| INTRODUCTION
The
population of Nepal is estimated at around 20 million. Nepal has
an assortment of races and tribes, of varying colors and contrasts;
living in different geographic regions; wearing various custumes
and speaking different dialects. The peaceful co-existence of all
ethnic groups altogether represents unity in diversity. The people
live under quite diverse geographic conditions from low land in
the south northwards throught the middle hills and valleys to the
high Himalayan alpine pathches.
ETHNIC
DISTRIBUTION
The
Northern Himalayan People
In the northern region of high Himalayas, the Tibetan speaking,
the Sherpas, the Dolpas, the Lopas, the Baragaonlis, the Manangis
live in different settlements scattered along the country. The Sherpas
are mainly confined in the east in the Solu and Khumbu region. The
Baragaonlis and the Lopas live in the semi- deserted area of the
upper and lower Mustang in the part of the Tibetan plateau in the
rain shadow area; the Managis in the Manang district and the adajcent
areas; and the Dolpas in the highest settlements on the earth in
the Dolpa district of Nepal ( in the west) at an altitude of above
4000 m.
The
Middle Hills and Valley People
In the middle hills and valleys, there coexists numerous ethnic
groups. Among them are the Magars, Gurungs, Tamangs, Sunuwars, Newars,
Thakalis, Chepangs and majority of Brahmans and Chhetris. The Brahmans
and Chhetris have long dominance in all pervading social, religious
and political realms. There are also some occupational castes e.g.
the Damai ( tailor), Sarki
(Cobbler),
Kami (Blacksmith) and Sunar (Goldsmiths). Though, there exists numerous
dialects, the language of unification is the national language,
Nepali, an Indo- Aryan language.
Ethnic
Diversity in the Kathmandu Valley
Kathmandu Valley represents a culture cauldron of the country. The
people from different stereotypes, come together, presents traveller
a unique melting pot of cultures. Kathmandu is predominantly inhabited
by the Newars. These people have managed to integrate both Hinduism
and Buddhism to such an exceptional extent that their culture has
developed into a unique one. Today many Newars are traders. Newar
families , who had resided in the valley for centuries , had also
travelled across the country to develop trade.
The
Terai People
The main ethnic groups in Terai region include the Tharus, Darai,
Kumhal, Majhi and other populace which have roots in India. They
speak different north Indian dialects - Maithili, Bhojpuri etc.
The fertile plain of Terai, generally known as "grainary of
Nepal" has great agricultural value. Most of the inhabitants
live on agriculture. There are , however, some occupational castes
e.g. Majhi ( Fisherman), Kumhal (Potter) and Danuwar (Cart Driver).
POPULATION
OF MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS
ETH. GROUP POPULATION
BRAHMAN 2388455
CHHETRI 2968082
CHEPANG 36656
GURUNG 449189
LIMBU 297186
MUSLIM 653055
MAGAR 1339308
NEWAR 1041090
RAI 525551
RAUTE 2878
SHERPA 110358
THARU 1194224
THAKURI 299473
THAKALI 13731
TAMANG 1018252
MAJOR
ETHNIC GROUP
THE
SHERPAS
The most famous among the Himalayan people are the Sherpas. Because
of their impeccable mountaineering skills , they are an indispensable
part of mountain expeditions as leaders, guides and porters. As
an individual or in groups, they have set records of many ' firsts'
in the mountaineering world. Due to their close affinity to Tibet,
in trade, tradition and tongue, the Tibetan influence in their living
style is quite distinct. They come, however, from Solu and Khumbu
region of eastern Nepal , in the vicinity of Mt. Everest, along
the Arun Valley, the Dudh Koshi river and its tributary areas.
Economy
and trade
The economy of the Sherpas, is related directly to the
mountain environment. They primarily live on field agriculture,
animal husbandry, trade and mountaineering. The people of Solu (relatively
in the lower and warmer region compared to Khumbu) grow potato,
barley, wheat , maize and others and trade them in the nearby areas.
