Newar are an ethnic community thought to be indigenous to the Kathmandu Valley who speak a Tibeto-Burman language. According to the 2001 census of Nepal, there are 1,245,232 ethnic Newar who account for 5.48 percent of Nepal’s total population, of whom 825,458 speak one of the various Newar languages as a mother tongue. Most Newar are Hindu, but some practice an Indian form of Buddhism. While the Newar have a wide range of occupations, they have traditionally been noted as architects and artisans, the builders of the famous temples and shrines of Kathmandu. Painting and sculpture flourished in the valley in the 10th–16th centuries. (Mark Turin – June 01, 2004)