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Author: Pradeep Rai

Pradeep Rai is a writer and researcher studying the ethnic culture and history of the Himalayan Tribes.

The Burning of Evil – Ghanta Karna Festival

Written by Pradeep Rai on . Posted in Newar Culture. No Comments on The Burning of Evil – Ghanta Karna Festival

Festivals in the Himalayas have always been a medium through which tribal communities expressed their understanding of the world. It allows them to assert their actions and reactions to social, natural, and environmental circumstances. The idea here is to claim indigenousness and celebrate festivals that have been informed by local sensibilities, practices, and perceptions.  For the Newars, this idea is articulated in a way that seems indigenous instantly but where the influence of Hinduism is also largely dominant. Or at least their interpretations are!

Over the many centuries of its journey, Newari traditions have meandered along with a series of religious practices. While these practices are exclusive only to the Himalayas they still have absorbed influences along the way. Perfect examples are set around the Kathmandu region, like the “Ghanta Karna” festival.

Ghanta Karna, often known as Gathemuga or Gathemangal was a ruthless monster who mercilessly killed his victims and was particularly notorious for picking up children and killing them. Ghanta Karna means “Bell Ears”. On each ear, he wears a bell that jingles as he walks. He does that so he can avoid the chants made in the names of the Gods. His depraved sexual orgies and appalling overindulgences with his innumerable wives horrified the pious people of the Kathmandu valley. This festival is about burning the effigy of the monster Ghanta Karna, a manifestation of evil energies, and burning him cleanses the land and helps rejuvenate the spirit of the living.

In Newari belief systems, men and women being haunted by evil spirits, demons, and witches aren’t unfathomable. These spirits, good or bad, roam the lands and even visit homes. In Newari society, the existence of the evil eye, the practitioners of black magic and spells are not considered irrelevant or sources of mere superstition. The festival of Gathemangal, therefore, is still significant to the Newars. The festival falls on the fourteenth day of the dark lunar fortnight in July or early August, which is traditionally the last day of rice transplanting. This is the Night of the Devil when Nepalese celebrate their victory over the most dreaded of all monsters who terrorized the countryside in ancient times.

It is said that the tormented people held a great meeting and together prayed to the old Gods for help. One God complied, appearing amongst them in the guise of a common frog.  The frog approached Ghanta Karna and started to imitate and mimic every move of the monster. Enraged at the creature’s insolence, Ghanta Karna leaped towards it, but the frog jumped beyond his reach and jumped into a well, and the monster, thinking victory was his, plunged in after and met his death. Then in a festive procession, the people dragged the gigantic, corpse of the monster to the river for cremation, throwing his ashes into the water, and there was peace in the land again.

Gathemangal festival is in honor of the frog but also about the defeat of the Ghanta Karna. On the day of this festival, in the morning, little children collect money from different homes and erect simple arches and cross made up of tree twigs at the street intersections. They ask for money from all pedestrians who take this route-funds that are used to create a grand mock funeral of the devil. This is done to recreate the funeral of Ghanta Karna where his wives had to enlist little children to beg for funds to cremate their fiendish husband.

Ghanta Karna effigies, made up of bamboo and rice straw, are erected at crossroads around the city, the bordering villages as well, made from leafy bamboo poles, bound near the top to form a tall structure. A painted, frowning face of a monster is affixed to the body. At dusk, an eager crowd gathers around the bamboo effigy awaiting the untouchable Ghanta Karna. Then it is set on fire and dragged toward the river where a final farewell to the Devil is made. The ashes are thrown in the river.

Many Newars also associate the Gathemangal festival with Shinajya, where folklore narrates the story of ghosts and spirits helping the farmers of Kathmandu but these creatures couldn’t be fed enough and had to be burned or drowned. Some associate Ghanta Karna to the Aju Dyo, an incarnation of Lord Bhairav.  Today, not much is known about when this festival began but its stories, approach, and performance are unique to Kathmandu and the Newars.  The Ghanta Karna festival indicates beyond all doubt that cultural festivals endorse an experience of social inclusion, positive community engagement, and a way to preserve age-old traditions.

The Ghanta Karna festival is one of the few consistently positive events for indigenous Newars to assert a more positive view of themselves, both traditionally and for recognition as a distinct culture in a global context. It is a festival that is more cultural than a religious one, successfully inherited by today’s Newars from their forefathers which is why it is a significant event.  Throughout the ages, such festivals have helped maintain cultural integrity and the transfer of tradition to a whole new generation of people.  

Hyolmo (Yolmo) Identity and Origins

Written by Pradeep Rai on . Posted in Hyolmo Culture. 2 Comments on Hyolmo (Yolmo) Identity and Origins

On the foothills of the beautiful towering mountainside in Central East Nepal, the Upper Helambu Highlands are tucked up against the massive Himalayas and ringed by jungle-covered hills on all sides. This is home to the Hyolmo or Yolmo people, a small tribe, who may look traditionally Tibetan at a glance but actually hold a distinctive individual identity and story.  The Helambu Highland which actually derives its name from the Hyolmo people themselves is also one of the best trails for trekking and features regularly in Nepal’s tourism posters and rosters yet the people who live in this region remain marginally unknown to Nepal and the rest of the world.

The main settlements of the Hyolmo people are Melamchi Ghyang, Tarke Ghyang, Sermathang, and Kangyul which together form the region of Helambu. Yolmo or Hyolmo is a community of people who have resided in the Helambu region for many centuries. A sizable minority also live in Darjeeling, Sikkim, and Bhutan and they refer to themselves as “Yolmopa” The term Yolmo in Tibetan means “a place of snow and glaciers”. Anthropologists like Graham E. Clark (A Helambu History) and Naomi Bishop (Himalayan Herders: Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology Series) are of the opinion that the Yolmos arrived in the Helambu region more than 300 years ago from the Kyirong region in Tibet. Their language, although similar to the Sherpas and the Tibetans, bears a close resemblance to the Kyirong-Kagate Tibetan dialect.

The Helambu Highlands

The Yolmos also share a strong affinity with the indigenous Tamangs and the Helambu and Melamchi regional folklore speak about Tamangs being the ones who had initially invited the Yolmos from Tibet. These regional folklores which are oral narratives are stories that explain the ritual dependence of the Tamang upon the Yolmo people because of the latter having ties with religious institutions in Tibet.

Other stories of the Hyolmo, as they communicate and narrate it, is that a powerful tantric master (probably Sakya Zangpo) would frequent between Samye in Tibet and Kathmandu, Nepal, which were power centers of tantric wisdom. Helambu became an important stopover between these two destinations thereby making it a sacred land that provided refuge between these two power centers that revolved around the legend of Yolmo Tulku Shakya Zangpo.  Graham E. Clark also writes about how the Yolmo social life is influenced by the vital location of Helambu not only for pilgrimage but also as a trade route.

The Hyolmos are Buddhists with a strong background in Shamanism. Anthropologist Stephen Sparks (Ethnic Minority Development Plan) classifies the Yolmo religious belief system into two groups. One group of Yolmos practices Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism and the other group believes in Shamanism. Their festivals include Lhosar (New Year) and Nara (which fall during the time of Hindu Dashain). The other festivals that the Yolmo people observe are Dukpa Tsechu, Hyulka Tsechu, and Torpe. Much like other hill tribal communities, harvest festivals like Udhauli and Ubhauli are also celebrated by the Yolmo people.

