Chitrakarとは 意味・読み方・使い方

The Chitrakars belong to the Newah or Newar lingual community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Traditionally, they are painters and mask-makers. In Nepal Bhasa, the mother tongue of the Newars, this caste is called "Puun". When the Newar culture became Sanskritized, the last name Chitrakar was adopted. "Chitr" in Sanskrit means image and "akar" stands for shape. The literal translation of the word Chitrakar is imagemaker. The Puuns or Chitrakars paint Paubas ( Thankas in Tibetan ) used in prayer rooms and murals in temples, make masks used for ritual dances,paintings on ceramics and woodblock prints used at festivals. The craft is handed down from father to son. Women generally play a secondary role in the artistic ventures. Racially, Chitrakars a mix of Tibeto-Burmese and Indo Aryan. Although, with the advent of the modern world, the Caste System is eroding in Kathmandu, there are still some Puun/Chitrakar families following their traditional role as artists. The Puuns/Chitrakars practice both Buddhism and Hinduism with an emphasis on Tantrism.