STUDIES IN THE HISTORY OF ART «31 Center for Advanced Study in t Visual Arts Symposium Papers XV Urban Form and Meaning in South Asia: The Shaping of Cities from Prehistoric to Precolonial Times See iR S icttt Edited by Howard Spodek and Doris Meth Srinivasan National Gallery of Art, Washington Distributed by the Unversity Press of New England | | Hanover and London 1993NIELS GUTSCHOW Abuteinich/Bhakeaper Bhaktapur: Sacred Patterns of a Living Urban Tradition be origin of the Newars, the inhabitants of Bhaktapur and four other towns as well as, some smaller settlements in the Kath- ‘mandy valley, is still rather obscure, Like~ wise we know little of the background from which their specific urban life-style and clustered architecture deve.oped. The structute of their language points to Tibeto-Burman origin, but sine: they set tled in the Kathmandu valley roughly two millennia ago, the Newar urban culture was very much exposed t0 a strong influ: tence from the south By the end of the first millennium 4.0 three cowns had already develeped im the valley—Bhaktapur, Kathmandu, and Pa- tan—as well as 4 few villages. At times, these towns served as centers of small, in dependent, and, since the fiftzenth een tury, competing kingdoms with lictle hinterland. A specific townseape with pub- lie squares, temples, and shrines in abun- dance and with complex urban situals developed in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. It centered in Bhakuapur under king Bhopatindremalla in che early eigh: teenth century. ‘Although essentially urban in character, more than half of the Newar towns’ popu. lation (in Bhaktapur, 63 percent) is engaged ‘in agriculture, which, since a recent land reform and the introduction of imported fertilizers, yields richer crops, thus leading to a far-reaching restructuring of society. ‘The affluence of the eighteenth century, however, seems to have been based upon trade along the ancient route leading from North india (Patna, ancient Pataliputra) co Tibet (Lhasa) across the fertile valley. Moreover, specialized crafts ike bronze casting, mint privileges, and the produc- tion of oil led to considerable exports. Probably by the sixth century a., Bud ddhism had been widely adopted among the Newars, while che cult of the ruling dy- nasty followed patterns set by she Hindu Kingdoms of the neighboring Gangetic plains, About 250 seventh and eighth-een: tury eaityas, small Buddhist votive build ings, remain today, mainly i the urban centers, as a manifestation of an early ur ban development, Alter the fourteenth cen: tury the valley underwent 2 process of change: oyal decrees promulgated a strati- fication of society as accepted by the neigh: boring kingdom of Mithila, and a gradual Sansktitization set about a steady change ‘of values—a process that continues today. ‘The spatial patcerns of the towns mirror the hierarchic principle of the accepted so cial order: in all towns the royal palace with its important temples dedicated 0 the royal cule marks the “ideal center," the pivot of an order that reflects the cosmos lig. 1). Around this center cluster the dif ferent castes. Near the palace live Brahmin—priests and descendants of the former courtiers [Amatya ministers, Bhan. dari storekeepers) in spacious three-story courtyard houses.’ The Untouchables,‘bite couryard bauer Toe dwelling on the edge in small hats next to the cremation grounds sent an opposite world, They are not, how ver, excluded from rituals. As caretakers (dyabpalah) of important gods and god desses, they play a vital role Since the emergence of a Nepali nation under the currently ruling Saha dynasty that conquered the valley in 1769, the Newar towns have been deprived of their own Kings. Subsequently, che royal cults ceased to be performed. The sword as sym- bol of kingship and power is nevertheless evident in certain rituals, symbolizing the raewly centralized power. Although Henry ‘Ambrose Oldfield, the surgeon of the Brit. {sh mission in Kathmandu, wrote in 185s ‘hat che urban rituals and big festivals were considered less pompous than they used be.) the festivals remain forceful events leven today. Certain parts ofthe rituals may no longer be performed, but the quarrel about the right size and color of che saci cial animal continues as an inevitable ac companiment of any ritual. The fact that the ritual bas to be performed to renew the spatial and spiritual qualities of the human settlement remains unquestioned. Legend ascribes the foundation