But while the influence of Nyingmapa Buddhism is strong among the Yolmos and defines their religious culture, it isn’t always the crux of their identity and social life. Much like various Himalayan communities, they also have a pre-Buddhist shamanistic spiritual practice. A Hyolmo Shaman is called a Bompo or Bombo, who is a significant ritual expert whose animistic role involves divination, healing, and worship of tutelary deities and divine spirits. Apart from these, a Bompo is also a myth narrator and the upholder of oral narratives passed on by divine ancestors. But there does seem to be a tussle between Shamanistic traditions and Buddhism in Yolmo society.

Much of their folklore deals with the conflict between Bompos and Buddhist Lamas. In his book Landscape, Ritual and Identity among the Hyolmo of Nepal, David Torri writes, “Particular attention is given, in those stories, to the right to perform funeral rites, which, in one way or the other, the shaman is at some point always forced to relinquish. Even today, Hyolmo Bombo, despite claiming formal adherence to Buddhism, still nurture an ambivalent and ambiguous stance towards it, keeping to their tradition, and transmitting their oral lore along continuing spiritual lineages.”

The Yolmo people have many stories to tell. Their stories define the merging of different cultural contexts to evolve into a community that has constructed their identity, their self, according to their own renditions through the ages. From the Helambu Beyul (hidden land) to a significant Himalayan tribe, Yolmo people prevail upon their lore – the verbal expressive narrative deposited in the memories of their people over countless generations. These stories, which embody their knowledge, beliefs, values and which guide their people, form the true identity of their community.

Magar Sub-Tribe, Lineage and Kin-Groups

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In The Gorkha Soldier, a publication by Major H.R.K Gibbs of the British Army in 1944, he wrote, “the great Magar tribe is divided into seven clans viz:-Ale; Bura or Burathoki; Gharti; Pun; Rana; Roka and Thapa. While Northey and Morris’ famed research titled The Gorkhas, their manners, customs and country had mentioned only six “original” sub-tribes of the Magars in their publication, Gibbs added Roka to his list.

All are equal in social status and inter-clan marriages are usual and normal. A tribe can generally be considered a social section based on a genealogical notion of social structure. This is important to understand while studying sub-tribes – a concept that is more or less localized social units that sets them apart from each other. Often the term lineage is used but within the sub-tribe, there is a whole new clan structure which can be aptly called lineage that is exogamous in nature.

Much needed information about the Magar tribe can be found in the document archives of the British army. The records of the Gurkha regiment has been well documented. Though inter-clan marriages seemed to have been common in the Gurkha regiment, anthropologists say that this was obviously not the case in the villages, especially in the rural zones. There, the group was completely homogenous. This was because different clans of the Magars lived apart from each other. There were no means of communication between those clans and proper roads were uncommon. The clans also spoke unintelligible languages and followed different dietary restrictions.

Eden Vansittart, in Notes of Nepal (1894), also omitted the Buda and Roka Magars claiming that they became Magars not because of ethnicity but by settlement. He claimed that only “Allea, Burathoki, Gharti, Pun, Rana, and Thapa” were real Magars. Today, both Roka and Buda Magars are considered a part of the Magar tribe. Both clans inhabit the Baglung region and inter-clan marriage between them and the other Magar clans are quite common. Today it has been widely accepted that there are seven sub-tribes within the Magar tribe. But within these tribes, there are further branches or lineages that the Magars zealously adhere to.

In his research titled, The Hill Magars and their Neighbors, Jiro Kawakita classified the Magar tribe into two basic clans – 18 Magars and 14 Magars. This classification was done based on linguistic differences between the two groups. A marked distinction in their languages seemed to have come from living in different geographical regions. The 18 Magars live around the North-Western Himalayan region whereas the 14 Magars live around the Gandaki basin and the Terai regions of Lumbini.

Within each of these sub-tribes, there are various lineages that essentially form the Magar tribe. These lineages within the Magar sub-tribes weren’t merely created to demarcate or claim an inheritance. A close analysis of the names of these lineages tells us that many names have come from location, work, skills rather than just patrilineal descent.

Lineage names that come from places and locations seem to be prevalent among the Magars. For example, those Magars who lived close to the Bhuji River came to be called Bhujel Magars. Those who had migrated from Palpa to other places became Palpali Magars. Though such systems hardly fulfill the criteria of being called “lineage”, this practice within the Magar tribe seems normal because the Magars give more importance to the sub-tribe rather than lineage.

Writers like Eden Vansittart called these “lineages” kin groups. It was noticed by Vansittart that many men who aspired to join the British forces would falsify their documents by claiming their own “caste” to be a lineage of the great Magar tribe. “So many tribes nowadays claim to be Magars,” he wrote, “that to definitely settle which are, and which are not, entitled to the name, becomes a matter of great difficulty.”

Vansittart who claimed that only “Allea, Burathoki, Gharti, Pun, Rana, and Thapa” were real Magars said that the Bura Magars were actually a part of the Matwali Khas tribe of the East and not from the actual Magar tribe. However, this observation doesn’t hold much ground because Bura Magars are known to have always been speaking Kham Kura while the Matwali Khas speak Nepali.

Many scholars also believe that to claim to be a kin group of the Magars had always been desirable in the past. And this was not only because of the enticement of joining the British Army in the 19th century. This practice was prevalent as early as the 10th century when Mukunda Sen ruled beyond the western borders of Kathmandu. Mukunda Sen (though not himself a Magar), had hired various soldiers from the Magar tribe and provided position and prestige to the Magar surname. It is also believed that in addition to military prestige they also had a higher social status derived from massive wealth accumulation.

Alcohol Abuse among Tribal Communities

Written by Pradeep Rai on . Posted in Articles & Opinions. 1 Comment on Alcohol Abuse among Tribal Communities

Alcohol abuse is a major public health issue in India, especially among tribal communities.  This is not just in India and the rest of the Himalayan region but has always been a worldwide problem. In the United States, alcohol abuse is the leading cause of death among Native Americans. Various studies in India have also shown that alcohol consumption among tribal people is significantly higher in other social groups. For a vast majority of tribal communities, the custom of drinking is persistent and widely pervasive during traditional practices and can be viewed as a part of a behavioral domain that has become so alarming that it has garnered academic interest! Should tribal people who repeatedly consume liquor be overlooked as it is a cultural practice, or is it now time to call it an unhealthy custom and reforms be brought in?

Communities listed as India’s Scheduled Tribes constitute 8.2% of the total Indian population. But the capability to meaningfully study the extent and nature of tribal health patterns in India still remains limited. What we do know for sure is that the death rate due to alcohol abuse is far greater among tribals than non-tribals. The production of alcoholic beverages throughout the Himalayan region has its roots in various cultural and religious practices of these communities. The consumption of such beverages has strong traditional significance among ethnic people. In many cases, alcohol libations are also made upon the sanctums or shrines of tribal people. Then, there are also social conventions that allow for the consumption of alcohol.

Alcohol production and drinking customs among tribal communities are explicitly embedded in the role, function, significance, and traditions of tribal social groups but they do not necessarily dictate the circumstances which make its people drink or abstain, and perpetuate their tradition through subsequent generations. Moreover, the alcohol produced by most Himalayan tribes has always been mild beers or other fermented soft beverages, which are generally used only for ritualistic and ceremonial purposes. The use of other forms of alcohol came into the knowledge of tribal people only after they made contact with the mainstream non-tribal populace.

