Nepal Newar and Sinhala Quasi-Historical Myths

Now that Nepal is in the news, a post on similar mythical origins of Sri Lankans and the Newar community in Nepal. The post was a result of my Uni Batch mate Sunil Koswatte’s link to a Journal article “The Horse-King and the Merchant Siṃhala, (Z006) By Naomi Appleton.

The Journal article by Naomi Appleton says that
Abstract of the Abstract

The Siṃhala story continues this narrative to include the chief merchant, Siṃhala, being followed home by a demoness, who tries to get him back before seducing and eating the king.
i)This paper examines political and quasi-historical narrative of the invasion of Sri Lanka by the Sinhalese;
ii)Newar Traders warning of the dangers of travelling to Tibet.

Note: The Nepal Newars are the 8th largest ethnic group in Nepal and about 4.6% of the population

From the articleIn fact, the writings of the seventh-century Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang contain versions of the Vijaya and Siṃhala stories side by side, without an indication of either being more popular or true. They are simply linked by the statement

The men of the Siṃha kingdom are small in stature and black- complexioned; they have square chins and high foreheads; they are naturally fierce and impetuous, and cruelly savage without hesitation (he Sri Lankan chronicles version). This is from their inherited disposition as descended from a beast; but another version of the story is that they are very brave and courageous.

The Mahāyāna version of the story in the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra has been adopted and adapted by the Newari communities of Nepal. Newar Traders led trading expeditions to Tibet, and many merchants there took a Tibetan wife, who was often younger and more beautiful than the wife at home.
Although the demonesses are still said to live on Tāmradvīpa (‘Copper Island’: another old name for Sri Lanka), the ocean is replaced by the ‘oceanlike Brahmaputra River’ (Lewis, 2000: 55). Therefore, although the saviour in the story, as in the other Mahāyāna tellings, is Avalokiteśvara, the emphasis of the story is not his veneration. Instead, as Lewis rather succinctly puts it

[it] provides a graphic cautionary tale: to wed non-Newar women who are alluring and sensually adept is an illusion, as it entails forgetting one’s primal loyalty to Newar wife and kin while introducing the danger of enslavement, drowning, and being cruelly eaten alive by the foreign mistresses.

So to summarize,
Three peoples claim the Sinhabahu/Simha story as their mythical origins.
i) The Sinhalese in the Mahavamsa oral tradition written in 6th century AD.
ii) The Nepalese Newar traders in Tibet
iii) The Jaffna Tamils in the Yalpana Vaipava Malai written in 17th century. (not in the article)

Note:  The even though the popular thinking is that the Yakshas were chased of out of Sri Lanka the Mahavamsa states other wise.

eg He (King Pandukabhaya 437 BC  -367 BC) settled the yakkha Kalavela on the east side of the city, the yakkha Cittaraja at the lower end of the Abhaya Reservoir.
http://mahavamsa.org/mahavamsa/original-version/10-consecrating-pandukabhaya/

Link to the PDF version of article by Naomi Appleton. Do Read it if interested in the Religious connotations of the stories
https://journal.equinoxpub.com/BSR/article/view/13664/15891