of Bhak tapur to Raja Anandadeva, a king who ruled from us? t0 66 in the Transitional period Most probably the low ridge running paral: lel to the Hianuimante river was the site of umber of small settlements since che early Licchavi period (third century). What legend calls the “foundation” of Bhak apart thus may well have been a unifies tion of these villages by means of a ritual involving a ceremonial circumambulation pradaksind|, a consecration of Matrki shrines, and the establishment of « palace as the seat of kingship. The main road with the two main squares (Taumadhi in the ‘west and Tacapah in the east, see figs. 2-5) forms the winding axis of the town, a lin: tear center of commerce and erade even to day. Running below the ridge, it generally ‘keeps t0 a height of 1,330 meters. AC inter vals the street widens to form a number of squares that occasionally tura into stages forthe performance of the important urban ninuals. The palace with the temple of Tal- eu, the lineage goddess of the Malla (fourteenth-eighteenth century), and its spacious palace square ere, in marked com ‘yast to the town planning as taught by the Silpasasteas, not located in the geographic ‘center ofthe town but on the northern pe- riphery, on a prominent spot ofthe ridge." ‘The Town as Sacred Realm ‘The territory of che town is experienced on ifferent levels. One principal conceptionsees the city a8 a whole as a sacr fenced off against che demonie surr country whose evil spirits must be re pelled. Although chete is no wall to delin ‘ate the sacred realm, the edge of the town is very well accepted and demarcated in death rituals; whoever builds a house out side this magic border is excluded from the traditional procession routes to the crema tion ground.® He is forced to cary the corpses of his family members through ¢ fields down to the eremation grounds along the river Hanumante, Ritually speaking, that family is no more a member of the sacred community. In the modern urban spraw|of Kathmandu a different solution is sought: the corpse is first brought to the ancestral home of the family (kulche) and starts the formal death procession from (On another level of ritual experience there is a firm notion of a division of the town into cwo antagonistic halves. The ‘upper," eastern area is the old part of the town with a traditional sense of superi- rity; the dates the palace and the craditional Brahmin quarter as well as the temples of the divine couple (Bhairava and Bhadsa- kali. Ie also contains congested farmers! quarters and town in the eighteenth century. Although ritually included in the city, the chree westernmost quarters lack a proper rel gious infrastrueture. In many annual tit tals the upper town opposes the low aggression and destruction scem to syit holize the moment of erisis in the wake renewal, The aim of such rituals sto come the dissolution of the given onder cognize the antagonistic elements as component parts of a single sacred spac Ii we move down in the hierarchy of ur ban sp {san awareness of the divi sion of the town into twenty-four quarters The number vwenty-four implies a com: plex notion of time and space, as itis made of three times eight (symbolizing the eight directions aad thereby space) as wel symbolizing the month of the year and thereby the eyelie quality of tim Thus every quarter is part Individually, how in itself, represent ing that level of urban space in which people experience ritual as a daily perfor: mance. Only rarely do they leave this sphere to participate in the dominating ur ban rituals of renewal, New Year (Bisket iat) in April or Dasat in October, Invariably a quarter (tvah) is centered around a square, more or less spacious. Its usually paved and serves various. agri: cultural and commercial purposes: during and after harvest itis a threshing g space for winnowing grains, for drying rice paldy and chilli. In the potter's quarters turbaked jars and pots are dried in the sun Here women prepare the warp belore wea Almost all squares are Hemmed in byVisually not important, yet not less powerful, is the level of guardian god: [Ksetrapala) and demons (Chvasaajima, Kaladyah, Cvakiajima, Lapidyah, Dva od by plain feldstones on will be used by local musie groups or b Brahmin who recites ing o the season. A shrine anunhevn stone (such seat 0 called pith), will inevitably form yea demons, the guardian add to the infra- stone [Pikhalakhu} in front of the nearest street crossing (to propitiate b, the gods i