While there are many who argue that because of genetic differences, alcohol is more harmful to ethnic indigenous tribal people, no scientific data supports this argument. It is a myth but many studies show that while the effects of alcohol could be the same for tribals and non-tribals, tribal people are more likely to consume alcohol than others. Tribals are also likely to consume alcohol at risky levels. But is this the entire reason for the increasing number of fatalities among tribals? Here we must also investigate the extent to which the tribal/non-tribal health divide goes and also the differences in socioeconomic well-being between the two groups.

The difference in socioeconomic resources directly accounts for tribal and non-tribal health inequalities. The extent to which socioeconomic well-being predicts health outcomes within a populace is self-evident. Health inequalities are fundamentally social in nature though not exclusive to just tribal populations. The patterns of tribal health deprivation and socio-economic condition of the group have been investigated time and again. In a paper titled Caste and Tribe Inequality: Evidence from India, 1983-1999, Yoko Kijima cites various writers who have reported the “disparities of living standards” between tribals and non-tribals. We can therefore deduce that these reasons alone are the main causes of alcohol becoming lethal for tribal people.

Most of the tribes in India, despite Government support, face a persistent economic disadvantage. They also suffer from high rates of unemployment, illiteracy, and a severe dearth of stable income. According to a report by the Planning Commission of India, in rural areas, 47.3 % of communities listed as Scheduled Tribes of India, live below the poverty line. In the urban areas, it is 33.3%.  Tribal communities also have below-average rates of high school and college completion with very few graduating from college each year.  These communities are less likely to have health insurance and access to adequate medical care. The overall economic disadvantage, characterized by illiteracy, poverty, and scarce resources, likely contributes to the prevalent abuse of alcohol. Less availability of medical treatment also causes more deaths due to alcohol abuse.

Other than severe health problems, tribal populations are also forced to endure the unfortunate stereotype that they are alcoholics.  The infamous Muluki Ain is a famous example. Published in 1854, this Constitution of Nepal, categorized the entire indigenous tribal population of the Nepal Himalayas as “Masinya Matwali” which literally means “expendable alcohol drinkers”. Even after more than 150 years, the Himalayan tribes in Nepal as well those living in the neighboring Sikkim and Darjeeling have not been able to shake off the label of being called a “Matwali” or “Alcohol Drinker”.  Many a time, a person belonging to a tribal group can be heard saying “hamile ta jaat le pako” (we have inherited drinking).

There is an inherent sense of cultural loss, identity crisis, and historical trauma among tribal people. They have suffered many years of oppression and persecution which not only affect socio-economic situations but also bring about psychological distress. While there may not be any discrimination today but the impact of centuries of socio-economic, moral, physical, psychological trauma is likely to affect many generations because it disturbs the subconscious nature of thinking. Moreover, those tribal populations which have been influenced by a Hindu way of thinking are already fatalistic in their approach to life and the world. The grip of fatalistic thinking, identity crisis, and poverty is almost impossible to evade. Centuries of oppression, loss of land, and identity crisis can easily cause unresolved anguish to be transmitted across generations, which likely leads to drinking as a coping mechanism though there may be no official data to prove it.

Tribal people have not only lost their lands in ancient times but continue to do so today. They have constantly sold off their ancestral lands to acquire alcohol. Many expanded cities and residential areas today have been built upon Tribal lands. While the Government of India has banned the tribes from selling off lands to non-tribals presently, much of the damage has already been done and so the woes of many tribal communities that come from losing their lands seem to continue. Research has shown that tribal people suffer from chronic stress, which subsequently increases the risk of alcohol abuse and addiction.

There are very few rehabilitation programs available for tribal social groups. There are no organizations that assist people suffering from substance abuse. While treatment for alcohol-related problems is already low, tribal populations also suffer from various ailments. According to a paper titled, Doctors for Tribal Areas: Issues and Solutions, Mavalankar D writes that among tribal populations, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, malnutrition, mental health, and addictions complicated by poor health-seeking behavior have quadrupled over the years.

If not for proper treatment plans, recovery programs, and other healing approaches, alcohol abuse among tribal populations will continue to rise. While Governments and non-profits might be trying to help, the participation of community elders, spiritual leaders, families, and groups within a tribal community must come together and create culturally sensitive treatment programs to overcome this challenge.

Tribal Traits: Characteristics of Tribal People

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In 1987, the International Labor Organization put up a report that provided the most accredited definition of indigenous tribal peoples. It said, “Indigenous peoples usually maintain a strong attachment to particular geographical locations and ancestral territorial origins. They typically seek to remain culturally, geographically, and institutionally distinct from the dominant society, resisting assimilation into the greater national society. In this way, they tend to preserve their own socio-cultural, economic and political ways of life.” This might be a generic statement considering that different tribes around the world, though similar, might exude different group behaviors but it is also partially true.

In a country like India which has the largest population of communities classified by the Government as tribal, the criteria to categorize a community as a tribe requires more than just the aforementioned description. Article 342 of the Indian Constitution provides for the specification of tribes or tribal communities or parts of or groups within tribes or tribal communities which are deemed to be for the purposes of the Constitution the Scheduled Tribes in relation to that State or Union Territory. For a community to be included as a scheduled tribe of India, it must have five characteristics.

  1. Primitive traits or way of life
  2. Geographical Isolation
  3. Shyness of Contact
  4. Distinctive Culture
  5. General/Economic Backwardness

A tribe is a group of people that is distinguished from other groups mainly through lifestyle, locations, values, and belief systems. Although basic attributes have been acknowledged, there can be no universal, generic, and absolute classification to define indigenous tribal people. However, there are certain parameters that can be accepted for a broader understanding or classification. There can be functional definitions that are balanced on foremost characteristics, such as those related to culture, languages, and beliefs, which provide a good practical basis for identifying the presence of “tribal traits” while also leaving categorization sufficiently wide to accommodate various socio-cultural disparities.

The challenges of classifying or categorizing communities into Castes and Tribes, differentiating them from the mainstream to the backward, are much greater in a country like India which has over 700 different tribes. The tribes in other parts of the world, especially in the West, are usually ethnically, socially, and culturally very different from the rest of their mainstream populace but in India, many tribes sometimes have broad connections with non-tribal communities. It is difficult to separate or classify populations because different communities have influenced each other over the centuries. Many tribal groups have also assimilated Hindu gods and goddesses in their religious beliefs because Hinduism is quite pluralistic in essence. Other tribes have gone on to embrace Buddhism and Christianity is predominant among a majority of tribes in the North East of India.

Such challenges also mean great variety and diversity that exist across regions and tribal groups. Therefore it is important to study the peculiarities and contextual characteristics of particular tribes, while also identifying and acknowledging their shared ethnicities and principles. A tribe should have some functional interdependence within the community. A tribe must have a sense of unity among themselves. They must follow a proper clan and lineage structure. British Anthropologist F.G Bailey says that a tribal community is one that is entirely segmentary in nature- a society based on lineage, that has equivalent parts held together by shared values. According to him, tribal people are also those who have control over natural resources.

