The worshippers of Siva among the Newars in their religious opinions follow the doctrine of the Vedas, as explained by Sankara Acharya; but they do not receive the Brahmans as their Gurus, or instructors, and in spirituals are subordinate to a class of Newars, who are called Achars or Doctors, who are both their instructors (Gurus) and priests, (Purohits,) and who differ in birth and name only from the Brahmans.
Among the Sivamarg Newars, or those who worship Maha Deva, the Achars are considered as the highest cast; but their superiority is not acknowledged by those who worship Bouddha. They officiate as priests (Pujaris) in the temples of Siva and of the Saktis, and read the prayers (Mantras) that are
appointed to accompany sacrifices; but they do not kill the animal that is offered. The Achars have among them certain men who perform the ceremonies necessary to free from sin the souls of those who die on certain unfortunate days. This ceremony they call Hom. The Brahmans perform similar rites, which they call Pushkarasanti. The Hindus believe, that if this ceremony is neglected, all the relations of the deceased will perish. By this ceremony the officiating priest is supposed to take upon himself the sin of the departed soul; and if, in its performance, he commits any mistake, he incurs certain destruction from the wrath of the Deity. The office is therefore shunned by men of high rank, both as sinful and dangerous. The Achars who perform this ceremony are called Gulcul, and cannot intermarry with those of the first rank. This inferior order performs also any ceremonies that may be wanted by Newars, who are at a distance from home, and the purity of whose extraction cannot therefore be ascertained. Poor Achars cultivate the land with their own hands, from which they are not deterred by a fear of distressing the ox, as the plough is not used by the Newars. Their women spin and weave, which is the only point in which they seem to differ from the Brahmans; the two casts, however, consider themselves as entirely distinct.
Among the Newars, the Bangras, or Baryesu, are the head of the sect of Buddhmargas, and are much more numerous than the Achars. They are divided into two classes. The first are the Gubal Bangras, who are the instructors, (Gurus,) priests, (Purohits,) and philosophers, (Pandits,) of all the sect, and are priests (Pujaris) at the temples of Buddh, and of some of the Saktis. When they perform any ceremony, they wear a thread like the Brahmans or Achars. They neither eat nor intermarry with any person of inferior rank. The Bakali Bangras
work in gold, silver, and copper, and are traders and cultivators. We may thus observe, that the doctrine of cast, and the nature of the priesthood, are essential differences between the religion of the Burmas and that professed by the followers of Buddh in Nepal. The doctrines of these people appeared so shockingly impious to my Brahman, that I could not induce him to converse on the subject with their learned men. These doctrines also are essentially different from those taught by the Rahans, or priests of Ava. The Bangras believe in a supreme being, called Sambhu, or Swayambhu, from whom have proceeded many Buddhs, or Intelligences, which, by the Tartars, are called Bourkans. Among these Matsyendranath has the chief superintendence over the affairs of the world. Under him are a great many Devatas, or spirits of vast power, among whom Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Siva the destroyer of this earth, do not bear a very distinguished rank. These spirits are the Tengri of the Tartars, and the Nat of the Burmas, of which the worship is execrated by the followers of Buddha in Ava; but is eagerly followed by most of the Bangras, and still more so by the lower casts of Newars. Sakya Singha is considered one of the Buddhs, who came on earth to instruct man in the true worship, and in Nepal is commonly believed to be still alive at Lasa. His images entirely resemble those of Gautama. As this teacher has admitted the worship of all the Nat, or Devatas, among whom are placed the deities worshipped by the followers of the Vedas, we can readily account for the appearance of these in the temples of the Chinese. The followers of Buddh in Ava reject altogether the worship of these beings, so that, when I was in that country, and was unacquainted with the doctrines of any other sect of Buddhists, I was led into an erroneous opinion concerning the religion of the Chinese, from knowing that they worshipped the
same Gods with the Brahmans. This, we see, is allowed by the doctrine of Sakya Singha, nor, on account of finding the images of Vishnu, Siva, or Brahma, in any temple, can we conclude, that it was not built by a follower of Buddh. In fact, even in Swayambhunath, the temple of the supreme deity of the Buddhists, there are a great many images of Siva.
A kind of mixed breed of Newars are, by the Sivamargas, acknowledged as of very high rank. I shall, therefore, mention them in this place, although their pretensions are disputed by the Bangras. They are called Jausi, and are the only cast that ought to practise medicine; but at present all ranks profess that art. The Jausis are descended from the offspring of a Brahman by a Newar woman; and if their mother has been a Bangra, or an Achar, they wear the thread, and act as instructors (Gurus) and priests (Purohits) for their brethren of mixed descent. These privileges are not allowed to such as are descended from low mothers. In imitation of their fathers, the Jausis are mostly Sivamargas; but in other matters, they follow the customs of the Newars.
The next in rank among the Newars are the Srishtas, who form a small cast. They can serve as cooks for all Newars, the Achars and Bangras excepted, which is a sure mark of their transcendent rank. The Buddhmargas and Sivamargas of this cast eat together; but a woman, for her first paramour, always chooses a person of her own persuasion. The highest rank of Srishtas are called Sira, and are mostly traders. A lower class, called Sual, act as porters; and a still lower, called Bagul, cultivate the ground. All these eat together; nor is the difference of class any restriction in their amours.
The persons of the remaining casts are almost entirely Buddhmargas; but, being low and ignorant, they will worship almost any thing that is called a God, which is, indeed, usual with all
Hindus of their rank. Some of our Seapoys, who were Brahmans, immediately on our arrival at Swayambhunath, took flowers and consecrated water, and went round the hill offering some to every image which they saw, and, among others, to that of Sakya Singha. I happened to be standing near it with Ramajaya, my Brahman, who asked them if they knew what they were doing, and informed them that they were worshipping Buddh. At this the poor fellows were much ashamed. However, an old Havildar (serjeant) comforted them, by observing, that, on the march to Bombay, under General Goddard, they had often seen this deity, and that their worshipping him seemed to have been very lucky, as the army had great success.