The Khumbu Sherpas have limited pasture of arable land and they
primarily depend upon animal husbandry, yak and sheep breeding.
They produce different Yak derivatives; including butter, cheese
etc. Yak butter is used in making the traditional salted Tibetan
tea. Khumbu lies in an important trade route to Tibet through Nangpa
La (Nangpa Pass). Namche bazaar is the main trading center in this
region. This gateway to Mt. Everest is prosperous and it bustles
with activities in the mountaineering and trekking seasons. Its
numerous hotels provide modern facilities including various Satellite
TV channels, public telephone services and different culinary delicacies;
the traditional and continental. As the number of tourists and expedition
increases, the scope of these highlanders for the employment as
guides, and high altitude porters gradually increases. This has
helped quite a lot in their living standards.
Traditions
and Culture
There
are two distinct castes in the Sherpa society; the Khadev and Khamedu,
the former having a higher social status. There are several clans
eg Chhusherwa, Chiawa Gardza, Gole, Goparma, Hirgoma, Lakshindu,
Lama, Mende, Mipa, Ngawa, Paldorje, Pankarma, Pinasa, Salaka, Shargup,
Sherwa, Shine, Thaktu and others. Sherpa society is exogamous. i.e.
a person must marry outside his or her clan. Fraternal polyandry
is found among the Sherpas, that is two brothers may marry one common
wife. However, if there are three brothers in a Sherpa family, the
middle brother has to serve the monastery as a monk and for a family
with four brothers, the group of two may marry two common wives.
The polyandry which is also found in the most of the northern Himalayan
ethnic groups, could have a common reasoning of the limited arable
land available to them. This may restrain the family land being
sub- divided into smaller units. The attitude towards is also relaxed
in general. Polygamy, i.e., marrying more than one wife is rare.
Sherpas
observe a number of festivals during the year. The important ones
are losar and dumze. Losar is the new year 's celebration according
to the Tibetan calendar. It occurs sometimes in the end of February.
This singing, dancing, feasting time is rejoiced by all families.
Dumze is interesting festival observed in the village ' gomba' or
the monastery for seven days, sometimes during the month of July.
The village lama conducts the rituals by worshipping Guru Rimpoche,
Phawa Cheresi, Tsanba and other deities. While the villagers gather
in the evenings at the gomba and enjoy eateries and drinks. Singing,
dancing , and merry making being always the part of the occasion.
Khumbu- hyulla, a local deity is always worshipped on every occasion.
There is one occasion , Nungne, when people take solemn fasting
or partial fasting for three days by laymen and for a fortnight
by the nuns and lamas. People gather in gomba and recite the sacred
texts. Those who can not recite the texts, they chant; "Om
Mani padme hum". This is marked as a kind of penitence.
These
famous highlanders of Nepal are always on the move; sometimes to
the greener and warmer pastures southwards; sometimes to trade and
sometimes to climb the mountain as a guide, a leader or simply a
porter. There are many of Sherpas who have set records in the mountaineering
world. Tenzing Norgay Sherpa with Sir Edmund Hillary, was the first
to climb the highest mountain of the world in 1953. Ang Rita Sherpa,
nicknamed ' the snow leopard' climbed the highest mountains for
the 10th time in 1996, an astonishing feat for any human being that
too without oxygen mask. Even collectively , this ethnic group has
the most climbers and record holders atop the highest mountain.
GURUNGS
In the middle hills and valleys along the southern slope of the
Annapurna Himalaya in the mid- western Nepal; the Gurungs live together
with other ethnic groups. Majority of them, the Magars and their
Khasa counterparts, have formed the bulk of the famous Gorkha regiment
of British and Indian Army; Royal Nepalese Army and the police.
These sturdy, hardworking people are Mongoloid physionomically.
They extend their living territories from Gorkha in the east through
Lamjung and Kaski to Syangja district. Almost every Gurung village
or a family boasts many young men in the Gorkha regiment; their
pensions and salaries being one of the main resourses of their living.