Tribes also have a definite geographical and social region that they inhabit. They usually are seen living in remote corners, such as on hilly and forest areas. In Sikkim and Darjeeling, people mainly come across names of places such as Rai Gaon, Tamang Gaon, Lapchetar, Limbu Busti, Mangarjung, etc. This is all because tribal people share a definite common topography. Even in urban areas like Kathmandu, we can see this pattern replicating itself time and again. While the Rai people live mainly in Lalitpur, around regions like Talchikhel, Nakhipot, the Magars are abundantly found around Koteswor, and Gurungs live around Maharajgunj and Lazimpat. Living in this common topography is a trait that comes from instincts developed since ancient times while living as a tribe. This behavior not only hints at a need for a sense of unity but also shows the “Shyness of Contact” traits of a tribal community.

D N Mazumdar writes, “The concept of Tribe has further been defined as a social group with territorial affiliations, endogamous, with no specialization of functions, ruled by tribal officers, hereditary or otherwise, united in language or dialect.”  While endogamy may not be prevalent among some tribes presently, it is usually preferred. Tribes are an integrated social organization that thrives on the basis of primary blood relationships. Cultural homogeneity is the main characteristic of a tribal community. This is not only the ‘shyness of contact’ trait but also fulfills the ‘primitive way of life’ classification.

A tribal society is also based on egalitarian principles. While all tribal people share common values, it also gives rise to a value system centered on equality. We find that among tribes, there are no institutionalized inequalities like the caste system or gender-based inequities. Thus men and women enjoy equal status and freedom. Tribes also understand the importance of kinship and share a common dialect which helps them feel united, safeguarded, and equal among themselves. This collective unity can be found in tribal communities in which people from a very young age are integrated into sturdy, cohesive bonds, which always continue to protect them in exchange for loyalty and ethnic values.

Ghatu Tradition of the Gurung People – Part 1

Written by Pradeep Rai on . Posted in Gurung Culture. 3 Comments on Ghatu Tradition of the Gurung People – Part 1

Ghatu or Ghaptu is a narrative song and dance tradition of the Gurung people. Ghatu song and dance performances are one of the richest and beautiful forms of artistic expression in the Himalayan region. Yet it remains unheard of and invisible in common knowledge and popular culture. It is prevalent, however, among the rural Gurung communities of Western and Central Nepal. Ghatu is performed not only for fun and entertainment but also because it is primarily a socio-cultural display and has historically played a key role in achieving amplified social cohesion among the native Gurung, Magar, and other indigenous communities of Central West Nepal.

Ghatu is a slow group dance performance that involves enacting scenes from local mythology and is accompanied by song and music. This performance goes on for hours and dancers invariably go into a state of trance during the performance. No one knows the origins of Ghatu. Today, it is observed not just by the Gurungs but also by the Magars, Tamangs, and a few other communities living in the Western Himalayas. The tribes in the Himalayan region have always been deeply spiritual who have enjoyed a rich ceremonial life that was profoundly expressed through music and dance. So, Ghatu being added to this profoundly rich repertoire is good for artistic traditions. Moreover, music and dance form the core means through which the tribal people have always communicated their values and beliefs and asserted their unique identities.

There are three types of Ghatu dances. The Barahmase, Kusunda, and the Sati Ghatu. While the Barahmase Ghatu is more common than others and doesn’t adhere to strict regulations and is performed during celebrations, the Kusunda Ghatu depicts scenes of a Jogi, living as a hermit in a place called Kusunda and an interaction with the Kusunda forest Gods. Here, we must understand that the Sati Ghatu is the complete story and performance while the Barahmase and the Kusunda Ghatu are merely some scenes picked up from the complete Sati Ghatu. This traditional Ghatu dance is intimately connected with a song and the beat of the Maadal, for hours on end.

Ghatu is a long, oral epic and its form can be divided into three basic categories – Dhile, Chamke and Yalala. Dhile performance is slow and gradual while Chamke is fast and Yalala is something in between. Ghatu depicts the story of Ambawati and Parashuram, a queen and the king of Lamjung. They have a wonderful love and a complete life together along with a son named Balkrishna. Parashuram soon has to go fight a war and he subsequently dies on the battlefield. The queen self immolates along with her husband, in grief. It is this grief which forms the climatic crux of the entire Ghatu performance.  Each lyric and corresponding dance move is typical and of a fixed nature depending on the song and the purpose of the gathering in which it is performed. In fact, it is so common to incorporate these elements in unison that it forms to become one unified element.

In some places, the ritualistic beginnings of the Ghatu performance happen in January during the festival of Shree Panchami, when the dancers are selected. Originally, Ghatu rituals begin in the month of Baisakh when the main dance always took place on a full moon night. There is continuous dancing for three days and three nights. After the rituals are done, rice and other crops are planted. It is the belief of the Gurung people that a good Ghatu performance pleases the nature spirits which will, in turn, help them with a good harvest.

Ghatu dance always begins with the invocation of nature’s forest, river, and mountain spirits such as Hiuchuli, Barchali, and Deuchuli. The Ghatusari, (dancers) move their body and hands gracefully in a complete trance during a typical performance with their eyes closed following the songs. These moments of trance are the most important aspects of any Ghatu performance. Music and dance have been and are essential parts of Gurung culture and act as a banner or badge with which to affirm their cultural identity and belief system. This is why Ghatu is of great social and cultural importance.

To be continued.

Tamang Clans and Lineage Structure

Written by Pradeep Rai on . Posted in Tamang Culture. 6 Comments on Tamang Clans and Lineage Structure

There is always a prerequisite to calling a community, a tribe. It’s the clan structure, a custom which a tribe must ascertain to tracing descent and to follow a lineage. The Tamang community is usually classified as Baara Tamangs (Twelve Tribes) and the Atharah Jaat (Eighteen Sub-Tribes). This was the Tamang rhetoric when asked about the sub-tribes of the Tamang tribe. It should be noted that the word “Jaat” is colloquial and comes from the Nepali word which literally means Caste. The Tamang word for “Clan” is Rui.

Every tribe had its own custom for tracing descent. There may be tribes who trace it through their male members while some do it through matrilineal clan structure. The Tamang clan system serves as a foundation for social control and religious protocol for honor and respect. This system is a patrilineal affiliation where clan membership is passed by the father to the children.

The Tamang people who do not fall into the Hindu system of caste should not have been using the term “Jaat” to denote a clan or a sub-tribe, but over the many centuries of being in close proximity to the Hindu cultures, Tamangs freely use the terms Bara Tamang and Atharah Jaat to describe their clan structure. It should be noted here that the 12 Tamang Tribes usually consider themselves pure and above the rest. Eden Vansittart in his book, The Gurkhas (published in 1906) names the twelve Tamang sub-tribes as:

1. Baju
2. Bal
3. Dumjan
4. Ghishing
5. Giaba
6. Goley
7. Mikchan
8. Moktan
9. Pakrin
10. Syangdhen
11. Theeng
12. Yonjan

According to NJ Allen, in his study titled, Fourfold classifications of society in the Himalayas, he says that the Tamangs originated from the four families living in Wuijhang, Tibet and they were Bal, Yonjon, Moktan, and Ghising. This notion, according to Allen, comes from the origin story of the Tamangs themselves. The Tamangs, like the Gurungs, are usually described as consisting of a superior and an inferior stratum having numerical names.

Traditionally Tamangs have been known to associate different clans with specific areas, settlements, and villages as their Bapsa, (the land of belonging). The different Rui or clans, each has their own association with the Bapsa distributed across the region and which have been their original settlement. The various kinds of connections, associations, and relationships between different clans connect these lands and titles and layout common and shared territory. The larger territory is further joined by linkages between the territorial divinities which protect the Bapsa. Many names of these sub-tribes or clans within the Tamang homogenous tribe seem to have come from the Bapsa.

