pouvoir politique, brahman et kṣatra, généralement tenue pour une marque distinctive de la société indienne. Le roi hindou n’est pas seulement un être laïque, un spécialiste du politique, un guerrier qui, du fait de ses fonctions et de ses violences sur le champ de bataille, serait incapable d’atteindre les valeurs les plus hautes, réservées aux seuls prêtres Brahmanes. I...

Il a plus d’une fois été question de la déesse vivante Kumārī dans cet ouvrage. Divinité souveraine, expression plénière de la royauté, pythie des hommes politiques, la Kumārī est un dieu-carrefour pour notre étude. En elle convergent la plupart des idées religieuses qui soutiennent la souveraineté néwar. Que savons-nous déjà de source sûre ? Que la Kumārī est une incarnation de Taleju, emblème tutélaire des rois Malla ; qu’elle vit près de l’ancien palais royal (du moins à Kathmandou) ; qu’e...

Parmi les critères retenus par chaque civilisation pour classer les dieux, le registre spatial est sans doute un de ceux qui reviennent le plus souvent. Les puissances divines, surtout dans les systèmes polythéistes, ne sont jamais réparties de manière indifférente sur un territoire : qu’elles soient reléguées au ciel ou tapies dans les entrailles de la terre, elles sont inévitablement localisées et inscrites dans une géographie conçue par l’homme. Certes, pour beaucoup de religions, les dieu...

« Je cherche l’or du temps » André Breton, Point du jour. Les rapports entre systèmes de représentations symboliques et villes ont été ces dernières années à l’origine d’une réflexion souvent riche et stimulante parmi divers spécialistes des sciences humaines : historiens, anthropologues, sémiologues, sociologues, etc. Les ensembles urbains ne peuvent plus être considérés aujourd’hui comme de simples assemblages de constructions plus ou moins fonctionnelles. La ville est autant une chose ment...

Kathmandu Newar (Sino-Tibetan) has an egophoric verb marking system: an egophoric (or conjunct) verb form co-occurs with first person in declaratives and second person in inter- rogatives. Egophoric marking is restricted to predicates of intentional action and also interacts with evidential markers. This paper examines the distribution of egophoric marking in reports of speech and attitudes, extending to this domain the analysis of egophoric marking as indicating self-ascription by the epistemic authority for the utterance. This distribution reveals that egophoric marking of a clause further introduces an implication that the epistemic authority believes the proposition denoted by the clause.

Among the Newars, the indigenous inhabitants of Kathmandu valley, rites of passage are a central part of society. Through this thesis I will explore the differences between youth and adults in the interpretation of rites of passages preformed among the Newars. The following exploration will draw on The exploration will follow Turners methods of interpretation, including emphasis on local exegesis, and the role of social position in interpretation of ritual. The unique feature of Newar society is the complexity of the co-existence between Buddhism and Hinduism. According to local exegesis there is no clear divide between the two religions, which is reflected in Newar social organization and through rites of passages. In this thesis three rites of passages will be described in detail, including comments and interpretations from adult participants. These display some of the flexibility between the two religions and establishes the foundation from where the differences between youth and adults in the interpretation of the rites of passages will be discussed. In particular, I examine the different ways in which youth and adult relate to the rules at play in the various rituals, as well as their articulation of the ritual purposes. In addition, I discuss generational differences in interpreting the rituals in relation to features of social organization, such as impurity (jhuto), social and ritual society (guthi), caste and seniority. This thesis is based on research conducted through eight months in Kathmandu valley from December 2016 to August 2017. The fieldwork developed into two distinct phases. In the first half I was able to participate in various rites of passages and learn about Newar way of life while living with a Newar host family. The second phase involved closer contact with youth after relocating to a house where youth frequently spent time. A focus on the difference of meaning among the actors, and the identification of the different interpretations between youth and adults was an added value of using van Gennep and Turner to analyze the material.

Nepal Bhasa is a rich and highly developed language with a vast literature in both ancient and modern times. It is the language of Newar, mostly local inhabitant of Kathmandu. The once administrative language has been replaced by Nepali (Khas) language and has a limited area where it can be used. The language has faced almost 100 years of suppression and now is listed in the definitely endangered language list of UNESCO. Various revitalization programs have been brought up, but with limited success. This main goal of this thesis on Nepal Bhasa is to find the actual reason behind the fall of this language and hesitation of the people who know Nepal Bhasa to use it. Simultaneously, it tries to find the ways to revitalize the language. To find the main reason for the weakening of this language, I conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews to elicit the view of Newar people on this topic. A survey was conducted with the same purpose. With the help of my primary and secondary data I prove that due to the Linguistic hegemony of Nepali language, supported by Nepal’s government, the area of Nepal Bhasa is curtailed hence leading it to the verge of extinction. The study also reveals how the government maintains the hegemony of Nepali language through its biased policy. At the end I present ways to revitalization as per the view of informants.