Economy
and trade
The
economy of the Gurungs are mainly based on agriculture, animal husbandry
and services in the army. They grow rice, wheat, maize, millet and
potatoes. The terraced farming is the norms. They also derive their
subsistence from sheep breeding for meat and wool. While sheep herding
they use fierce mastiffs (sheepdogs).
Most
of the Gurung families have, however, an important source of income;
the pensions and salaries of the family members who are in the army.
Among them, there still exist the legendary fighters of British
Gorkha Regiment, who were honored with Victoria Crosses for their
bravery.
Tradition
and Culture
The Gurungs are very colorful, happy and flirtatious people.
A caste hierarchy divides the Gurung community into ' char jat'
and ' sor jat', group of four and sixteen clans respectively. They
are distinctly endogamous groups. Traditionally they prefer cross-
cousins marriage. Among some Gurungs, a small amount of compensation
may be necessary if one wishes to avoid cross- cousins marriage.
The parallel cousins marriage is , however, strictly prohibited.
They
also have a tradition of ' Rodi' , a club of boys and girls of similar
age group where dancing and singing is performed. This institution
gives them ample opportunities to know, understand each other and
develop love and affection. The environment in the Rodi is very
flirtatious. The whole function is guided and held in the supervision
of an adult.
The
Gurungs have very interesting dance tradition. They perform Sorathi,
Ghado, Ghatu and others on one or many occasions. The dancing season
generally starts on Shri Panchami day ( On the fifth day of bright
lunar fortnight some day in January or February) till the day of
Chandi purnima (some day in May or April).
Traditional
dress of the Gurungs includes a short blouse tied across the front
and a short skirt of several yards of white cotton material wrapped
around the waist and held like a wide belt. The Gurung women wear
a cotton or velveteen blouse tied at the front, and a sari of printed
material usually a dark reddish color. Their ornaments include gold
and coral necklaces, gold earrings and nose rings and bangles.
THAKALI
Physionomically Mongoloid featured 'Thakalis' are believed to have
originated from Thak Khola , the valley of the Kali Gandaki river
in western Nepal. These people are famous for their neatly tended
kitchens and derive their subsistence from hotels, inns, and restaurants
income. They are encountered mainly in the Annapurana round trekking,
one of the most famous trekking routes in the country.
Thak
Khola lies in Mustang district of Dhaulagiri zone of Nepal. Thak-
sat-se is the traditional area of the Thakali community, which lies
in the salt trading zone on the south of Tukuche mountain.
Economy
and Trade
The Thakalis, with exceptional businessmanship are one
of the most successful ethnic groups in the country. They derive
profitably from trade and tourism through their investments in hotels,
motels and trading of salt. 'Thak- sat- se' and Tukuche are the
traditional areas of salt trading with Tibet. As middlemen, the
Thakali get their salt from Tibet either directly or through neighboring
border people of Lo, Bar gaun and Panch gaun. They barter it with
rice , wheat, buck wheat from lower hills. Among the Thakalis, there
persists an interesting system of financial co- operative scheme,
known as Dhigur which is used to maintain the relative financial
security for the Thakalis. Dhigur, the lump sum contributed by many
Thakali families and persons, is lent to the one who is needy for
his/ her trading activities.
Tradition
and Culture
In contrast to the Gurungs, the Thakalis form a strictly
endogamus group which is distinctly divided into four exogamus clans.
A Thakali thus has to marry none other than Thakali, but the marriage
has to be outside his or her own particular clan. The four clans
are equal in status socially or ritually. However, on the basis
of precedance in the worship, Gauchan clan comes first, followed
by Tulachan, Sherchan, and Bhattachan. They have their particular
clan gods as animal representative of dragon, elephant, lion and
yak for Gauchan, Tulachan, Sherchan and Bhattachan respectively.
A
Thakali practices cross- cousin marriage. Marriage is usually by
capture. Usually friends and relatives of the to- be- bridegroom,
capture the girl in the evening and retain her confined in one of
the relative's house until they get the approval from the girl's
parents. Polygamy i.e. marrying more than one wife is occasionally
found but polyandry are not found among the Thakalis. The religion
of the Thakali is a mixture of Buddhism, Jhankrism, Bonpo and Hinduism,
but they are close to Jhankrism, a kind of Shamanistic cult as their
original religion.
