| Notes | [New.] var. iti, yiti (Old New.), hiṭī (Nep.); n. water spout; a hiti is made of stone but may also have an artistic covering of gold or silver. A hiti covered with gold sheet is called lũhiti (golden spout). If there are more than one spouts at its complex, then the spout with a stone image of Bhagiratha below is considered the main hiti. A hiti complex usually contains a caitya and a śivaliṅga as well. Hiti is an example of ancient Newar engineering that brought water from a faraway source to a place where water is needed through a complex intra-canal system. The source of water of most of the hitis in the Kathmandu valley is not known. Water is transferred from the source through a narrow canal built under the ground maintaining the right amount of slope for the water to flow through. The water flowing through the canal is then met with sharp 90° turns at regular intervals that allow sedimentation of solid particles. Every turn has a small pit filled with fine particles of sand that functions as a filter. Such filters are installed at regular intervals throughout the canal as well. Due to the construction of multi-storey buildings that require going further down for foundation, such intra-canal systems have been destroyed, causing hitis to stop flowing. Some of the famous hitis of the Kathmandu valley are Lũhiti (Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur), Sahasrahiti (Pharping), Nīnidhāḥhiti (Bālāju), Gudhāḥhiti (Godāvarī), Nhaydhāḥhiti (non-existing), Nyādhāḥhiti (Hā̃ḍigāũ), Svadhāḥhiti (Jamal), etc. (Śākya 1994: 33-36). |
