Ethnic Groups

Nepalese society was ethnically diverse and complex in the early 1990s, ranging in phenotype (physical characteristics) and culture from the Indian to the Tibetan. Except for the sizable population of those of Indian birth or ancestry concentrated in the Tarai bordering India, the varied ethnic groups had evolved into distinct patterns over time.
Political scientists Joshi and Rose broadly classify the Nepalese population into three major ethnic groups in terms of their origin: Indo-Nepalese, Tibeto-Nepalese, and indigenous Nepalese. In the case of the first two groups, the direction if their migration and Nepal's landscapes appeared to have led to their vertical distribution; most ethnic groups were found at particular altitudes. The first group, comprising those of Indo- Nepalese origin, inhabited the more fertile lower hills, river valleys, and Tarai plains. The second major group consisted of communities of Tibeto-Mongol origin occupying the higher hills from the west to the east. The third and much smaller group comprised a number of tribal communities, such as the Tharus and the Dhimals of the Tarai; they may be remnants of indigenous communities whose habitation predates the advent of Indo-Nepalese and Tibeto-Mongol elements.
Even though Indo-Nepalese migrants were latecomers to Nepal relative to the migrants from the north, they have come to dominate the country not only numerically, but also socially, politically, and economically. They managed to achieve early dominance over the native and northern migrant populations, largely because of the superior formal educational and technological systems they brought with them. Consequently, their overall domination has had tremendous significance in terms of ethnic power structure.
Within the Indo-Nepalese group, at least two distinct categories can be discerned. The first category includes those who fled India and moved to the safe sanctuaries of the Nepal hills several hundred years ago, in the wake of the Muslim invasions of northern India. The hill group of Indian origin primarily was composed of descendants of high-caste Hindu families. According to Joshi and Rose, "These families, mostly of Brahman and Kshatriya status, have spread through the whole of Nepal with the exception of the areas immediately adjacent to the northern border. They usually constitute a significant portion of the local elites and are frequently the largest landowners in an area." This segment of the Indo-Nepalese population, at the apex of which stands the nation's royal family, has played the most dominant role in the country. Other ethnic groups, including those of Indian origin that settled in the Tarai, have been peripheral to the political power structure.
The second group of Indo-Nepalese migrants includes the inhabitants of the Tarai. Many of them are relatively recent migrants, who were encouraged by the government of Nepal or its agents to move into the Tarai for settlement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the early 1990s, this group mostly consisted of landless tenants and peasants from northern India's border states of Bihar and Bengal. Some of these Indian migrants later became large landowners.
The north Indian antecedents of a number of caste groups in the hills (that is, the first group of Indo-Nepalese migrants), which, in the early 1990s, made up more than 50 percent of the total population, are evident in their language, religion, social organization, and physical appearance. All of these features, however, have been modified in the Nepalese environment. These groups--several castes of Brahmans, the high-ranking Thakuri and Chhetri (the Nepalese derivative of the Kshatriya) castes, and an untouchable category--generally are classified as Pahari, or Parbate. However, in most parts of Nepal (except in the Tarai), the term pahari has only a limited use in that the Paharis generally are known by their individual caste names.
Nepali, the native tongue of the Paharis and the national language of Nepal, is closely related to, but by no means identical with, Hindi. Both are rooted in Sanskrit. The Hinduism of the Pahari has been influenced by Buddhism and indigenous folk belief. The Paharis' caste system was neither as elaborately graded nor as all embracing in its sanctions as that of the Indians; physically, many of the Paharis showed the results of racial intermixture with the various Mongoloid groups of the region. Similarly, the Bhote or Bhotia groups inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas--among whom the Sherpas have attracted the most attention in the mountaineering world--have developed regional distinctions among themselves, although clearly related physically as well as culturally to the Tibetans. The term Bhote literally means inhabitant of Bhot, a Sanskrit term for the trans-Himalayan region of Nepal, or the Tibetan region. However, Bhote is also a generic term, often applied to people of Tibetan culture or Mongoloid phenotype. As used by the Paharis and the Newars, it often had a pejorative connotation and could be applied to any non-Hindu of Mongoloid appearance.
An extraordinarily complex terrain also affected the geographic distribution and interaction among various ethnic groups. Within the general latitudinal sorting of Indo-Nepalese (lower hills) and Tibeto-Nepalese (higher hills and mountains) groups, there was a lateral (longitudinal) pattern, in which various ethnic populations were concentrated in specific geographic pockets. The deeply cut valleys and high ridges tended to divide ethnic groups into many small, relatively isolated, and more or less self- contained communities. This pattern was especially prominent among the Tibeto-Nepalese population. For example, the Bhote group was found in the far north, trans-Himalayan section of the Mountain Region, close to the Tibetan border. The Sherpas, a subgroup within the Bhote, were concentrated in the northeast, around the Mount Everest area. To the south of their areas were other Tibeto- Nepalese ethnic groups--the Gurung in the west-central hills and the Tamang and Rai in the east-central hills--particularly close to and east of the Kathmandu Valley. The Magar group, found largely in the central hills, was much more widely distributed than the Gurung, Tamang, and Rai. In the areas occupied by the Limbu and Rai peoples, the Limbu domain was located farther east in the hills, just beyond the Rai zone. The Tharu group was found in the Tarai, and the Paharis were scattered throughout Nepal. Newars largely were concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. However, because of their past migration as traders and merchants, they also were found in virtually all the market centers, especially in the hills, and as far away as Lhasa in Tibet.