Lha
Feva is the most significant festival for the Thakalis. It is observed
some day in the month of November of every monkey year of the twelve
year cycle according to the Tibetan calendar. Lha Feva is observed
as the coming of God. The Sanskritic name of the festival is Kumbha
Mela. Another festival Shyoben lava, its Sanskritic name ' Kumar
Jatra', is a ceremony for boys.
The
Thakali society is undergoing rapid cultural change. They are constantly
reforming their society with the changing times. Although they represent
a small ethnic group,they have a strong contribution in the national
economy on the whole.
TAMANGS
The Tamangs live mainly in the high hills in the east , north, south
and west of Kathmandu Valley in the central part of Nepal. These
Tibeto- Burman speaking ethnic group derive their subsistence mainly
as porters for the traders and trekking expeditions. While trekking
in the Helambu or Langtang , we come across many of these people.
Despite being so close to the capital city of Kathmandu, they are
still backward and impoverished.
Economy
and Trade
Most Tamangs, living in compact traditional settlements,
are self- sufficient as far as food is concerned. Tamangs living
outside such settlements are generally very poor and they mainly
work as porters, coolies for the trekkers and traders in the hill
areas. They can not sustain on the cultivation on their marginal
strip of land. Tamangs are very skillful in making woolen garments
from sheep wool. Some of them are also trained to paint beautiful
thankas.
Tradition
and Culture
The Tamang community is divided into several exogamous
clans. A Tamang may marry any other except from his or her own clan.
Cross- cousin marriage is preferred. Polyandry is not found but
polygamy is common.
The
Tamangs are Buddhists. The religious activities are based on Jhankrism.
There are several ghyangs (Buddhist temples) in every Tamang settlement.
All their festivals and ceremonies are performed in Buddhist fashion.
On the first day of Magh ( some day in January and February), they
celebrate Chho in these ghyangs.
Another
feasting ceremony, nara is observed on the full moon day. Altogether,
the Tamangs represent a community greatly exploited and poor in
general.
RAIS
AND LIMBUS
The Rais come from surrounding hills in the north-eastern Nepal
; mainly near Dhankuta, Terhathum, Bhojpur and Arun and Dudh valleys.
Likewise , the Limbus come from the extreme east of Nepal; mainly
from the region of Taplejung, Khotang and Arun Valley.
The
Rais are neither purely Hindu nor Buddhist. They have their own
deities and beliefs. Tibetan lamaism has, however, great influence
in their rites and rituals. The Limbus follow a mixture of Shivaism,
Buddhism and Animism. The Rais and Limbus altogether form 4.4% of
total population.
Economy
and Trade
The Rais mainly derive their subsistence from agriculture.
They cultivate paddy, millet, wheat, corn and even cotton. They
also form a strong group in the Gorkha regiment, Royal Nepalese
Army and the Police. The Limbus are mostly farmers. An ancient strange
tradition prohibits them from working in the fields on the full
moon and new moon days. There is no apparent and logical reason
for the tradition.
Tradition
and Culture
Among the Rais, marriages are monogamous. The marriages
are held by arrangements, captures and elopements. The Limbus follow
the same marriage tradition. Both the Rais and Limbus bury the deceased
and place a tombstone on the grave, bearing the name and date.
THARUS
The Tharus are the indigenous ethnic group who live in the northern
part of Terai and inner Terai with a concentrated population in
the middle and west of the country. They approximately form 6.4%
of total population.
Most
of the Tharus have Mongoloid features with dark and semi- dark colors.
They are aboriginal Terai settlers. Some also believe that Tharus
came to Nepal from India during the Muslim invasion in the 12th
and 13th century.
The
Tharus have their indigenous dialect, known as 'Naja'. But they
speak a mixture of local dialects, such as Prakriti, Bhojpuri, Mughali,
Nepali, Urdu and Maithili.