structure of the quarter house,he evil spirits there}, and the shrine of Ganes. Many people extend their daily pid and visit the nearest shrine of one of the Mother Goddesses [Matrka), who pro- vide the most etfective protection against any threat and disease he essential clic forthe deter of the boundaries of these quarters is pro- vided by the pattern of ‘rounds. Specific rules govern the pa! fof the corpse on a bier along specific and streets, These routes spread like arte ries ofa body along ever-finer paths, Quar. ters can be identified as "catchment areas from which the procession leads toa larger road, then to the main road, and finally :9 he cremation ground |masn ght]. ‘The quarter processions (evah mutkegu ra) of the Navadurga, re sentations of Durga, accompanied by four protective male gods in their “living” rep. resentation as mask-bearing mem! the Gatha community, identify the & tory of the quarters on a different level Starting from Magha Sammker equinox), the Navadurga vi twenty-iour quarters in a fixed schedule before they die as thelr masks a semated) with the beginning of the rains, The fact that chree quarters are not visited by the Navadurga can only be explained by 4 succession of historie events: the danc (of the Navadurga was introduced by king Savarnamalla in AD. 1515 while the for mal division of the town into twenty-four (gaarters reflects an organi the extension ofthe cown in the west at the beginning ofthe eighteenth century. Obvi ously a royal ritual would have been needed o adapt the Navadurga ritual to the con following new organization of space Quite often the processional routes of the Navadurga end at the boundary of a quarter, halting a an invisible barvier. The same is true for the processions of the ieonic representations of the Astamatrka fs well as owenty-four other gods end go desses of even smaller territorial units that are kept in god-houses (dvahche, see fig 6) Inside the urban certicory to complement the noniconic representation atthe shrines [plzh| beyond the urban edge. On New Year's eve chey are brought to their respec: tive shrines as if return origin, their primeval state of existence With the beginning of the New Year they are carried through the quarters to demon. strate their renewal and continued exist ence in town. Indeed, the presence of the gods seems to ensure the continuance of the cosmos in its microcosmic scale, the town of Bhaktapur. Levels of Awareness Ditierent levels of awareness exist as to the perception of the sacred quality of the town's territory. The initiated priests, Tan tie (Acaju or Karmacaryal or Brahmin RRajupadhyayal, perceive a complex nev work, They are the only ones who can tunily the councless details to form an inner image of which no one else in town is aware. The ritual specialists exist to fulfill quirements fixed by tradition, ritual is essentially something to be performed, not to be understood. These priests know who ‘must participate in each ritual and at what specific time of the year. The participants perform without asking futile questions o funccion and meaning The different seasons of the year (refing the agricultural calendar), the different religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), and the different status groups have their spe cific rituals and their specific places of ret erence. Sometimes one oF the ather aspect dominates the performance: musicians, for instance, worship the gods of music (Nasahdyah and Haimadyab) of the quarter oftheir place of rehearsal, regardless of the caste membership and the location of the households of their members. Generally people know only their own rieual needs, Sctivities, and locations; they have no comprehensive view of the whole ‘the mind of the Western scholar th transcends the boundaries of -ime, space society, and religion, The emerging picture of religious ritual tends to be additive. Ev ‘more practices come to light that are per- formed to manage the problems of this, ‘world: bith and death, pollution, diseases, and bewitehment, Therefore the protec tion of the Mothers, the Marka, are sought, and evil forces are continuously propitiated, On this level we have to take {nto account those many stones in open turban space that represent the abodes of different classes of demons, Prominent among these is the Chviss stone, which receives polluted objects at the time of death Beyond the tiny world ofthe quarter and the daily routine, there isa common ritual background that the