page_title: Tuladhar
section_title: Sacred dances
hierarchical_section_title: Tuladhar / Sacred dances
caption_attribution_description: A boy impersonating a deity performs the Kumha Pyakhan sacred dance to the accompaniment of a drummer and trumpet players in Kathmandu. This dance is performed by the Tuladhar caste.
context_page_description: Tulādhar is a Nepali/Nepalese caste from the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The name Tuladhar is derived from the Sanskrit words "tula" and "dhar", thus meaning scale-bearer or in general, merchant. Tuladhars belong to the Uray group which includes Kansakar, Tamrakar, Sthapit, Bania, Sindurakar, Selalik and other castes. They follow Newar Buddhism and speak Nepal Bhasa as a mother tongue.
  Traditional Tuladhar neighborhoods are Asan, Nyata and Jhwa Baha in Kathmandu where they hold a number of cultural performances annually including religious dances and music concerts.
context_section_description: Sacred dances are another major religious performance of the Tuladhars.
  Kumha Pyakhan dance (कुम्ह प्याखं) (also known as Kumār Pyakhan) is held annually during the Mohani festival in October on the open-air dance platform at Asan and at Kathmandu Durbar Square. A young boy from the Tuladhar or Kansakar families is chosen to be the dancer.
  Nyatamaru Ajimā Pyākhan (न्यतमरु अजिमा प्याखं) (also known as Swetkāli Pyākhan) is held annually on the open-air dance platform at Nyata during the Pahan Charhe festival in April. Once every 12 years, special performances of this masked dance-drama are held with a larger cast in which a Tuladhar from Nyata plays the part of the deity Māhādyah. The special shows are held at the Durbar Squares of Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kirtipur, Bhaktapur and Bhonta (Banepa).
caption: A Tuladhar boy performs the Kumha Pyākhan sacred dance.
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