Culture
and Tradition
The Tharus believe in Animism. They also celebrate Hindu
festivals. There are normally two clans; Pradhan and Apradhan. The
former is considered superior. Each of the Tharu family venerates
its personal tutelary deity which is represented by a lump of earth
mixed with multicolored cotton threads, crude sugarcane and a gold
coin in the center. Each village has its own local gods and goddesses
protecting the people.
Marriages
among the Tharus, are monogamous. It is, however, strictly endogamous.
Polyandry and polygamy are practiced sometimes. Rites and rituals
linked with Tharu marriages are elaborate and complex. Most of the
Tharu cremate their deceased. Others, however, bury them. There
is a strange custom of keeping men face down and women face up during
the burial. There is no apparent reason for it.
BRAHMANS,
CHHETRIS AND THAKURIS
They are predominant ethnic groups in Nepal and altogether they
form approximately 31.5% of total population. They are speakers
of Nepali, the national language of Nepal. Originally, it is believed
that they migrated from different parts of India and settled in
across the country.
BRAHMANS
Brahmans are the members of the highest social caste. Two different
categories of Brahmans viz. ' Kumai Brahmans' and ' Purbiya Brahmans'
are present. They only differ in their derived homeland. The ' Kumai
Brahmans' are supposed to have come from the mountainous regions
of Kumaon in the northern India west of Nepal. They are mainly confined
in the western and central Nepal and the capital city of Kathmandu.
The 'Purbiya' Brahmans derive from the eastern part of Nepal and
are found scattered across the country with the greater concentration
in the eastern part of Nepal and Kathmandu. Brahmans and Chhetris
form a major group in Kathmandu and large number of them occupy
key posts in the government services and in business.
The
Brahmans are priestly caste. The priests in all Hindu temples are
exclusively Brahmans.
The
Brahmans and Chhetris are orthodox followers of Hinduism and its
rites and rituals mentioned in the Vedas, Purans and other scriptures.
Their marriages and other rituals are very complex and elaborate.
Sometimes the parents hold marriages for their 11 or 12 years old
daughters. Though this is punishable by law; one hardly gets persecuted
against such crime. Child marriages, however, tend to slow down
among the city dwellers and educated families. Inter-caste marriages
are looked down upon and cross- cousin marriages are strictly prohibited.
The body of deceased is always cremated. Women never attend the
cremation. The pyre is lit by the son of the deceased. It is believed
that 'doing so' will set the soul in eternal peace after the death.
CHHETRIS
AND THAKURIS
In the caste hierarchy, the Chhetris and Thakuris come second to
Brahmans. They are rulers, leaders and warriors. The Brahmans are
their teachers and family priests. Like Brahmans, they are orthodox
Hindus. Thakuries are believed to have originally come from the
northern part of India mainly from Rajasthan . They could have migrated
to Nepal in the 12th and 13th centuries.
In
Nepal , Chhetris and Thakuris are among the most influential and
well-to-do social classes. They are mostly in the government services,
in high ranked positions in the army and the police. Some of them
have remained farmers and are relatively poor and live like any
other ethnic group.
The
Thakuris resemble the Chhetris in most of the cultural aspects and
social status. The cross- cousins marriages are forbidden among
the Chhetris. The Thakuris, however, commonly practise it among
themselves.
NEWARS
The natives of Kathmandu, the Newars, are mainly traders. With a
purpose to trade, they are scattered across the country; with greater
concentration in the Kathmandu Valley, Banepa, Dhulikhel, Bhojpur,
Bandipur and Tansen . In Kathmandu valley, they make 44% of total
population. Nationally, however, they make about 5.6% of total population.
Despite the small percentage numerically, they contribute significantly
in the history, art, architecture and business activities in the
country.
They
are in to the business and government services; business being their
main profession. They have negligible representations in the army
and police
services.Quite
a few of them also have agriculture as their main occupation. These
agrarian population are known as "jyapus".