entire population of Bhaktapur accepts as the binding force of community awareness. Everybody cakes part in the two important urban rituals of fenewal: New Year [Bisketatra, on 14 ‘April, the spring equinox) and Dasai, the harvest festival before full moon in Octo: ber. Groups from all castes perform desig nated duties, and everyboly takes a purifying bath on the moming of Fivadasami of Dasat (the tenth day of the waxing moon in October, the day of Durgi's victory) to celebrate the reenact ment of Durga’s mythic victory over the batfalo-demon Mahisasura, Everyone also celebrates the slaying of the two demon: snakes by a legendary prince who thus berated a_princess and established his kingship in Bhaktapur. Crisis md chaos are thus overcome, renewing the inherent cos mic order of the town. Mythic events are reenacted and experienced by the commu: nity as a single body. Religious and social barriers fall asthe town serves asa stage for people and gods alike. The major urban rit tals of renewal follow strongly Hinduistic patterns, but in their local versions they convey a strong feeling of syncretism. The gods involved. are essentially mani tions of “place”; they represent the loci. This quality becomes understandable and even tangible as itis named and has @ forma stone ‘The following sections provide a rough overview of the different levels of im dividual and collective experience. The mandala symbolizes the esoteric Brab- manic level of knowledge, the cibhahpai the collective experience of the Buddhist community. The New Year festival is an turban ritual in which che whole commu: nity experiences the renewal of the world. ‘The aetwork of Chvasa stones explains the necessity of an infrastructure for avoiding pollution. Finally the gods of music [Nasahdyeh and Haimadyah) make clear how a specific spirit creates ever-new Tevels of communication: narrow holes is, brick walls serve as passages for the ephemeral sounds of instruments, allow ing their music to eross the whale town. Protective gods and menacing d abound on urban territory. The balance of the positive and negative powers estab lishes the well-being of the community ang the further existence of the micro cosmos, which the town of Bhaktapur presents ‘The Mandala Spatial units of any seal ing, a town, or even Bharata, the whole subcontinent—are mizrored in mandalas These are inner images that reveal the ‘quality or essence of space in a formal pic ture based on a square and organ around a center. The crossing center lines ‘may well be understood as theit basic im- age of the cosmos. For Bhaktapur, the mandala is the inner image as a reflection ‘of cosmic order and its transformation into the reality of urban space. It brings fity different gods and goddesses into a spatial single buildrepresentations) and temples (iconic representations} surround the saered center. The idea of a spatial mandala did not precede the town. On the contrary, the mandala mirrors an already existing “world the real” image of an otherwise confusing reality, Ie gives order to the unordered “1 tral” topography of a spatial setting. Basi configurations of the mandala may be es tablished hy means of a royal decree of a royal ritual. Other configurations are sec ‘ondary and exist only in the mind of the ritual specialist, che Brahmin. Ie depends fon his. ingenuity to develop complex mandalas like the one given as figure 7. Tt iva [h als Js his knowledge that enables him to un: fold the sacred diversity and bring it into a The most i ortant element of Bhak: tapur's mandala isthe group of the Astamitrki, the Mother Goddesses repre sented by rough stones without any icono- sraphic trait (fig. 8|. It is their noniconic representation at their shrines (pith) that attracts the attention of the people, while their iconic representations are kept in side the town in so-called god-houses (dvabchés). Such patterns may be under a variation of the ancient Hindu idea of the Dikpalas, in which each of the eight regions of the world is guarded by a ular god. In Bhaktapur the shrines of‘1 ig. 0] has no siglicanee fer eight places mack the points ofthe Com. For them the ufban space, the world they—TRKUNDA GaNESa CAR GaNEsa a ASTABHAIRA TAMATRKA TRIPURASUNDART inhabit, i= mir 2 and Sdentical with it, There is no contradiction between the ordered image (fig. 7) and the ‘unordered topographic reality (fg. 1) ‘Apart from the gods of angle of the diagram, the the only group of gods that is experienced n a ritual action, During