Outer terai

Politically part of Nepal is essentially an extension of India in other respects. In Nepal, Madesh refers to India, so Outer Terai inhabitants are collectively known as “Madesi”. The majority of the population engaged in subsistence agriculture is indeed of the Shudra caste. Brahmans and Kshatriya are present, but only as a small percentage of the population. A wide range of untouchable service castes are found, including Chamar (sweepers) who are supposed to remove filth and dead animals.

As in India, there is a multiplicity of ethnic groups that have given rise to sub-castes within the main four that are usually endogamous (marrying within) and retaining distinct cultural features. India’s mild climate, agricultural abundance and technological sophistication have always made the country an attractive target for invasion. Newcomers eventually negotiate or are assigned their own sub-caste that retains much of their original culture as well as conforming to rules that go with being one of the four clean castes or untouchable. Non-Hindus are outside the caste system. Muslims make up about 10% of India’s population and there is a significant Muslim population in the western third of the country.

Even high-caste individuals from the Terai are largely excluded from the power structure of Kathmandu, which is dominated by hill peoples and Newars instead. This has given rise to a “Madesi” protest movement seeking greater participation or greater regional autonomy.

Northern India‘s lingua franca Hindi is widely spoken and understood throughout the Outer Terai. Much of the formal grammar and vocabulary of modern Nepali as it is taught in school seems to be borrowed from Hindi, so it is an easy language for Nepali speakers to pick up. Hill people often slip into it for communication with Madesis and even with europeans. More local Terai dialects are Awadhi in the west which is also widespread in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, Bhojpuri in the center which is also widespread in Bihar state, and Maithili further east, which derives from the ancient Mithla kingdom that was centered on the vaan of the Kosi between its exit from the hills and the Ganges River.

