Lhasa Newar

Lhasa Newar (alternate name: Lhasa Newah) (Newar: ल्हासा नेवा) refers to the expatriate Newar traders and artisans who traveled between the Kathmandu Valley and Tibet from centuries ago. The Nepalese merchants conducted trade between Nepal, Tibet and Bengal, India over the Silk Road, and acted as a bridge for economic and cultural exchanges between South Asia and Central Asia.

Along with the merchants, there were colonies of artisans in various parts of Tibet who were engaged in creating Buddhist art. They were major players in the exchange of art styles across the Himalaya.

The thousand-year-old Lhasa Newar tradition came to an end after the caravan route linking India and Tibet through Sikkim was shut down by the Sino-Indian War in 1962. Subsequently, the merchants and craftsmen based in Tibet closed up shop and returned home to Nepal for the last time.

History

According to folklore, Singha Sartha Aju was the first merchant to travel to Tibet. The history of the Lhasa Newars officially dates from the seventh century with the marriage of Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti with Tibetan King Songtsän Gampo. The traders and artisans who accompanied Bhrikuti to Lhasa as part of her retinue established commercial and cultural ties between Nepal and Tibet.

Lhasa

Lhasa is a city and administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. The main urban area of Lhasa is roughly equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District, which is part of the wider Lhasa prefecture-level city, an area formerly administered as a prefecture.

Lhasa is the second most populous city on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and, at an altitude of 3,490 metres (11,450 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city has been the religious and administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. It contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka Palaces.

Etymology

Lhasa literally means "place of the gods". Ancient Tibetan documents and inscriptions demonstrate that the place was called Rasa, which either meant "goats' place", or, as a contraction of rawe sa, a "place surrounded by a wall," or 'enclosure', suggesting that the site was originally a hunting preserve within the royal residence on Marpori Hill. Lhasa is first recorded as the name, referring to the area's temple of Jowo, in a treaty drawn up between China and Tibet in 822 C.E.

Lhasa de Sela

Lhasa de Sela (September 27, 1972 – January 1, 2010), also known by the mononym Lhasa, was an American-born singer-songwriter who was raised in Mexico and the United States, and divided her adult life between Canada and France. Her first album, La Llorona, went platinum in Canada and brought Lhasa a Félix Award and a Juno Award.

Following this success, Lhasa toured with Lilith Fair, then joined her sisters in a French circus troupe, contributing her husky voice to the musical backdrop. She lived in Marseille and began to write more songs, then moved back to Montreal and produced a second album, The Living Road. Once again, she toured in support of her album, and she collaborated with other musicians on their projects. During this time, BBC Radio 3 honored her as the best world music artist of the Americas in 2005. She published a book about her impressions of life on the road.

Lhasa recorded a third album, titled Lhasa, but she was diagnosed with cancer in 2009 around the time it was released. She endured severe treatments but these did not halt the illness. She died on New Year's Day 2010. A memorial program of her music was put together in January 2012, performed in Montreal by artists who had worked with her.

Lhasa (disambiguation)

Lhasa is the capital of Tibet.

Lhasa may also refer to: