470 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XUX, 
The occupation of the first is said to have been reserved for 
the Jaisis, among Hindu Newars, but at present it is followed 
by anybody competent to do so.! The caste of weavers of 
commou cloth does not exist in Nepal, the needs being sup- 
plied for themselves by each householl. Similar is the case 
with liquor distilling.” 
In this connection it should be noted. that in Newar 
Society, occupations are hereditary, and members of one craft 
should not encroach upon the technical daties and rights of 
another. Some professions, however, do not bring living \ WagES ; 
thus the Nalli whose traditional pocaperion is to pains the eve 
hope to live by that alone. They have to supplement their 
earnings from hereditary pursuits with something else. Such 
people can have recourse to any of the general professions, as 
cultivation, petty trade, tailoring, and porter’s work which 
are not the special privilege of any section of the people. 
The duties inherited must however be performed as laid down, 
although the exigencies of the case may have prevented a 
coe or section from devoting itself to that work alone. 
A peculiarity of these castes is that most of them have 
some function or other to perform at the various religious 
festivals. Some of these have been noted in the Appendices 
but the connection appears more intimate than these cases 
make out. The castes and hereditary ee. ee 
are in fact religious organizations as much as secular 
All the above three groups of Bauddhamargis are een to 
the Newar Hindus, i.e. the latter can accept water from their 
hands for drinking purposes. The Banras were especially 
Brahmans. The Brahmanic Hindus who have come in with 
the Gurkhas however, seem to consider . ocak fe sy tra 
niya, i.e. impure for accepting water, e 
§3. The traditions of Nepal do hot throw much light 
on the details of the complex social organisation. The earliest 
legend describes the advent of Bodhisattva Mafjusri from 
Mahachina or China, to Nepal which was then a lake. The 
waters were drained by the sage and the land colonised by his 
companions. The affinity of their language with Tibetan, as 


| Oldfield and Lévi: ibid., p. 187 (Oldfield), Vol. 1, 246 L. 
Nepalese spirit P still, J.A.8.B , Vol ie 
9. 
2 
a 
oS 
z 
— 
» Pp. 246. 
eae ; odgson: Essays on Languages etc. of Nepal and Tibet, 
100." A. Grierson ; Linguistic Survey of India, Vol IIT, Part I, Caleutte 
the absence of adequate linguistic as well as anthropometric data, 
I hae: considered it preferable to —. on one side speculations segerene 
a Mon-Khmer speaking people in 
Ps. 