In 1769, the Shah dynasty from Western Nepal, promoting Hinduism and speaking Nepali, had conquered the Kathmandu Valley and integrated it into a much wider Nepal. As a consequence, the language, as well as the Buddhist tradition of the local indigenous ethnic group, the Newars, became minority ones. A century later, the State launched a repressive policy towards both Newari language and Buddhism, and the result has been the development of identity awareness, both in the linguistic and in the religious fields, among the Newar intelligentsia, who entered cultural resistance. Therefore, since the beginning, both language and religion have been associated, although activists hardly acknowledge this double-sided feature of their commitments.This study of the current situation of both language and religion vitalities among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley aims primarily at documenting the research on relations between language and religion, and at testing the application of evaluation tools of language vitality to the evaluation of religious vitality. Furthermore, it confirms the necessity we are facing to explore and conceptualize more the links between language and the social dynamics it often sustains but also depends on.; La population autochtone de la vallée de Kathmandu, les Néwar, a vu sa langue, le néwari ou népalbhasa, et l’une de ses religions, le bouddhisme, se trouver minorées par l’annexion militaire de leur territoire au Népal de la dynastie Shah, hindoue et népaliphone, en 1769. Un siècle plus tard, la politique de discrimination de la langue et de la religion bouddhiste lancée par l’Etat à l’encontre des Néwar a provoqué l’émergence d’une conscience identitaire et d’actes de résistance culturelle. Or, depuis ses débuts, la revendication de l’appartenance au groupe linguistique néwar et, souvent, de sa défense, se double chez ses acteurs d’un rattachement personnel à la religion bouddhiste, sans que cette double appartenance soit pour autant mise en avant dans les discours.La mise en regard de la situation actuelle de la vitalité de la langue et de celle du bouddhisme dans cette population vise d’une part à documenter l’étude des relations entre langue et religion, et d’autre part à proposer l’application d’outils d’évaluation de la vitalité linguistique à celle de la vitalité religieuse. C’est également une confirmation de la nécessité qu’il y a à mettre au jour et à conceptualiser les relations entre la langue et les autres dynamismes sociaux dont elle semble être, si souvent, à la fois le vecteur et l’enjeu.

熊本裕先生退職記念号 Festschrift for Professor Hiroshi KUMAMOTO, Articles

Baru Caṇdīdās' Śrīkr˳ṣṇakīrtan (ŚKK), a collection of songs on kr˳ṣṇa, is considered the earliest text in Middle Bengali. For a long time, only manuscript has been available to scholars. Recently, however, a fragment which contains several songs parallel to the ŚKK was discovered in Kathmandu., ボル・チョンディダシュ（Baru Caṇdīdās）作『クリシュナ讃歌』（Śrīkr˳ṣṇakīrtan）は中期ベンガル語最初の作品である。今まで、写本はベンガル地方で一個しか見つかっていなかった。ところが最近になって、ネパール・カトマンドゥでこの作品の写本断片が発見された。本論文では、この写本断片を簡潔に記述し、そこに記載された歌詞のうち、二つを『クリシュナ讃歌』のものと同定した。

Direct speech reporting is a rhetorical strategy used frequently in the production of Dolakha Newar narrative. Direct speech reports are syntactically uniform in constituting center-embedded objects of ditransitive verbs. Prosodically, they show a wide range of behaviors. They may be set off from the surrounding quotative frame by intonation-unit boundaries, variations in pitch or loudness, and/or the production of contours typical of conversational speech. They may also be produced across multiple intonation units and may show patterns of macro-level prosodic structuring indicative of internal prosodic coherence and embedding within higher-level structures. On the other hand, they may exhibit none of these prosodic characteristics and be prosodically integrated with respect to the quotative frame. This variable behavior results from competition among a variety of pressures, including speakers’ performative goals, the syntax of complementation, the rhetorical impact of the quoted speech, performance factors, and inter-speaker variation in style, among others. While statistical analyses might fruitfully be applied to objectively quantifiable factors, a purely statistical model will never fully predict prosodic behavior, due to the meaningful nature of prosody and intangible features of individuals in the production of discourse.

This study explores the relationship of prosodic and syntactic structure in a Dolakhā Newār rendering of a portion of The MahΩbhΩrata. Six intonation types are identified and described. The strongest syntax/prosody correlation is between final intonation and finite verb morphology. Finite clauses may be found with continuing intonation; in these cases the speaker manipulates the syntactic and prosodic levels for functional reasons. Prosodic units combine to form larger structures which we call prosodic sentences. These are defined as prosodic marcro-units optionally containing any number of continuing intonation units and ending with final intonation. Prosodic sentences may be internally complex and exhibit embedding. Boundaries between narrative sentences are produced by the convergence of finality at the syntactic and prosodic levels.

26 p., ISBN : 9782713221873; International audience; Sacred images among the Newar (Nepal) are a series of forms (statues, paintings, etc.) ranging from the figurative to objects in the rough. This article tries to circumscribe the various complex religious conceptions (" ritual logic ") having to do with these images and their ceremonial usages. This system of signs is a " fact of culture " that reveals an apprehension of plastic realities different from ours. In this system, sacred images are always understood in relation to the ways they are presented to be seen. The image does not exist apart from the person looking at it. The contrast, to which art historians are attached, between the " iconic " and " aniconic " is qualified; and emphasis is laid on the points shared by these sacred images. All these images refer to a god's body, and are treated by believers in the same way, namely as the hidden presence of a transcendental power, which, in many regards, cannot be represented.; L'image sacrée chez les Néwar du Népal est représentée par une série de formes qui vont du plus figuratif au plus brut. L'article entend cerner les conceptions religieuses complexes et variées qui l'entourent et les usages cérémoniels sous lesquels ces statues, peintures et autres objets divins se manifestent, autrement dit leur logique rituelle. Il y a là tout un système de signes, un fait de culture qui révèle des modes d'appréhension des réalités plastiques différentes des nôtres. Dans ce système, l'image divine est toujours prise en relation avec la manière dont elle est donnée à voir. Elle n'existe pas indépendamment du spectateur. On cherchera aussi dans ce travail à nuancer l'opposition, chère aux historiens de l'art, entre iconique et aniconique et l'on insistera sur les points communs partagés par ces figures divines. Toutes font référence au corps du dieu et toutes sont traitées de la même manière par le fidèle: comme la présence cachée, irreprésentable à beaucoup d'égards, d'une puissance transcendante.

26 p., ISBN : 9788173047824