Picturesque Nepal . temples, for all that is picturesque andhistoric in the valley, the present generationis indebted to the Newars. The origin of the Newars has been a matterof considerable speculation. Certain authori-ties have stated that they came into Nepalin the eleventh century , from southernIndia, in the train of a Karnatic king. Thistheory has, however, been exploded by thedeductions of subsequent students of Indianethnology. It is now conclusively demon-strated that they emigrated from Tibet andits vicinity, and settled down in Nepal whenthe world was in its making. This is supp
Picturesque Nepal . temples, for all that is picturesque andhistoric in the valley, the present generationis indebted to the Newars. The origin of the Newars has been a matterof considerable speculation. Certain authori-ties have stated that they came into Nepalin the eleventh century , from southernIndia, in the train of a Karnatic king. Thistheory has, however, been exploded by thedeductions of subsequent students of Indianethnology. It is now conclusively demon-strated that they emigrated from Tibet andits vicinity, and settled down in Nepal whenthe world was in its making. This is supportedby their cast of features, their character, theircustoms, and their language, all of which pointto their Mongolian extraction. Centuries ofintermarriage with other tribes from an Indianstock have reduced the strong traces of theirorigin, but a careful sifting of facts and recordshas proved that the Newars are the aboriginesof Nepal. They constitute the largest sectionof its inhabitants, and form the bulk of the. THE NEWARS AS DECORATIVE ARTISTS 33 population of the ancient capitals of Patanand Bhatgaon. As carpenters, masons, metal-workers, and painters, they are ingenious andskilful, and the strikingly picturesque appear-ance of old Nepal is largely due to the aesthetictemperament of the Newars. In two par-ticular branches of artistic embellishmentthese people excel—in the decorative treat-ment of their houses and palaces, and theenrichment of their temples and shrines. Thestreets and squares of Patan and Bhatgaonbear eloquent testimony to their success withthe former, while the riot of carved wood andembossed metal on the sacred buildings in allparts of the valley is one of the most instruc-tive features of the State. It is hardlynecessary to add that this great field of artisticexpression is so closely associated with thereligion of the country, and so imbued withits symbolism, that to understand it somereference to the cult of those responsiblefor its production seem
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