Newars
speak their own language, ' Newari' better known as Nepal Bhasa
which belongs to Tibeto - Burman family of languages. It has its
own scripts and has no linguistic connection to Nepali, Hindi or
Sanskrit. The Newari script, the 'Ranjana lipi' is exceptional.
The Newari literature is also very rich.
There
are both Buddhist and Hindu Newars. Like elsewhere in the country,
religious syncretism is blended into the culture and tradition.
They
celebrate numerous feasts and festivals throughout the year.
Newars
have a well defined occupational caste system among themselves.
Though some Newars have Mongoloid features, they rather represent
a community of different elements mixed together.
Besides
their rich cultural heritage, festivals, the Newars are impeccable
artists and architects.
To
quote Prakash A. Raj, the Kathmandu Valley with all its temples
and palaces compares no less to Florence in Italy. The Newars, of
course, remained pivotal in the arts and architecture found in the
Valley.
Among
the Newar community, an interesting ancient tradition, known as
'Ihi or Bel Biha' , requires that a young girl often 7 or 8 years
old, be married to a certain tree called 'Bel tree' or to its green
fruit called 'Bel'. The tree and the fruit symbolize a deity called
'Hiranya Garbha'. Among the deities, Hiranya Garbha is one of the
immortals. Thus marriage with 'Hiranya Garbha' is considered to
be everlasting.
To
put it in a nutshell, the Newars, though small in numbers, have
a very strong and dominating influence in Nepal's economy, politics
and society in general.
CHEPANG
AND KUSUNDAS
These backward ethnic communities belong to a well defined traditional
area in the south of Dhading, the west of Makawanpur and east of
Chitwan along the steeper slopes of Mahabharat range of the mid-
Nepal. Very few of these hunting tribal people started deriving
subsistence from agriculture. Otherwise, hunting, wood collection
etc. have been their foremost living subsistence. Though , they
are economically backward, they have a rich and unique cultural
tradition. With the increasing encroachment of the forest ( their
main living recourse) by themselves and other communities alike,
these people lately started working in the development projects
in the areas as hard labors.
Physionomically
Mongoloid featured Chepangs (& Kusundas) resemble the Kirantis
( the Rais and Limbus) but their lineage to them is yet to be confirmed.
Their totems are dog ('Che' is dog in their dialect) and arrow (
'Pang' is arrow). Their dialect belong to the Tibeto - Burman group
of languages. It, however, differs significantly from the Tamang
dialect. The Tamangs live higher in the mountains than the Chepangs
and the Brahmins and Chhetris live in the lower dales.
They
call themselves Sunpraja and Praja. They consider themselves as
progeny of Lava ( ' Lohari' in Chepang dialect) the son of lord
Rama in the great Hindu epic Ramayana. According to the legends,
the goddess Sita, the consort of Lord Rama gave birth to a son Lava
while she was in exile in a hermitage of sage Balmiki near Narayani
river in Nepal. One day, she went with her son to take a bath in
the Narayani river. The sage saw the cradle empty and created another
living likeness of the baby out of Kusha grass, fearing that Sita
would be shocked at not finding her son and blame the sage for not
watching the baby properly. On her return from bath, Sita was startled
to find another baby in the cradle. The sage, later on, explained
her the details and advised her to raise both of them as her own
sons. The other was brought up as Kusha.
Chepangs
believe themselves as the progeny of Lava and Kusundas as the descendants
of Kusha. ( or Kushari in Chepang dialect). Chepangs and Kusundas
are natural enemies. Chepangs fear that Kusundas kill them on sight.
Kusundas are still in the primitive stage and live in the forests
and caves in the forests of southern part of Gorkha. It is believed
that only few dozens of Kusundas exist in the forest. Chyuri ( an
indigenous fruit) is their favorite fruit. A Chepang family not
owning a Chyuri tree is considered poor and generally looked down
upon.Chepang form an strict exogamous clan. Offspring from a Chepang
woman and a non- Chepang man becomes a Chepang as they are not accepted
by other orthodox castes.
