GLOSSARY

We list those Newari and Sanskrit terms that are used frequently throughout the book. Although many of these terms have wider historical and contemporary meanings, we gloss them here in the way they are usually used in Bhaktapur and in this book. The other Newari, Nepali, and Sanskrit terms used in the book are defined as they are used, or are made clear by their contexts.

Acaju. An auxiliary priest specializing in Tantric ritual. Their thar name is Karmacarya.

Aga(n) Dya:, or Aga(n) God. One of the two forms of the lineage deity of upper-level thar s. See "Digu Dya:."

Astamatrkas^[*] . The eight "mother goddesses" placed in a protective ring around Bhaktapur.

Asuras. A class of powerful supernatural beings who are the enemies of the gods.

Atma . The soul, the divine element in each individual.

Bhajana . Music played as an act of worship to a deity.

Bhakti . Loving devotion to a particular deity.

Bhe(n)ca . A man's sister's son or daughter. See "Paju ."

Bhuta . A spirit, usually one that is not the ghost of a dead person (see "Preta ").

Bya(n)kegu . A purification procedure.

Ca:re . The fourteenth day of the dark fortnight of a lunar month.

Chathat. A group of thar s originally consisting of the royal family, related families, and the families of high court officials.

Chathariya. A member of one of Chathat thar s (see "Chathat").

Cheli . The bottom story of a house, for many purposes considered to be outside of the house.

Che(n) . House.

Chetrapal . A deified stone acting as the protector of a spatial area.

Chetri. The upper-level, non-Brahmanical, section of Indo-Nepalese society.

Chwasa . A deified stone, usually found at major crossroads, on which certain polluted materials are discarded.

Cipa . Food that has been contaminated by contact with some source of pollution.

Cwata . The third story of a house counting from the ground.

Darsana . An epiphany. The showing of itself by a deity to its worshipers.

Dega :. A temple.

Dekha . Initiation. See "Diksa ."

Devi. The name of the Goddess as the supreme Creator deity.

Dewali. The annual ceremony of worship by a phuki group to its Digu God.

Dharma . Religion, law, proper conduct.

Digu Dya: or Digu God. A form of the lineage deity. See "Aga(n) Dya:."

Diksa . Initiation. See "Dekha ."

Dip. Cremation ground. Sanskrit dipa .

Dya: . A god.

Gather. The thar whose members incarnate the deities of the group of the Nine Durgas.

Ghat^[*] . Steps leading down to the river.

Graha . A heavenly body having an astrological influence.

Guru . A teacher of esoteric knowledge.

Guthi^[*] . A formal association formed for some special purpose.

Ihi . A girl's mock-marriage to Visnu^[*] .

Ijjat . Respectability, public reputation.

Jajaman . A patron.

Jatra . A religious procession.

Jona . The sacred thread worn by upper-status, "twice-born" men.

Josi. An astrologer and assistant priest.

Jugi. One of the lowest thar s, whose members are musicians, tailors, and have various pollution-removing duties.

Jyapu. A farmer.

Kaeta . A ceremonial loincloth presented to boys during the Kaeta Puja rite of passage.

Kalasa . A flask-like vessel used in worship.

Karma . An individual's condition or destiny as affected by that individual's actions in his or her current or previous lives.

Kiga :. Purified uncooked husked rice grain, a basic material used in worship.

Karmacarya. The thar name of Acajus.

Ka:si . An open porch attached to an upper story of a house.

Ksatriya^[*] . The ruling and warrior class.

Laeku. Royal Palace. In Bhaktapur the "Laeku" or "Durbar" Square is the square in front of the Royal Palace and the adjoining Taleju temple.

Laskusa . A welcoming ceremony in which a person or deity is met and conducted into a sacred area.

Linga^[*] . A representation of Siva in an abstract phallic form.

Mahisasuramardini. A representation of the Goddess Devi in the form of the layer of the "King of the Asuras" in his buffalo form.

