|
Nepal People |
|
One of
the greatest assets of the Nepal is its people. These
people resides in the mountains, hills, the lower hills
or the Terai and the great plains of Nepal. Over the
last century, there has been a move in population from
west to east, and a continuous flow into India. Over 40%
of the population live in the Terai, 56% in the central
region and 5% in the Kathmandu Valley. Hindi, Nepali and Mailthali are widely spoken in the Terai. More than 6
million Nepalis live in the Indian states of Bihar, West
Bengal and Assam. The Nepalis are known for their
honesty, hospitality and their ability to grin and bear
whatever the situations are. Intertwined into this fine
tapestry of more than 112 different indigenous, ethnic
and sub-class groups, are the modern immigrants to
Nepal, people from Tibet, Bhutan, the erstwhile kingdom
of Sikkim, Darjeeling and the north-eastern states of
India.
Social origins
The Tamang, Rai, Limbu, Bhote and Sunwar are the main
tribals of Tibetan origin who resides in the centre and
east, while the Magar and Gurung lives in the west. High
caste Brahmins, Thakuris and |
|
|
Chettris
dominate the Hindu social system. They speak Nepali language
and are closely related to the dominant communities of
northern India. Today, Hindus make up 90% of Nepal’s
population. The Mongoloid people have entered into the country
from the Tibetan plateau in the north and comprises of 20% of
the people of Nepal. While from south, the Indo-Aryan people
have entered into the country, who comprises 80% of the total
population of Nepal.
Indo-Nepalese
The Indo-Nepalese groups comprises the 80% of the population
and consists of the people of the Terai, Paharis (Hill people)
and Tharus. There was also considerable early Buddhist
influence, although the Lamaistic Buddhism that entered Nepal
from the N was quite different. The Tharus are believed to be
the descendants of some of the original inhabitants of the
Terai and are distributed along Lumbini, just inside the
Nepal's border with India. There are about 800,000 Thaurus who
are farmers and generally practice a form of Hinduism that is
mixed with animist beliefs.
Thakalis
The Thakalis originates from the Kali Gandaki gorge and are
influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism. They have
established little hotels all along the Annapurna Circuit and
extended their influence as hoteliers to other parts of the
country. There are only about 10,000 Thakalis and were the
subsistence farmers, before Nepal was opened up to tourists. |
|
Newars
The Newars belongs to Mongolia and have settled in the
Kathmandu Valley for over 2000 years. They have absorbed
many Indian characteristics, including Hinduism. The
majority of the Newars are Saivite Hindus, while some of
them are Buddhists. They speak the Newari language which
is commonly placed in the Tibeto- Burman family, and
influenced by both Tibeto-Burman and Indo-European
languages. Despite losing political power in the mid
18th century, Newaris still follow their identity,
language and rituals that are combination of Hinduism,
Buddhism and Animism. The Newars are |
|
the
creators of the three separate cities of Bhaktapur,
Lalitpur and Kathmandu that join together to make the
modern capital of Nepal.
The Newars believes that the goddess Kumari temporarily
resides in the bodies of the Newar Buddhist girls.
Nearly a dozen communities have Kumaris, and each is
worshipped with offerings of ornaments, food and money.
Most of the girls give up this holy post on reaching
puberty, although, recently the Kumari of Patan retained
her post till the age of twenty. Since her feet were
literally not allowed to touch the ground, a relative
carried her around. The Newars also believes that the
Kathmandu Valley was a deep lake until the Boddhisatva
Manjusri swung his mighty sword to create a huge cleft
in the encircling mountains. The Newars were the Nepal’s
leading traders, who organize the trains of basket
carrying porters over the trans-Himalayan passes to
Tibet. The Newars are also the remarkable craftsmen.
They developed the country’s unique building style that
successfully blends influences from India, China and
Tibet, with carved wood beams and pagoda-like temple
roofs. The skillfully built temples and palaces,
delicately engraved stone and metal images, carved
wooden columns and pillars and the history laden shrines
and stupas stands as testimony to the artistic
achievements of the Newars.
