ETHNOFLORENCE
INDIAN AND HIMALAYAN
FOLK AND TRIBAL ARTS
2008 – 2022
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November 9, 2022
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(I)
THE MASKING TRADITION IN FOLK & TRIBAL INDIA & HIMALAYA
no 28
Khyak Pyākhan (ख्याः प्याखं) Dance of Nepal
The character Khya in three different but similar, iconographically, representations. -On the left ©Photo credit Kamal Ratna Tuladhar via Wikimedia https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Khyah.jpg on the right photo credit updating in progress (4 5 2024)
Khyah, ‘ghost’ translated by Newari, one of the central characters of their folklore, in mythology represents the assistant of the Goddess of wealth Laxmi, iconographically depicted as an obese and hairy semi-human character with a protruding tongue, it is accompanied by his antithetical character, the Kawancha skeleton. Good and bad, bearers of luck and prosperity or disease and misery, domestic Khyahs are believed to reside in attics and dark places in the house, fearing electric lighting, they inspire the Newari dance of Khyas (Khya Pyakha) during various festivals like Yenya (Indrajatra).
On the Letf – Laxmi_dyah_and_khyah Painting showing Goddess Lakshmi and a pair of Khyahs (foreground). © Photo credit of Karrattul via Wikimedia- On the Right – Photo credit Updating in progress
Photo credit Updating in progress
The two aforementioned characters of Khyahs and Kawanchas also appear as secondary characters in some Newar sacred dance dramas.
The images of Khyah and Kawancha can be reproduced in the facades and temples as guardians of the shrine.
The Characters of Khyah and Kawancha – Lagaan Kathmandu Nepal ©Photo credit of Shiv Mirabito
©Photo credit of Shiv Mirabito
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The characters of Khyah and Kawancha are reproduced on the facade of a shrine. – Photo credit Updating in progress
The Khyah dance known as Khyāh Pyākhan (ख्याः प्याखं), is performed during the Yenya festival in Kathmandu, Durbar square.
The characters of Khyah and Kawancha – Photo credit Updating in progress
Typology of the Khyah
Bārāy Khyāh (बाराय् ख्याः) appears in the rooms where the girls are kept in solitary confinement during their rite of passage.
Bhakun Gwārā Khyāh (भकुं ग्वारा ख्याः), roll on the ground to move.
Dhāpalān Khyāh (धापलां ख्याः) is a hairy Khyah.
Lanpan Khyāh (लँपं ख्याः) blocks the passage of people in the dark streets.
Bun Khyāh: lives in cultivated fields
On the Left Photo credit Kamal Ratna Tuladhar via Wikimedia on the Right Photo credit of an Unknown author via Wikimedia
Photo credit Updating in progress
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II
EXTRACTS
from
OUR PHOTO ARCHIVES COLLECTION
An iconographic evolution of the first issues of Ethnoflorence on the web dated between 2008-2010
©Photo & Composition by Ethnoflorence – Ethnoflorence Photo Archives Collection #144
In the posts of the first years of this site – we are talking about the period between 2008 and 2010 – the photos in our archive were used to start the editorial adventure of Ethnoflorence, a selection from it, it’s still published by us after 14 years. Times and the web have changed profoundly in the meantime, and our
editorial line has evolved over the years, but we still believe in the expressive and educational power of these materials.
FACES OF THE HIMALAYAS
©Photo & Composition by Ethnoflorence – Ethnoflorence Photo Archives Collection
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Old Southern Nepal male mask with white kaolin patina (#234)
©Photo & Composition by Ethnoflorence – Ethnoflorence Photo Archives Collection #234
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Old expressive Southern Nepal Male Mask with Yellow Hat. (#6)
©Photo & Composition by Ethnoflorence – Ethnoflorence Photo Archives Collection #6
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ETHNOFLORENCE INDIAN AND HIMALAYAN FOLK AND TRIBAL ARTS 
