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1923.] An Essay on the History of Newar Culture. 497 
The case of the Tati is similar; they do not weave common 
cloth, but prepare only a special kind of stuff called ponga, 
used in ceremonies of initiation into Buddhism, in funerals, and 
the worship of Matsvendranatha. The fact that all four castes 
serve Hindu as well as Bauddha Newars of all grades (except 
outcastes) supports this explanation of their leanings towards 
‘Brahmanism as well as Buddhism. 
he case of blacksmiths and cowherds is different; the 
above line of reasoning does not hold in their case. It is 
however evident that people who conquer a country must 
have their own arsenals and munition workers. The chief 
material for weapons in those days was certainly metal, and 
evidently of these the best is iron. The Brahmanic invaders 
would therefore have had a blacksmith group of their own to 
supply their needs, just as in a later invasion Gurkha smiths 
came with the warriors. The fact that these iron workers 
were largely assimilated in Bauddha society may be simply a 
parallel to what happened to the immigrants in general. One 
thing may be pointed out here. In the case of castes or groups 
among these later immigrants, standing somewhat low in their 
social scale. the tendency to mixture with corresponding groups 
(i.e., in the social strata roughly corresponding to theirs) 
would probably be greater the lower down in the social scale 
they were. For in the absence of hostility, a cast> suffering 
a good deal of social humiliation in the one society would tend 
to be more receptive to the ideas and practices in the other, 
if the disabilities were appreciably less in that group. I have 
thought it necessary to add this note as in the case of the 
remaining group, the cowherds, the effects of Bauddha influence 
seem to have been much less appreciable In the absence 
of detailed knowledge about these groups, this point cannot 
Owever be followed up any further. I shall therefore proceed 
to the discussion of the cowherds. 
hoe and not the plough. It has therefore to be concluded 
that these Brahsinnis Gooule at the time they entered Nepal 
