Mero Dhangadhi

is newari a regional dialect of nepali? i've heard that nepali mother tongue speakers can't understand newari because it's too different?

Newari is a completely different language on it’s own with completely different origins/family of languages. Newari falls under the Sino-Tibetan family whereas Nepali is Indo-European. It’s not at all a dialect of Nepali. The reason Nepali speakers can’t understand Newari is because, well it’s a separate language. Both languages have some shared vocabulary due to influences from Nepali or Hindi or even English.

I think both languages use the Devanagari script (correct me if I’m wrong). And Newari is actually listed as an endangered language. As far as I know most schools in Kathmandu don’t teach Newari as a language and they only focus on Nepali and English so that decreases the number of speakers from an early age.

(Newari speakers add onto this post if I’ve missed something. Thank you!)

I can't reply to your posts but: the Ranjana script is used for Newari texts! You can often see this script in ancient holy shrines or temples in the Kathmandu valley. I remember having seen quite a few prayer wheels with om mane padme hum written in the ranjana script :)

Thank you for letting us know! :)

is newari a regional dialect of nepali? i've heard that nepali mother tongue speakers can't understand newari because it's too different?

Newari is a completely different language on it’s own with completely different origins/family of languages. Newari falls under the Sino-Tibetan family whereas Nepali is Indo-European. It’s not at all a dialect of Nepali. The reason Nepali speakers can’t understand Newari is because, well it’s a separate language. Both languages have some shared vocabulary due to influences from Nepali or Hindi or even English.

I think both languages use the Devanagari script (correct me if I’m wrong). And Newari is actually listed as an endangered language. As far as I know most schools in Kathmandu don’t teach Newari as a language and they only focus on Nepali and English so that decreases the number of speakers from an early age.

(Newari speakers add onto this post if I’ve missed something. Thank you!)

Do Hinduism and Buddhism blend into each other a lot? That might be the case in Nepal but I don't think that lets say Indians practise both Hinduism and Buddhism at the same time? Also, is it a Kathmandu Valley thing to practise both religions? Because holy sites of both religions are side by side there (like Swoyambu) and especially the Newaris have their own mixed religion

I think you are right. Nepal has a unique blend of religions where Hinduism and Buddhism go hand in hand in a lot of cases. And I think this is also a very distinct part of Kathmandu culture (I’m not sure if this blending is as prominent in other parts of the country). Like you said we do have the temples and the stupas all side by side and Hindus and Buddhists visit both of them without there being any religious taboo.

Growing up I didn’t know these were two different religions. I just grew up with it and it was our culture and my family’s and a lot of other families’ religion. But later on I learned that other people actually see these as two different religions and we were just unique with our approach and the way we were raised. However in Hinduism Buddha is considered to be one of the avatars of Vishnu, so many Indian Hindus worship him as well.

what is your actual religion? and how do you practise it? sorry for being so curious

I was raised in a Hindu-Buddhist family with Buddhism and Hinduism both at the core of the teaching. I have formally studied Hinduism and learned Sanskrit for a few years. Just growing up in a Hindu-Buddhist household, I was exposed to various tales and I also studied them later (Mahabharat, Ramayana, Buddha’s story + Enlightenment etc etc) and such of various Gods and Goddesses. 

I don’t really practice it? I’m not religious at all. But I guess I join in on the celebrations when my family does it, which is something I’ve done since I was a little kid. I do it less now because I prioritize my education and career more (and usually the festivals are around weekdays and when I have classes so no time). We have tons of rituals for various festivals or different life events so I’ll join those if my family is taking part in them. 

However, that being said, a lot of my values have been shaped by my teachings as a child. So religion does play a part in my life, even if I don’t practice it.