It can be determined that in the ancient Tamang Tribal set up every facet was built around a certain amount of respect to clan roles. These would set precedents and these roles defined the conduct of individuals. The Tamang tribe in totality was an endogamous unit while the sub-tribes among themselves remained exogamous. Many scholars believe that those who married away from the tribe would often be considered an outcast, thereby creating variants of the 12 main sub-tribes. This gave rise to the mixed Atharah Jaat Tamangs. These “mixed-breed” Tamangs, however, were provided the same amount of social standing in comparison to the original 12.

While the original term deems the numeric value to be 18 Tamangs, the numbers are far more than that.

1. Bal 2. Bomzon 3. Blone 4. Bamten
5. Blendene 6. Bajyu 7. Chhyumi 8. Choten
9. Chhekpal 10. Chauthen 11. Zimba 12. Moktan
13. Theeng 14. Gyabak 15. Pakhrin 16. Singden
17. Titung 18. Thokar 19. Khyungba 20. Lungba
21. Glan 22. Waiba 23. Prabhuba 24. Mokchan
25. Lo 26. Manangthen 27. Ghale 28. Syangbo
29. Yonzon 30. Jyumi 31. Ghongba 32. Tongsang
33. Taisang 34. Jongan 35. Samten 36. Mulung
37. Negi 38. Mamba 39. Kamden 40. Marpa
41. Moden 42. Sumba 43. Rimten 44. Jogna
45. Sarpakhor 46. Sugtal 47. Hen 48. Tupa
49. Kalden 50. Senten 51. Myapa 52. Thongten
53. Lockten 54. Lhaminkhor 55. Kagate 56. Damrang
57. Domten 58. Tunpa 59. Tungden 60. Gropchan
61. Gondan 62. Nasur 63. Malachoki 64. Mahindong
65. Manden 66. Fyuwa 67. Syangden 68. Balam
69. Toiba 70. Jaba 71. Syamjan 72. Gemsing
73. Lopchan 74. Golay 75. Mitak 76. Gangtang
77. Ngarden 78. Brosinger 79. Lamaganju 80. Plengden
81. Gomchyo 82. Shahangri 83. Chimkan 84. Gotthar
85. Dong 86. Dartang 87. Dumjan 88. Gyamden
89. Ghising 90. Rumba 91. Hangjo 92. Nikten

Importance of Indigenous Tribal Folklore

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Most Himalayan ethnic communities come from strong, spiritual oral traditions. Oral traditions are verbal narratives that could consist of spiritual messages, mythology, and folklore.  In the Himalayan region, where there is an abundance of language but the unavailability of mutually intelligible scripts, folklore is transferred to the next generation through stories and legends. It can also be in the form of songs and conveyed ceremonially at appropriate settings. In the original telling of the stories, elders highlighted the symbiotic relationships between humans and the rest of the natural world.

Folklore could include poetry, riddles, songs, music, dances, and also traditional wisdom based on plant varieties grown by farmers, and plant extracts developed by local medicine men. In the Himalayan community, much of the folklore is based on various stories that have been passed down from one generation to another. These stories contain moral values but also the history of the community and how they branched off to settle in one place and how they connect with other tribes in the region. Obviously, many such stories have been influenced by Hindu or Buddhist stories, plots, and characters. But where there seems to be no influence at all, these stories incorporate the idea of closeness between man and nature.

How important are these folklores in an age when children are no longer told these stories and two generations have entirely grown up on Enid Blyton and Fairy Tales? There’s nothing wrong with fairy tales but indigenous folklores aren’t just stories of incredible imagination, plots, and characters. They are about world views, perspectives, philosophies, and morals. Many of these stories, legends, and myths express a responsibility to maintain harmonious relations with nature because all of it is considered to be alive and that the abundance of nature must always be shared equally. Most of these stories are also stories of creation but the beauty of indigenous tribal folklore is that such mythology is rarely enforced upon others. Nor are these stories and mythology regarded as the ultimate truth.

These stories of philosophy about man and nature which start at the beginning of time continue through the telling of cultural tales and songs. No one knows when these stories began.  The Khambu Rai people’s Sumnima Paruhang or the Tamang stories of Mhendomaya and Gole Bonbo, inform about the essential philosophy of symmetry, balance, and harmony which are quietly suggested through the adventures of these characters.  These stories, therefore, seem to have come from places that have given rise to a symbiotic relationship between man and nature, between genders, thereby creating a circular, ongoing world.  Folklore is at the core of Himalayan indigenous culture. It is nothing short of an oral history that explains and records vital aspects of a community. These comprise stories of creation stressing on principles and moral values of the tribes. These are also a part of the Shaman’s songs performed during worship rituals.

Perpetuating history or a belief system through a medium such as oral tradition often leaves room for interpretation for the teller of that story and the listener. Many folk stories of indigenous Himalayan communities also help in not just the understanding of cultural identity but also display the richness of their languages. The narratives within these stories use diverse vocabulary and descriptions which are articulate and expressive. Given linguistic differences, cultural and traditional contexts and nuances, and the transfer from cognition to language, it is important that these stories be read and heard in the native language.

Indigenous folklore must be preserved. The accumulation of wisdom that has been passed down for thousands of years is a treasure trove that can help understand humanity’s past. It could help us find ways to protect and preserve our natural habitats and resources. Such wisdom must be assembled, organized, digitized, and archived but also the traditions of transferring folklore from one generation to another must continue. Individuals and ethnic organizations must identify and help preserve these systems. Folklores reflect the essence of a community’s cultural attributes as a mirror and provide a basis for its cultural and social identity.  It is time that communities become protective of this valuable heritage and find a way to preserve their precious folklores that have enlightened countless generations throughout history.

The following video is a Magar folktale narrated by Maya Maski Rana in the Western Magar Language.
Translated and Transcribed by Marie-Caroline Pons
Source: linguistgeek.wixsite.com/themagarlanguage

Khambu Rai “Chula”: Spiritual Bio Geometry

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Samkhalung, also called Suptulung, refers to the hearthstones of the Khambu Rai tribe. Colloquially referred “Chula Dhunga”, Samkhalung is an integral part of Rai traditions. At the risk of oversimplifying cultural practices, we can say that Khambu Rai worship traditions involve a set of beliefs that can be classified into two parts – nature worship in the form of Divine Spirits and Ancestor Worship. Departed ancestors are assumed to wield great authority, having special powers to influence the course of events or to control the well-being of their living relatives. While the nature spirits look after the forests, water sources, crops, and harmony among all sentient beings, deceased ancestors serve as mediators by providing access to spiritual guidance and power.

For the Khambu Rai tribe, Samkhalung is the house altar, the sanctum sanctorum through which Ancestral spiritual energies can be accessed, invoked, and communicated. Samkhalung becomes the medium that connects the physical world to the spiritual realm. The word “Samkha” means ancestors and “Lung” means stones. The hearth is both a shrine and the kitchen – an altar that is also used for regular cooking. Of course in the modern age, the advent of gas and induction stoves has rendered the Hearth into only a place of worship, but in the old days, the family would sit by the hearth, cook their food and have dinner every night. Traditions dictate that whenever an elder passed away, he would be remembered by the living members; sitting by the hearth. His spiritual energies would be experienced by the living members of the family.

