Newa people

The Newa are the indigenous people and the creators of the historical civilization of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. The valley and surrounding territory have been known from ancient times as Nepal Mandala, its limits ever changing through history.

Newas have lived in the Kathmandu Valley since prehistoric times, and immigrants that arrived at different periods in its history eventually merged with the local population by adopting their language and customs. Newars are a linguistic and cultural community of mostly Tibeto-Burman and some Indo-Aryan ethnicities. They are bound together by a common language and culture. Their common language is Nepal Bhasa ("Newari" according to Statistics Nepal) or the linguistic progenitor of that language. Scholars have also described the Newars as being a nation.