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Nepal is a melting pot of many races and tribes.
It has population of around twenty-two million,
made up of an assortment of races and tribes,
living in different regions, wearing different
costumes and speaking different languages and
dialects.
They
live under quite diverse environmental
conditions from the low, nearly sea level plains
at the border of India, northward
through the middle hills and valleys and up to the
flanks of the great Himalayan range where there are
settlements at altitude of up to 4,800m. Farming
practices are therefore equally diverse along with life
styles and social customs.
The high Himalayan settlements of Tibetan speaking
people are found perched precariously on mountain ledges
and slopes. Life here is delicate balance of hard work
and social merrymaking, tempered by a culture deeply
steeped in ancient religious traditions. The best known
of the high mountain peoples are the Sherpas who inhabit
the central and eastern regions of Nepal. The Sherpas
have easy access to Bhot (Tibet) for trade and social
intercourse and therefore Tibetan influence on their
culture and civilization remains distinct. The midlands
are inhabited by various Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan
speaking hill and valley people, for example the
Brahmins, Chettris, and Newars. While the Brahmins and
Chettris are widely distribute through out the country,
the Newars are mainly concentrated in the Katmandu
Valley and other towns.
The Rais, Limbus, Tamangs, Magars, Sunwars, Jirels,
Gurungs, Thakalis, and Chepangs are other Tibeto-Burman
speaking Mongoloid peole found living in the middle
hills. They each have their own distinct social and
cultural patterns. The Dun valleys and the lowland Terai
are inhabited by people such as the Brahmins, Rajputs,
Tharus, Danwars, Majhis, Darais, Rajbansis, Statars,
dhimals and Dhangars. Though Nepal is a veritable mosaic
of dozens of ethnic groups, they are bound together by
their loyalty to the institution of Monarchy, and by the
ideas of peaceful coexistence and religious tolerance to
form one unified nation. |