Tibeto-Nepalese
The Tibeto-Nepalese groups include the Gurung, Magar,
Rai and Tamang which have contributed towards the famous
Gurkha regiments of the British army. The Gurungs live
in the shadow of the great Annapurna mountain, and are
known for their strength, endurance and fearlessness. As
early as the 16th century they were much sought after by
Indian princes and in the late 18th century formed the
martial stock which created the Gurkha kingdom. In the
19th century, these groups were largely placed in the
British army. The word Gurkha is a geographical term
that refers to the Gurung, who came from the fortress
town of Goraknath. There are about 300,000 Gurungs who
depend strongly on the military as a source of income.
Gurkhas have played distinctive and gallant roles in
British wars and campaigns since 1815. The Gurkhas have
won 26 Victoria Crosses for gallantry and various other
battle honours and are regarded as an intrinsic and
loyal element in British army. Some villages derive over
75% of their income from military service and are
dependent on it. The Magars and Rais are very large
groups, and are placed in the Gurkha regiments. Most of
them are subsistence farmers who lives in the middle
Zone hill country of Western and Central Nepal from the
high mountain down to the Terai. They all have Mongoloid
features. The Tamangs believes that the first mother of
the Tamangs was a cow who bore 3 sons, the youngest of
whom, Tolgu, founded the race. The Tamangs practise a
religion which looks like Tibetan Buddhism blended with
Hindu teachings and also incorporate elements of their
‘old’ religion based on shamanism. They live just beyond
the Newari-Hindu cultural area of the Kathmandu valley.
Most of the Tamangs are subsistence farmers, but their
name describes that they were the horse traders and
similar to the Sherpas.
Bhotiyas
The Bhotiyas lives in the northern part of Bhutan,
Sikkim, Nepal and along the Indo-Tibetan border in
Garhwal, Kumaon and Himachal Pradesh. They are Mongolian
who gradually moved off from the Tibetan plateau. They
include the world renowned Sherpas, who immigrated from
Tibet about 600 years ago. The word Sha means east, pa
means people. Earlier, the Sherpas were traders and
porters, who carried butter, meat, rice, sugar, paper
and dye from India, and salt, wool, jewellery, Chinese
silk and porcelain from Tibet and beyond. The Sherpas
live in the Solu Khumbu region of glacial valleys at the
southern approaches to Everest. Due to the close of the
border following the 1962 war between India and China,
their economy was undermined. Due to various
mountaineering expeditions and trekkers, the Sherpas
found their load carrying skills, both on normal treks
and at high altitudes, in great demand. The Sherpas also
received considerable help to set up schools and small
hospitals. The foundation is named after Edmund Hillary,
the first European who reached the top of Everst and
felt that he had a debt to repay the Sherpas. |
|
|
Folk
People of Nepal
Nepal is known as a country with a distinctive and
strong cultural heritage. It is therefore little wonder
that Nepal's folklore plays a large role in society.
Nepalese folklore and mythology provides readers and
listeners with extensive insight into the lives of the
various ethnic groups and Nepal people. Such folktales
can reveal much about tradition, activities, emotion,
superstitions, customs and inhibitions. Tales and
stories are typically based upon reality and religious
belief, with narration on love, war, gods, demons,
ghosts, animals and so on. A single folktale in Nepal
may have several variations from region to region.
Nepalese folklore is often recreated through music and
dance, particularly by the Newar people who act out
stories about gods and heroes through masked dances.
A world renowned figure in Nepal's folklore is the
legendary Abominable Snow man also known as the Yeti,
Bigfoot or Sasquatch, which lives in the Himalayas.
Several reports of sightings of the Yeti have been made
in Nepal, China, Siberia and other Asian countries. The
Yeti or Abominable Snowman is described as a large
apelike |
|
|
creature who uses grunts, whistles and cries to
communicate. Various individuals have attempted to find out if
there is any truth in the stories. They have carefully
considered Nepal's folklore as well as making efforts to
gather casts of footprints, even going so far as to create
devices to capture the elusive Yeti. Even the famous Sir
Edmund Hillary from New Zealand set about probing reports such
as one made by Tensing Norgay's father regarding the Yeti.
Despite all these efforts no tangible evidence has been found
that confirms the existence of an Abominable Snowman. Thus,
the Yeti remains an element of Nepalese folklore. |
|