The Hearthstones collectively, at the center of all Khambu worship systems, is not only a celebration of the living culture of their traditions, but it represents the belief that the Samkhalung is the source of all spiritual energy, strength, abundance, and health. This is so because of the presence of a remarkable bio-geometry in the structure of the Samkhalung. Different sub-tribes of the Khambu Rais have different nomenclatures for the three Samkhalung stones, but to simplify it, let us call the three stones, (1) Papalung: symbolizing male ancestors, (2) Mamalung: symbolizing female ancestors, and (3) Ramilung: symbolizing societal spiritual energies.

Outside the 3 stones (lungs), a 360 degree perimeter is created by placing 4 flat stones in all directions. These stones are placed such that each stone creates a further 90 degree angle. A flat stone is placed at the bottom of the three main lungs. This stone remains invisible since it is placed underground. The Stones of the Samkhalung/Hearth provide a geometrical axiom that gives it balance and equilibrium to harness spiritual energies. The outer perimeter is known as the Saanglaakhepbu while the flat stone underneath is known as Thechelung. Thechelung remains warm even after the fire is extinguished thereby keeping the hearth and the home warm. The energies produced during the Pitri worship remains intact because Thechelung remains warm and still, long after the ritual ends.

The combination of the element of Fire and the Geometrical Shape of the Stones is both creative and destructive, its qualities are brightness, thinness and motion and its mode is active. It is fire that Khambu Rai ancestors used to warm their homes and used to cook food, sit around it to ward off the darkness of night. During the ritual of Pitri worship/Mang Sewa, the fire becomes a witness to the Oral Voyage (Mundhum) one takes to protect life from the adversity of negative entities that could emerge. It is believed that during the ritual the spiritual realm is opened and the house forms a systematic medium inhabited by the living, to now be made ready for the ancestors to arrive. It is altered into a space into which the ancestors are fleetingly transported but also where negative entities wandering about the village may penetrate but thanks to Ramilung, they cannot enter the house.

Within the realm of the divine connection between man and his ancestors, the man seeks to identify and demarcate a space for himself and his family members. It is at this moment that the ideal borders of the village do not exist, nor even the walls of the house provide protection any longer. Only the four stones sides forming the outer perimeter of the sanctum/hearth can now be a place of refuge, in a world that has become entirely a vacant space; belonging to everyone and no one.

Also known as Bio geometry (the geometry of shapes), the shape of a Khambu Samkhalung helps unlock the energies of the spiritual realm. The Khambus believe that the Hearth Stones are the medium between the spirit world and the human world; the foundation of the all creation- in life and in death.

Khwapa – Newari tradition of Masks

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Newari culture would be a tad bit different, were it not for the masked dances. The complexity, richness, and multi-layered aspects of Newari culture are revealed not only through its bright festivals or its exuberant art, but also from its grand masked dances called “Pyakha”.  In the Newari/Newa language, the term “Pyakha” could denote either a Drama or Dance.  Masks form the obligatory central portion during any Pyakha performance. The mask, which covers the face of the performer is called the Khwapa, which, interestingly, in the Newari language, is also the word for “face”. In the old days, Masks were usually made by members of the local Chitrakar, painter caste. Although in many areas of Lalitpur, the Sakya Newars used to make and paint their own masks and in Bhaktapur, the “Jyapu” Newars of the Potter class made the Masks.  

If we look at the majority of masks in Newari traditions, we discover a complexity of structure with vivid, garish, multi-colored designs that often appear decorative. Most masks are made up of clay mixed with paper-mache and Jute. Clay molds are used to shape them.  Masks that portray the various characters and their temperaments are given their shapes accordingly. The masks are then varnished and colored with great precision and care. There has also been a tradition of making metal Masks in Patan, a place that is still renowned for its metalwork. We can ascertain that the greater number of Himalayan cultural masks are but of simple construction. Yet, its design, details, and the expressiveness of these elements only reflect or correspond to the straightforward and fundamental religious concept of animism.

  • Newari tradition of Masks

Newari masks provide a tangible form for invisible spirits and deities, who are personified as human beings, animals, or fantastic composites of the masculine and the feminine. There will be Ganesh, Varaha, and their Vahanas. The entire Pyakha performance will have animal characters, demons, and spirits. There will also be human characters or men and women, priests and merchants. These theatricalities form the major attraction of any festival that happens in the Kathmandu valley and while the stories are often based on mythology and folklore, some of the Pyakha performances can also be comical. The fool, jester, or clowns have their own masks, which are worn during a comic performance. The masks that these comedians wear are half masks that are known as “Ba Khawapah” where the mouth is left uncovered because the performance could involve a dialogue between the characters or a soliloquy could ensue.

During a performance, masked dancers imitate the actions of deities. Their behaviors are supposed to serve as models for positive human behavior. However, much of the performance isn’t altogether based on upholding morality in society. Instead, Pyakha is more about upholding traditions. From the creation of the masks to the preparation and the ultimate performance, the entire extravaganza is built up of traditions that have last for many centuries. Even the color of a particular mask doesn’t seem to have changed over the many years that Pyakha and the Khwapa have both existed. While the color of the masks differ according to a character or a deity that it’s supposed to embody, Black is used to depicting demons while blood-red would denote anger, greed, or even power. Green is associated with nobility and blue to depict the Gods of the Hindu pantheon.

While the origin of the masked dances in Newari culture may have been to propagate religious precepts, that is not the only thing that happens during these performances. Masked dances narrate dramas, which are derived from conventional Hindu literature, with plots and characters that people are familiar with. Newar masked dances are also based on local folklore and traditions that are conventionally local in nature and idea. There is a considerable amount of comedy that provides some sort of relief to the onlookers amidst heavy action and dancing.  

It is likely that Newari artisans in the medieval ages were inspired to create masks that would appear mysterious yet magnanimous, frightening but captivating. This is exemplified by the famous Lakhey Mask. Lakhey is one of few dancers who take turns donning the 15-kilogram headgear complete with red mask and hair. The Lakhey ritual is tied to the annual chariot ride of the Kumari, the living goddess of Nepal, which is the highlight of the Indra Jatra festival. Because of his fearful demeanor and captivating aggressive dancing, Lakhey is perhaps the most famous one among all masked dances.

These Newar masks are distinct from either Tibetan or Indian. Their details in the shapes, the materials used, the specificity of the paintings, and decorations are all absolutely different from anything ever seen in other parts of the Himalayas. Both the Pyakha and Khwapa are quintessential living traditions that have been transmitted orally from generation to generation. These are a few of the hallmarks of rich Newari culture and traditions.

Kham Magars – Kinship, Existence and Identity

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For centuries, members of the ancient Kham Magar tribe were left behind and largely forgotten, shielded from the outside world by the towering hills of the north-west Himalayan foothills of Rukum and Rolpa. The community, with a small population of about 40,000 people today, was able to preserve their unique language, religion, and lifestyle and subsequently, their distinctive identity. They also inhabit the upper tributaries of the Sano Bheri, Bari Gad, and Mari Khola on the southwestern flank of the Dhaulagiri massif.  The Kham-speaking Magar, though being from the Magar tribe, try to distinguish themselves from the Magars to the east of Rolpa.