They
observe all the Hindu festivals of Dashain, Tihar and Sakrantis
besides their own tribal festival Nwagi, which is performed on a
Tuesday during third week of Bhadra ( some day in August and September).
Chepangs do not possess other artistic skills of any kind except
weaving of baskets and leaf umbrellas which they use for protection
against rain. Very few Chepangs are literate. There still persists
a tendency among the Chepangs to avoid schooling even if the government
and other organization are trying to uplift their living standard.
MAGARS
Along the Gurung and Khas counterparts, the magars form an integral
constituent of British and Indian Gurkha regiments and the Royal
Nepal Army. They approximately make 7.2 % of total population. They
speak a dialect derived from Tebeto-Burman group of languages. Their
religion is Buddhism. However, there are also some Hindu Magars.
The
Magars celebrate the festival dedicated to the goddess Kali in great
pomp (a Hindu festival ). Especially in Gorkha, they sacrifice a
lot of goats during the occasion. Those who live in the vicinity
of Brahmans and Chhetris have their cultural rituals similar to
theirs. Magar villages are typical with their round and oval houses.
One comes across many of these Magar settlements in the Annapurana
round trekking.
MANANGI
Manangi resemble physionomically and religiously to the Tibetans
but they take pride to believe themselves belonging to the Gurungs
who live in the lower hills and valleys. These people inhabit the
pleasant valley of Manang in the upper reaches of the Marsyangdi
river northwards in the central Nepal. The Manang district encloses
three distinct areas of Neshyang, Nar and Gyasumdo; all of them
culturally interrelated. They have agriculture as their foremost
recourse of subsistence for living. The harsh and cold climate limits
the cultivation to buck wheat, barley, wheat, maize, potatoes and
radishes. They also breed sheep and other cattles. Now a days, they
are also into trading and other professions. They have developed
considerably in living style since they got special consideration
from His Majesty 's Government of Nepal to trade in the South East
Asian countries till 1963/ 1964.
They
are divided into different exogamus clans. Like the Gurungs in the
lower hills, they are divided into Char jat and Sor jat ( group
of four and sixteen clans respectively). They practice polyandry
i.e. a tradition of two or more brothers marrying one common wife.
This tradition, similar to that of other northern Himalayan people,
is however common among the Gurungs. They arrange for feast, singing
and dancing in the wedding.
After
death, they either cremate the body; throw it in the river or cut
the flesh into pieces and feed them to the vultures. The funeral
proceeds as the Lama directs the rituals. Losar, the new year's
celebration is their main festival in the month of February. Similarly,
archery is arranged in a grand way during the month of April- May.
DOLPA
The Dolpa or Dolpo-pa settlements are concentrated in the remote
and fascinating region which is confined by the Dhaulagiri Himalaya
in the south and east; the Sisne and Kanjiroba mountain in the west
and Tibet on the north. They generally settle at altitudes of 3,660
m ( Approx. 12,000 ft.) to 4,070 m ( 14,000 ft. approx.) They are
probably the highest settlements in the world. These mongoloid featured
people are Tibetan speaking. Most of them are illiterate, but they
are not very poor. They derive their subsistence from agriculture
and cattle breeding. The transactions are still done on barter basis.
Dolpa
society is divided into a number of exogamous clans. Each of the
clans has a totem animal which they worship. The particular totem
animal is never slaughtered by the clan member. Marriages are very
relaxed in general. Pre-marital and extra-marital sex union are
not prejudiced. All the brothers in a family marry a common wife.
Marriages can be of any type; by arrangement , capture or elopement.
They
wear bakhhu ( a heavy warm outer covering to knee - high). Dolpa
women wear colorful aprons with a pair of trousers underneath. The
ornaments include brass headdress of rectangular shape and other
brass ornaments.
The
Dolpa people are Buddhist, but the Bon- po sect of Buddhism also
co-exists. They dispose off the dead in different ways. Some throw
the corpse into the river while others cut the flesh into pieces
and feed them to the vultures.
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