Uray (caste group)

Urāy (Nepali: उरे) (alternative names: Udaaya, Udās) is a Newar Buddhist merchant caste of Kathmandu in Nepal. They are a prominent community in the business and cultural life of Kathmandu.^[1] Urays have played key roles in the development of trade, industry, art, architecture, literature and Buddhism in Nepal and the Himalayan region.^[2]^[3]

The name Uray is said to have been derived from the Sanskrit term "upāsaka" which means "devout layman". The Uray follow Newar Buddhism and speak the Newar language as their mother tongue.^[4] They are believers in non-violence in personal relations and ritual practices.^[5]^[6]

^ Lewis, Todd T. (1995). "Buddhist Merchants in Kathmandu: The Asan Twah Market and Uray Social Organization" (PDF). Contested Hierarchies. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 17 September 2012. Page 47.
^ Lewis, Todd T. (January 1996). "Notes on the Uray and the Modernization of Newar Buddhism" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Page 109.
^ Smith, E. Gene (2001). Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861711793, 9780861711796. Page 88. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
^ Locke, John K. (2008). "Unique Features of Newar Buddhism". Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
^ Lewis, Todd T. (January 1996). "Notes on the Uray and the Modernization of Newar Buddhism" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Page 109.
^ Gellner, David N. and Quigley, Declan (1995). Contested hierarchies: a collaborative ethnography of caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198279604, 9780198279600. Page 76.

[1] Lewis, Todd T. (1995). "Buddhist Merchants in Kathmandu: The Asan Twah Market and Uray Social Organization" (PDF). Contested Hierarchies. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Retrieved 17 September 2012. Page 47.

[2] Lewis, Todd T. (January 1996). "Notes on the Uray and the Modernization of Newar Buddhism" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Page 109.

[3] Smith, E. Gene (2001). Among Tibetan Texts: History and Literature of the Himalayan Plateau. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861711793, 9780861711796. Page 88. Retrieved 17 September 2012.

[4] Locke, John K. (2008). "Unique Features of Newar Buddhism". Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.

[5] Lewis, Todd T. (January 1996). "Notes on the Uray and the Modernization of Newar Buddhism" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. Retrieved 31 January 2011. Page 109.

[6] Gellner, David N. and Quigley, Declan (1995). Contested hierarchies: a collaborative ethnography of caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198279604, 9780198279600. Page 76.

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