What is "kansakar"

Kansakār ( Devanagari: कंसकार) or Kasāh is a Nepalese caste group belonging to the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. In Sanskrit, Kansakar means bronze worker, and their traditional occupation has been metal working and trading. Today, they are merchants, industrialists and professionals.

They are part of the Urāy group which includes Tuladhar, Tamrakar, Sthapit, Bania, Sindurakar, Selalik and other castes. The Urāy are a community of high-caste Buddhist merchants, and their family names indicate artisan and mercantile specialists. Their religion is Newar Buddhism and mother tongue Nepal Bhasa.

Kansakars have been traditionally based in Kel Tol in the historical section of Kathmandu where they play a major cultural role. The neighborhood is famed for the sacred courtyard of Jana Baha (Machhendra Bahal) where the central temple houses an image of Aryavalokitesvara (Sacred Avalokiteśvara), a Buddhist deity popularly known as Jana Baha Dyah or White Machhendranath (alternative name: White Karunamaya).