The idea of a pristine self-sufficient location is central to the Kham Magar ideology, where the community, formed out of local lineages, lives as an exogamous unit. Kham Magars are divided into four northern Magar sub-tribes. Pun, Roka, Gharti, and Buda. In some places, there is also a sub-tribe (thar) called Jhakri. These Thars are further subdivided into named localized lineages, each of which has a common mythical ancestor or a commonplace of origin.

These localized lineages, rather than the thars, form the branches that control the system of kinship, inheritance, and marriages among the Magars. Marriages, then, are permitted within a thar but not within a localized lineage group. Because of the preference to marry within the local area, most of the lineages have Maiti and Bhanja relationships with all other lineages with the community.

While their Magar brethren, who live to the eastern hills of Gulmi and Palpa have succumbed to the influences of Hinduism and speak the Magar Dhut language, the Kham Magars have a very strong Shamanic tradition and speak the “Kham Dhut” language which is a distinct unintelligible Tibeto-Burman language. This language has no relation to the Kham dialect of the Tibetans spoken by the Khampas, a tribe in Kham, Tibet. The Kham Magars are also not related to the Khampas of Tibet. Kham Dhut also has three different dialects and has extreme intelligibility restrictions between them.

Kham Magars have a quintessentially pastoral lifestyle. The lands are used for farming and they maintain rather large flocks of sheep and goats. During the non-agricultural seasons and leisure time, which comes rarely, women engage in a variety of activities that are economically feasible. Their primary activities are processing wool and local fibers, making liquor, and raising pigs for sale. They spin and weave local wool for coats and blankets, which are used in the household, sold in the village, or sold during seasonal trips to the big cities of West Nepal. Besides processing wool, women also prepare Hemp and Puwa, which is a fiber made from giant nettle.

Being fiercely Shamanistic in their religious practices, the Kham Magars call their Shamans Ramma or Arma. It is highly probable that Ramma can be related to the “Ramma-Bya” which are words in the Tibetan language. Bya in Tibetan is “Hen” which explains the ceremonial headdress of the Kham Magar Shaman which is adorned with the feathers of the Jungle Fowl. Their religious inclination is based primarily on an animistic view of nature. They see nature represented by divine spirits which affect the physical world of men, their daily affairs, household, health, agriculture, and economy. Shamanistic inclination denotes that certain men are capable of entering into communication with these spirits and serve as functionaries between the physical and the spirit world.

It can be safely assumed that far from having escaped from the light of factual evidence or historical reconstruction, the concept of living within the physical and the spiritual is still very much alive. Such a view is very widespread, being found throughout the Himalayas and in many other parts of the world where Shamanism exists. The Kham-Magar tradition is a particular instance of this worldview or belief system; that it is part of an ancient shamanistic tradition that exhibits the history and structure of its own.

The Kham Magar idea of belonging and connection to the land is also reiterated by this same worldview. What binds a person to his land and territory is also described in Shamanic songs and narratives. In Kham Magar Shamanic traditions, the creation myth always stands along with a central location. This begins from the fireplace of the house where the ritual takes place. The narrative then pans out revealing more of the village as the viewpoint recedes. It talks about the house itself, the alleyways belonging to brothers, the outer portions of the village where local lineages are concentrated and keep panning out farther and farther.

Can we locate Yalambar’s Burial Site?

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Yalambar, by universal acclaim, was the first Kirati King, who, sometime around 1750 BC, came from the east, defeated the Mahishapala King Nimisa, conquered the Nepal valley (Kathmandu), and established a Kirata Kingdom. The evidence for this can be found in two documents. There is the Gopalavamshali which tells us the date of Yalambar’s conquest and there is Padmagiri Vamshali which talks about the Kirata dynasty in Kathmandu. It should be noted that both these documents mention Yalambar as “Yalam” or “Yellung”. No one knows when and how, the name “Yalambar” permeated into popular culture when it should have always been Yellung or Yalam. But what is of more significance is that he really was a real historical figure and not fictional by any measure (as propagated by Mahabharata aficionados).

King Yalambar is also famous in Newari culture and folklore as even today the Newars call the city of Kathamandu, “Ya” and Patan as Yala – both names attributed to the great ruler. There is no doubt that Yalambar has continuously captured the imagination of the indigenous hill people for more than 3 millennia. If a king who holds such sway and popularity today must have been treated with great reverence during his reign and even after his death. He must surely have had a proper burial chamber when he passed on. While historians have seemingly located the ancient Kirata cities during and after the time of Yalambar, the very idea of trying to locate where he could have been buried is rather perplexing and daunting. Yet, it’s not an impossible task.

There are many places in the Kathmandu Valley that are identified with non-Sanskrit names. Lichhavi inscriptions remarkably show time and again, primitive proto-shrines which, today, are worshipped as Balkumari pith, Bhairab pith or the “Jyapu” Newari Digu-Dyo. These are normally feared as they are considered to be inhabited by spirits or ghosts. Such characteristics come from being deemed as burial sites. Such sites are located outside human settlements but also within the accessible perimeter of these human settlements. Many Newari traditions point out to the fact that these sites were indeed burial places in ancient Nepal. Among the many tribes of Nepal that claim Kirata descent, such proto-shrines have divine representations.

Why would the Newari Jyapu community have the tradition of upholding a sacred Digu-Dyo site when the Jyapus are ritualistically cremated rather than being buried? This only makes sense if we understand that the Newari Jyapus actually adhered to a tradition of burying their dead, long before the entire society converted to traditional Hinduism. It can be assumed that the Jyapus can claim to be of Kirata descent even though many historians like Baburam Acharya believe otherwise. But without proper historical documents to ascertain facts, arguments from both sides seem absolutely plausible.

Such sites also flourished as religious places during the Lichhavi era. This was the one thing that baffled Historians for a long time. How can a burial site be considered a shrine? As both divine associations and ancestor worship exists in these places, does it dictate that Royal Individuals may have been buried at these sites? Could it be that a few among the 29 or 32 Kirata kings could be buried at these locations? Maybe even the great Yalambar, himself ?

While we know that Patuka, the 28th King is supposedly buried at Patuka Da (Patan), archaeologists are finally beginning to discover the burial sites of the remaining 28 kings. In Handigaun, an inscription claims that there was a Kirata burial site within its perimeter as early as 1673 CE. Some of the other ancient burial places in Kathmandu are the Chundevi at Bhatbhateni, Charnarayan at Maligaun and Mahalaxmi at Naxal.

Rites of Passage in Gurung Culture

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Gurung death ritual, as with most other tribes in the Himalayas, is focused on providing the spirit with the things it needs to reach safely to its destination. In the Gurung community, it is believed that failure to properly perform the death rite may result in grave danger to the living kin and even the deceased may transform into a wandering evil spirit that can harm the family. Gurung rituals, rites, beliefs and practices form an integral and unified part of their very being. Ritual ceremonies for births, marriages, and deaths figure largely as significant events, and are symbolized using specific observances. The ritual of showing the path to the soul, to send it off on a journey to the land of the ancestors is called Pae or Arghun.

Gurung people believe that the departed soul could cause physical or mental harm to the living if Pae or Arghun is not performed. It is therefore obligatory to properly carry out this ritual that will presumably render eternal peace and rest to dead spirit in the realm of the ancestors, thereby making a part of the pantheon of the Pitri (ancestors), watching over and guiding their descendants in the physical world. For the Gurungs, rituals are a significant part of their beliefs and who they are. So, Pae becomes not just a death rite, but an expression of a cultural concept that denotes, protects and preserves kinship values and ideals passed on for the unperturbed functioning of their traditional value systems.