Mandala^[*] . A circle, often thought to have special power concentrated within it.

Mandalic^[*] Goddesses. The eight Astamatrkas^[*] plus an additional ninth, centrally located, goddess, who as a group protect Bhaktapur's inner space.

Mantra . A sound, word, or phrase having special power.

Masan . Cremation group. See "Dipa ."

Mata(n) . The second story of a house counting from the ground. It is lust above the cheli and is the first interior story of the house.

Matha^[*] . An ornate building used as a shelter and gathering place for Hindu wandering ascetics.

Maya Illusion.

Mela A mass religious gathering, attracting pilgrims from distant places.

Mha . Body or self.

Moksa^[*] Release from the cycle of rebirths. See "Mukti ."

Mukti . Release from the cycle of rebirths. See "Moksa^[*] ."

Murti A material image of a god.

NaeThe thar whose members slaughter and butcher water buffaloes.

Naga A supernatural serpent.

Nagini female naga

Naki(n) . A female leader.

Nau. A thar whose members are barbers and who perform purification procedures.

NauniA female Nau.

Naya : A male leader.

Paju . A person's mother's brother. See "Bhe(n)ca ."

Pa(n)cthar. A high-status group of thar s just below the Chathar group.

Pa(n)cthariya. A member of the Pa(n)cthar group of thar s.

Papa . A violation of the dharma , a sin.

Phuki . A group of patrilineally related households which acts as a ritual, moral, and social unit for many purposes.

Pikha lakhu . A deified stone marking the front symbolic boundary of a house.

Pitha . An open shrine lacking an image of a deity. For Bhaktapur the pitha s are primarily the shrines of the Mandalic^[*] Goddesses.

Po(n). The untouchable thar .

Pradaksinapatha^[*] . A traditional processional route. "The Pradaksinapatha^[*] " refers to Bhaktapur's main, city-wide, processional route.

Prasada . A portion of food, or other materials, which had been offered to a deity and then taken back by a worshiper and eaten, or applied to his or her own body.

Preta . A ghost. A stage in the transformation of a person's spirit after death. See "Bhuta ."

Puja . Worship.

Pujari . A priest acting as an attendant to a deity at a shrine or temple.

Punhi . The full moon. The day of the full moon.

Purana^[*] . A class of Hindu texts, dating from the first millennium A.D. , recounting stories of deities.

Purohita . A family priest.

Pyakha(n) . A dance-drama.

Rajopadhyaya. The family or thar name of Newar Brahmans.

Sadhu . A Hindu ascetic.

Saha. The present dynasty of Nepalese kings.

Sahu . A merchant or shopkeeper.

Sait . The astrologically determined proper time for something to take place.

Sakti . Power. An emanation of god's power conceived as an independent female deity.

Samhae . A mixture of foods, including meat and fish, presented to meat-eating deities.

Samskara . A rite of passage.

Sastra . A treatise specifying proper action in accord with the dharma .

Siddhi . The power to be effective, of a deity or religious procedure.

Sinha(n) . Pigment used in religious ceremonies or for personal decoration.

Sraddha^[*] . A ceremony commemorating deceased ancestors that includes offerings to them.

Swaga(n) . A mixture of curds, rice, pigment, etc., used as a decorative mark for the foreheads of deities and worshipers.

Thar . A clan-like social unit whose members share the same surname.

Tirtha . A place in a body of water where the water has special power.

Twa :. A village-like spatial segment of a Newar town or city.

Twae . A ritually created fictive brother or sister.

Vajracarya. A Newar Vajrayana Buddhist priest.

Vajrayana. A type of Buddhism that is similar to Tantric Hinduism in its pantheon, concepts, and practices.

Vamsavali . A chronicle.

Vihara . A building or group of buildings acting as a center for Newar Buddhist religious and social activities. Derived from ancient Buddhist monastic buildings and activities.

Vrata . An austerity, such as fasting.

Yantra . A complex diagram of mystic significance and power.