Dasa, the impor tant festival that marks the rice harvest, the shrines of the Astamatrka are visit by the people on eight consecutive days, starting with the sbrine of Beakmzyant or the day after new moon in September. The main road serves as a kind of backbone from which the daily processional routes to the shrines radiate (fig. u). It is only during this eight-day festival chat people become aware of mandalic qualities of space. By touching the edges of their sacred territory, the protective power of the Mothers is re newed, The mandala represents the eso teric level of understanding the human environment, which usually is accessibl ‘nly to initiated persons; during Dasai the people unknowingly follow a path to the essence ofthe mandala, The idea of the mandala conveys strongly the Hindu notion of cosmic order, ‘We may thus call this level of spatial expe rience the Brahmanic leve ‘The New Year Festival: Bisketjatca Since time immemorial the occasion of the spring equinox has been consideced appro priate and auspicious for celebrating the beginning of the New Year as a festival of renewal, 4 cosmo-deama? The festival commemorates the foundation of Bhak tapur by a foreign prince who was vested with a sword as the symbol of kingship by the goddess Bhadrakalt and became king of the territory by liberating a princess who was in the power of two demon-serpents, 300 To00M| Aan . bro Through many years the princess had called for a young man to marry ber, but every night the suitors were killed by the two demon-serpents who appeared from her nostrils while she was asleep. The fol lowing morning the corpse ofthe murdered suitor had to be brought down to the cre ‘mation ground on a bier. By killing the demon-serpents, the foreign prince con uered a tercitory symbolized by the un married princess who could not hold a husband.” “The different episodes of che legend are reenacted even today, thus renewing the foundation of the town every year o very occasion of Biskeriatra. On a diffe jevel the ritual also reflects the creation of the whole universe. In chis context the pole of World Tree (newari yabsi), which fn New Year's eve is erected on the open square [Yahsikhyah) at the banks of the fiver (fig. 13), represents the dhvaja (pole) 2. tush by which Indra pushed heaven and earth asunder to create the universe. The eree: tion of the World Tree reenacts this event and thereby renews the cosmic qualities of the place, the town of Bhaktapur. ‘From the pole, which forms across at the upper end, hang two banners that symbol: ize the slain serpents (fig, 13). A small hil lock nearby represents the heap formed by the bodies of the dismembered serpents, recalling perpetually che victory of the founding of the town, Besides these rather static events another ritual reenacts the last death procession from the palace to the river at the time when the demon-serpents were killed, a bier was already waiting for the dead body of the prince to be caken £0 the eremation ground. As the prince sur- wived, a pot [called bhdid) was placed on the bier (khaked) instead of bis corpse. It was carsied to the river [fig 14) and placed beside Bhadeakalis pith on Now Year's eve‘The bier, called bhdjdichabed, is the only surviving example of that ancient form. “That fact reminds us that ritual always pee serves a multitude of historical notions Through the Bhdjdkhahca ritual the lex dary victory of the prince over the demon. pent i still remembered today Creation isthe basic theme of this fest val. On New Year's eve, the iconic repre sentations ofthe gods and goddesses return to their place of origin, their pith in open shrines, where they are epresented in theit primordial, noniconic form by stones, Moreover, the two halves of the town in dulge in & fierce battle when hundreds of farmets pull the ceremonial chariot, in which Bhairava has co be brought to the festival ground, in both directions. People from the upper town pull eastward and people of the lower town pull westward (On New Year's eve the chariot muse reach ts final ritual destination, so then the shafe is directed toward the west, This ac: tion symbolizes the disintegration of the aceepted order, as destruction precedes the following renewal af the cosmos As menacing chaos characterizes the nding year, so the beginning of the new year is experienced as a liberation. As the princess of the legend is liberated from evil forces, the town and its people are saved from chaos. With the heginning of