The Gurung people have two kinds of Shamans. The “Poju” and the “Klebri/Ghyabri??”.  The Poju Shamans come from an ancient animistic tradition while the Klebri comes from a pre-Buddhist Tibetan Bonpo tradition. The rituals are conducted by both but in the present times Buddhist monks can also be used to do this ritual though the method slightly varies with the latter. In the conventional ritual, an effigy is constructed, representing the dead person. This is usually a bamboo frame covered by clothes of the deceased. The Shaman will begin his chant accompanied by the beating of a drum and the clanging of cymbals. He will dance around the effigy. The chants, which are oral narratives spoken rhythmically, explains to the spirit of the deceased how he should journey into the land of the ancestors.  At intervals animals are sacrificed. The meat is cooked and consumed by the onlooker, with rice.

On the second day, a male relative will thrust a stick into the effigy which means that all barriers between the physical world and the spirit realm have henceforth been broken down. A procession of the shaman’s assistants, relatives, and guests is then formed, following a long white sheet held up on poles representing the road to the land of the dead. They reach an open space where another ritual ensues. Here the Shaman dances as if to depict a ritualistic battle takes place where he has to defeat the deceased person’s spirit from trying to continue living in the physical world. This is where the family bond between the living and the dead must be vanquished.  Towards the end of the “pae” trays of rice cakes, cigarettes, biscuits, fruit and other food and drink are laid on the ground, sheep representing the dead person are forcibly encouraged to eat.

The Gurungs follow traditions that are an amalgamation of Animism and Buddhism.  The deceased can either remain in the land of the dead, or take another human rebirth, according to preference. Gurungs, who conceive a reciprocal relationship between the living and dead somehow do not adhere to the idea of good or bad deeds during a ritualistic Pae. Suffering and death are no longer necessary once the land of the dead is entered.

Origins of the Magar People

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While some might call the Magars fiercely Hinduized, Magar lifestyle, traditions and culture differ greatly from mainstream Hindu way of life. The Magars still celebrate indigenous tribal festivals that borders around nature or earth worship. These festivals are celebrated over homemade beer and dancing to the sound of drums. They revere nature spirits, and also make offerings and sacrifices during their festivals. However not much is known about the origins of the Magar people in the Himalayas. Various writers advocate different theories. The problem is that we do not find many clues or written history in the archives of ancient Nepal. Almost all ancient civilizations or cultures of Nepal have no recorded history and we have to entirely rely on speculations, folklore and logic, along with a few genealogies, to decipher or determine their origins.  

The Magar people are the indigenous inhabitants of the western Himalayas of Nepal, what is today known as the Gandaki region. Various scholars provide anthropological explanations to determine the originality of the Magar people. One of the earliest credible sources of information regarding the Magar people is the copper-plate inscription of Shivadeva which is dated 1110 CE which has a mention of  Mangavara Vishaya. Here, Mangavara seems to hint at the original term for Magar or Mangar (as they are known in the hills of Darjeeling and Sikkim). The inscription, thus, highlights that to the west and south of Dhaulagiri, it was the Magar people who resided or ruled this land. The fact that the Magars inhabited in a large part of the western Dhaulagiri is not a revelation. What is known today as Bara Magarat or the Twelve Magarat Kingdoms can be identified as Gulmi, Isma, Rising, Dhor, Khanchi, Garhu, Bhirkot, Argha, Panyu,  Ghiring, Satahu and Musikot. Many of the places in these regions have Magar names. Towns like Tansen and Rivers like Marshyandi, Daraundi are all names of Magar origin.

Scholars like Balkrishna Pokharel are of the opinion that the Magars first entered the Nepal Himalayas in 2300 B.C and they did so from five directions. Dharma Prasad Shrees, in his book Magarati Sanskriti (Eitahasik Pristhabhumi) concurs with the theory. He claims that the Magars arrived in Nepal in five distinct groups through different boundaries of Nepal.  He goes on to say that the five waves of Magar migration began with the advent of Magars in the Mahar valley of India. The second migration happened around the Rapti and Narayani Rivers. The third came from the North and settled into the Mustang regions and around Dolpa, Mustang, Myagdi, Parbat, Baglung, Pyuthan and Rukum. The fourth went to Nepal from Sikkim and the fifth group settled in the Indian Gangetic plains.


Jiro Kawakita in his book,  Himalayan Habitat and Culture Change among the Magars – Some Hypothetical Views says that Magars are a Mongoloid race who mainly migrated from North to South and initially settled in low hill area near Terai, Butwal and Palpa. Due to close contact with Indian culture, they lost the Buddhist characterstics and attracted towards Hinduism. They are distributed to western and eastern Nepal after attack of Rajputs. Despite of these diversities about the origin stories of Magar, most scholars belive that the Magars are the traditional inhabitants of the region from Gandaki to the Rapti areas.

According to Dr. Budhamagar, the Magars entered Nepal through the Mustang valley in 1500 B.C. From there, they entered Myagdi, Parvat, Baglung, Pyuthan, Rolpa and Northern Rukum and settled there. This theory that the Magars came to Nepal from the North has been concurred by Imansingh Chemjong and Khildhoj Thapa. Khildhoj Thapa also adds that the Magars, who were originally animists had migrated to Nepal much before there were any consolidated kingdoms in the Himalayas. Some history writers have made a different claim in their books. In his book Gurkhas: the story of the Gurkhas of Nepal country, Francies Tuker writes that the Magars actually came from the South. They entered Nepal from Chittorgarh in India who king was Rishi Rana.

Michael Oppitz, who made an incredible four hour documentary on Kham Magars, called Shamans of the Blind Country writes in his book, The Wild Boar and the Plough: Origin Stories of the Northern Magars that there are three variations to the story of Magar origins. They are:

  1. The Vamshali of Budha and Hukam
  2. The Vamshali of the Gharti from Taka
  3. The Oral Origin Story of the Gharti

The common concept of the three versions, though narrated differently told talks about the origin of the first ancestors, their first alliances, later migration movements into their contemporary homeland and the origins of agriculture and of hunting. All three versions state that the first common ancestors emerged from a dwelling place of the Gods, a cave under an overhanding rock, located rouchly to the north of the ridge that divides the Uttar Ganga and the Pelma Khola valleys. The first two versions say that the place of origin is a place called Pimachare. The narrative tells us that the Magars, of those belonging to the Gharti, Pun and Budha tribes do not trace their origin of ancestry to some foreign land. They talk about the story of the creation and origin relating to place where they live today.

The Magar story of origin also mentions the clan divisions between the Baara (Twelve) Panthi and the Atharah (Eighteen) Panthi. The folk myth that speaks of division occurring between different brothers to form broad patrilineal clan structure can be taken into account. Here, we can notice that the Bara panthi magars are found in Gandaki and Lumbini zones. The language they speak is called Magarati language. The Atharapanthi Magars are found in Midwestern region Rolpa, Rukum, Salyan and Pyuthan.

There are many claims, narratives, writings and theories about the origin of the Magar people. However many of them seem merely speculations rather than being based on solid empirical evidence. I believe that more research must be done in order to come to a proper unanimous conclusion about the origin of the Magar people. We can decipher that by DNA mapping, language root and family, original culture and traditions, folklore and oral narratives among other ways.