the new year, the iconic representations of the gods return, as if newly bor, to their god houses (dyahehés) a ried through their respeetive quarters. This procession of the quarter (tvah muskegu jaced) brings the gods to the people, while three days later the people move ‘ow: the gods, who on that day represent the sacred infrastructure of the town in its en: tirety, Along a winding processional route through the town, across the squares of twenty quarters and along seven of eight dyaichés of the Astamatcka, thir four gods are worshiped in theit iconic Although strongly influenced by Hindu concepts of creation, che Bhaktapur ver sion of the cosmo-drama transcends bar 5 of religion. The primeval foundation fof the town, of the human environment, is x having been earcelebrated, the renewal of cosmie time and space is reenacted. The festival becomes the focal event of an “urban religion”—the teligion of the place that binds people of her, Virtually ing bath ax the couple Bhairava every creed and caste 10, everybody will take a pur aghat, worship the div and Bhadrakalt (remember the central langle of the mandala) beside the still stand: ‘ng World Tree, and return inco town, like the gods, “newly born." Ritual has accom. plished the precondition of furcher exis fence: social integration and continuity of time and space, Worship of Buddhist Votive Buildings: Cibhahpais About 20 percent of the population of Bhaktapur is Buddhist, a fact that be sequences mainly on the Of passage ad the worship of the clan god, when Buddhise priests are called as ritual specialists. For Buddhists, the awe-inspi. ing images of Mabikala represent the suardiaa gods located noe at the periphery of the town bur along the main squares and streets as well as at the entrance to those filceen former monas (bahah and buh} that form he basic Buddhist infra structure of Bhaktapur The objects of daily worship for the Bud hists remain the ninety-three amall vo tive buildings called caityas, of in Newari cibhahs, located mainly in the courryards fof these fifteen monasteries, These eaityas ‘may, like the seats of che gods, be under stood as noniconic representations of the quality of “place.” They represent, as John Irwin has pointed out, not just the cosmos bbut che act of the cteation of the cosmos. The domes ofthe small buildings represent the primordial mound floating on the cos mic ocean, Like the pole of Biskeriacea, the central tree symbolizes the pillar with which heaven and earth were pushed asun- det, The pillar was also conceived as the peg with which Indra riveted the primor dial mound to the botiom of che cosmic thus stabilizing the univ. providing orientation, as the Astamatrka ‘dg on che level of the mandala, In Bhaktapur, a cata is not only @ sym bol ofthe general act of ereation bi image of the primeval stopa, of the Kath- manda valley, the Svayambbanath, which ages ago was built to cover the myth us flower on top of a mountain when the valley still formed a prehistoric lake, the equivalent of the cosmic ocean. The yyambhanath stapa symbol ation of the microcosms, the valley wich is urban civilization The ninety-three caityus of Bhaktapur are, like all other stapas of the Buddhist ‘world, worshiped by means ofa ciccumam: bulation (pradaksina), which reenacts the curse ofthe sun as the symbol of continu: ity of time. Once a year, on the occasion of the Buddhist month of gifa (August whenever a new caitya is established—all caityus are visited along a processional route that differs fom the usual prade Kssaapathe of other urban risuals (fig. 15 ‘The Buddhist procession circumambulates all caityas individually and collective The urban space in a sense forms a super caltya, the pri ses the cre Death Ritual hus far we have dealt with rituals per formed each year throughout the whole own ora quarter. On quite adiferent level there is yet another concept of local ter ory celebrated in local rituals. There ate altogether approximately 180 Chvisa stones in town, located exclusively in pub Tie spaces, on squares, or on street cross ings. These stones, only a fow of which hhave carved patterns like a lotus flower, have manifold functions, As Chivasa they ‘mark the spot where three unbaked bricks are placed ia the death ritual (kaciapa vaygu). Here a small woven bamboo mat with some clothes are discarded |chvasa vygu) the moment the corpse is carried to the cremation grounds. Immediately a member of the low Jug caste comes and collects the polluted objects [fig 16). The Jugi have a shrine of Gorakhnath as their place of worship and do not eremate their eceased members but bury them at the dipa, the burial ground across the river (ig 17}, These Chvasa stones, as Kalahajima, receive part of the food prepared for the {dead sou! and for the many offerings in caseof certain diseases. As Chvs Stones will receive the aftevbirth pire raygu}. Some stones will serve all four functions, some only one o purpose we will consider only the chvasa vaygu actions, for which 134 stones could be identified with theis respective tezitory (tig. 1) Every household knows exactly where to discard the polluted objects, end every Tugi family knows with which household a ri tal relation has been established for man ‘aging various problems of pollution at the time of death. The moment the objects are discarded, a family member will inform fone of the thirty-seven Jugi fmilies [orga nized into six different groups) who hold rights to collect the discarded objects Some of these Jugi hold rights at only one Conversely, the territory of some stones belongs” to a single Jugi, some co three different jugi who divide the terriory up jong them, Quite often this division changes, as the rights at stones have a mar kot value, In 1986 a fugi bought che rights of cighty houses five hundred twenty dollars at that time. ‘As there is a fixed household stone rela tionship and a strict notion 7 ing the discanded objects (and sub- sequent feasts in the concerned house holds), the boundaries of the cerricory of the stones ean be identified only by a cri cal survey of households and Jugi families. ‘sin so many aspects of ritual life, the CChvasa stones make clear that ritual isell provides order. In a living urban tradition like Bhaktapur's, ritual is decisive. No for:mal control is necessary; the duties and Fights need no official administration. The (question arises: What do fious stones in the street represent! AS in so many cases when an individual ritual fcr is concerned, the answer appears to be manifold, The general customer” has no answer at hand, Traditions have told im or her to act in death ritual in order to avoid pollution. In other cases she ithe head of the household) follows the advice fof the midvite (aj) who also acts as Tocal healer. The midwife, however, has @ e elaborate answer. She says that the sa houses three gods: Pucwdnakht on the right, Dhanacea on the left, and Gur ‘umahird} (Siddhi Ganesa) in the middle Pacvanakht is the main “gr the Maaiima of the valley, and Dhanacva (or Campadevi) is her younger sister. Both have thee abodes on bigh mountain peaks fon the rim of the valley, From birth co Geath people owe them food, placed on a smal dish [kala on the stone. “The midwite says that she three are pow erful enough to drag bhat, pret, and pisde fonto the stone and control them there. Bhat is a malignant spirie or goblin who especially plagues those who omic to per ethereal form assumed by a dead person be | tween the period of death and the entering into heaven |deviloka), where he or she seeks union with his ancestors (pitr Pisae are demonic beings represented by the roaming souls of suicides and those Twhose funerary rites have not been per formed. Hence the three have to be propiti ated to prevent the harmful demons from ‘moving about a¢ twilight, frequenting de Seited houses, strect crossings, and door ways, The existence of so many Chvasa with an identifiable territory makes bat this notion of space and danger is not an abst that people have to tackle in their immed: ate neighborhoods ‘To make sure that all prets have recelved their share and that all ghosts and demons propitiated, «collective sacrifice is per ormed on the occasion of pisaccarhe [new ‘moon in March, following the full moon of Holi). In @ formal procession, which stacts from the Taleju temple, a Dut (low caste carries a lacge copper vessel with cooked rice (bau) through the strcets. He throws Jumps of rice onto the Chvasa stones and all the other manifestations of the demonic "The explanations offered by the mid. wives are rooted very much in the tradi tions of the Newars, Brahmins, followingBAKTAPUR—JUGI GUTH —=— — __ a f | : t “ oe aaa)| TATHU NASAH \ i] oe j I } the Siaaviya ho rprvens he ten TACGodsof Musi: Naabiyahand Real he orms of transcendent knowledge and mag. ¥ C In a way, the territory of che Chvisa festations of the seme principle. Nasah stones represents not che order of the dyah represents creativity, sound a cosmos but the risk and danger of everyday rhythm, Haimadyab, on the other hand, fe. As people perform che necessary rites represents destructive forces, At drums, ‘of passage, they propitiate chose forces that Nasah’s hide is the high-pitched one, constantly remind them of instability. The Haima’s the low. Nasahdyah and Haim pattern of the Chvasa presencs an order idyah are worshiped daily in an esor that is unchangeable. [tis nox known how representation that is temporarily installed new Chvdsas may be discovered and anew in the homes of the musicians, hiddenE Eg other members of the household, Blood sacrifices are performed at intervals of the on the occasion of the unity to perform for ive quarters. The aps of the town mostly ha "of performance on porches (pha! the squares. The location of the square establishes a binding relationship to a pair of Nasahdyah-Haimadyah of the area. In this way we may identity in Bhake apur two main Nasadyah, one in the up per and one in the lower town with an area that cavers seven formal quarters each (fig fp). Besides these powerful Nasahdyah there are six secondary ones that cover a area of one or two quarters or only part of guarter, such as the confined area of the Untouchables. Fifteen more Nasahdyah at twact regular worship on the oceasion of the so-ealled piran ;pojd, when, at the en their apprenticeship, twenty to thirty Nasahdyah of the town ate worshiped col lectively in the course of a procession. The BHAKTAPUR-NASAHOVAH HAMADVASEcffect is similar to the procession on the fourth day of New Year, when thirey-four gods of the same “class” are worshiped or ‘when all nincty-the 8 of the tow are worshiped. For musicians, likewise the procession integrates all gods of the same class, the gods of music. in contrast to other classes of gous, the attachment of music groups to certain Nasahdyah does not constigute the "tert tory" of the god in the sense that it hes been discussed co this point. The gods of music do not “rule” over territory like the Astamatrka; they do not even have a smal sphere of influence like the Chvisa or the demons ofthe street crossings. Nasahdyah and Haimadyah are, like s0 many othe gods of Bhaktapur, of a noniconie form However, they are not represented by « stone—a material volume—but by holes in the walls of buildings (fig. 20} and in one ease by 4 hole in the pavement, For the main Nasabdyah, this hole is enshrined in acemple building. These holes provide pas sages for the god as if the sound of music c and transcend weiate neighborhood. Most. pas sages cross blocks and streets in a ‘west or a north-south direction [fig few cases they are directed northwest, the direction of the main Nasahdyah of the Newars in a neighboring valley. Many sages can be followed across a few houses or blocks until they vanish, In some cases, however, there is a notion among people that passages lead across the town even hough obstructing buildings do not pro- vide proper holes Conclusion Urban space in Bhaktapur is the home of people, gods, and spirits alike. Rituals are Performed periodically to renew the ach der and maintain the city as an image of the cosmos. The gods of the ri uals represent the qualities of “place” and collectively stand for the sa space. In addition to the urban which twenty to thirty thousand people— virtually the whole population—partic 'y smaller processions involve only certain communities and only specific ‘roups of gods. Such processions reveal as ects ofthe town’s qualities that are other ‘wise hidden and identify Brahmanic and Buddhist traditions and communities ‘Transcending these distinct communities are binding obligations chat incorporate everyone. No matter of what creed or so cial status, each person must propitiate the spirits to ensure personal well-being and that of his or her people. The status of these spirits, which have identifiable abodes, well-defined territories, and estab lished routes, seems to be evidence af an original Newar religion unchange: (Great Traditions of the south,al rea Sareea { — Q Svamatall of the city aieientn century, Histo Gutschow sod Thomas Severs, Techasche Hock, ‘chute Dace Beieuge de Faesgunpe Stat Basubala, “The Nevada of Paiktapu Spal fr How the Navadoed Protest Rhakapue The Ee. oat ntemationl sein, "Change tad Com States in the Nepalese Cultte ofthe Kathmanbe ey Wane pf, Stackholm. The proceedings wil hed Wy the Cento Piemontese d Staal 1. René Girard has cust length how Seni crite’ Vence and the Sore baltimore