Newar community

By 'Newari community' we mean the speech community in which Nepal Bhasa language is used as the mother tongue. The core area of Newars is the Kathmandu valley. They have also settled down in different urban areas of Nepal. They use Nepal Bhasa (used to be known as Newari during Panchayat era) language though with dialectal variations. Newars have also been found in rural areas, but they have lost Newari language because of suppression by the khasa people(called as parbatiya, since they live in parbat i.e. hills).
The caste system appears to have been first conceived in Nepal towards the beginning of Lichhivi period. Originated as Vaishavism, this concept began to assimilate with Shyamanism (including natural religion), Shaivism and Buddhism. In both Hindu and Buddhist Newar communities, the caste system has been found to exist. It reveals that the caste system is extremely complicated in this community. In the Kathmandu Valley Jayasthiti Malla established the caste system on the basis of Manusmriti. Accordingly, it was required to adopt professions, wear cloths and ornaments and construct houses in accordance with the social status of different castes. Violating these rules was liable to certain punishment. Despite the fact that castes were based on various professions, there evolved untouchability later. The state of caste discrimination and untouchability appears to be slightly different from that of Khas and Maithil communities. For instance, in Khas and Maithil communities, the untouchables are treated equally, while in Newar community they are discriminated differently; e.g. Kasais ('butchers') are allowed to step up to the second storey of the houses and Chyames to the first storey, Harhurs are entirely prohibited from entering the house. Generally, the untouchables are not allowed to go to the upper storey of the house. Butchers' milk and meat are acceptable, but eating their boiled rice is unacceptable. Eating dhobis and Napits' (barbers') boiled rice may be unacceptable.
Prior to the implementation of the civil code (1854), some Shudras in Newari community were considered untouchable. Of them some needed the sprinkling of water while others did not. Dhobi, Kasai, Kusule and Kuloo castes belong to the first category, and Pode and Chyame castes to the second.
Traditionally, butchers are called Kasais (Khadkis). They play a musical instrument, called Naykhin, in funeral procession as well as at the different festivals in the Kathmandu valley. During the Rana regime Lakhe dance and Kasais' Paltan performed at Gaijatra and Indrajatra were extremely popular. Even in Royal Army's music band, those who played Badshahi musical instrument included Kasais as well. Now, their professions have undergone expansion with the changing situation. They have not only confined themselves to the sale of meat and vegetables but also gradually taken to many other professions. As they have been long engaged in trade and business, their economic condition can be considered better than that of other untouchables.
Kusules have been playing Panchabaja since the ancient times as a good sign at temples and on auspicious occasions like marriage and bratbandh ('thread-wearing ceremony'). Their presence is deemed necessary on an auspicious occasion. They have also been engaged in tailoring. Besides, they have also been making musical instruments like Madal and Khinma. They have been found much skilled at playing and selling Tal Bajas (type of drums).
Podes and Chyames are found settled in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur. The locality they live in is called Pode Tole (settlement). They introduce themselves as 'Deulas'. They have been traditionally involved in cleaning garbage. Nowadays they are also known as 'sweepers'. In more polite terms they are called 'cleaning labourers'.
The community engaged in shaving hair and cutting nails are called Napit ('Barbers'). Similarly, the persons whose profession is laundry are called 'Dhobis' ('washermen'). In Kathmandu they are mainly settled at Dhobichaur and Dhobidhara. In Lalitpur their main settlement is at Dhobighat. Recently, large laundries are run by others while Dhobis own small laundries only.
The lowest of the Newar untouchables are Harhures (baseless). Their ancestry is unknown. They live on begging. Their population has been found marginal. They are often seen begging on occasions like Gathemangal. In Khas community settled outside the Kathmandu valley, Kasai, Napit,and other Newar untouchable castes are treated as touchable.

Kumal community

The community that makes clay pottery is called Kumal (कुमाल) or Kumhar. Kumals are distributed all over Nepal, and are considered touchable. There are ten subcastes of Kumals in eastern Nepal. They are equate to Newars in social rank. Kumals in Achham district of Seti zone are equal to Chhetris and have marital connections with them.
Kumals are scattered in various areas of Jhapa, Morang, Sankhuwashabha, Dolakha, Dhading, Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Palpa, Gorkha, Lamjung, Parbat, Tanahu, Syangja, Gulmi, Arghakhachi, Kapilbastu, Rupandehi and Dang Deukhuri districts. They are also found scattered in almost all the other districts of Nepal. The main occupation of the Kumals is pottery(not all of them). Their language is more accentuated to the Tibeto-Burman family. Their preferred inhabitation is on riverbanks, inner valleys and tropical areas. They relish pork and buffalo. The Kumals seek assistance from the Dhami and Jhankri shamans. They either bury their dead or consign them to the flow of the rivers. According to Census 2001, their population is 99,389.
The Kumals, mainly found in the outskirts of hills and the Terai, are regarded as one of the ancient indigenous peoples/nationalities of Nepal. In most of the cases they have settlements of clusters at one place. The Kumals of Mongoloid stock resemble Magar, Newars, Tharu, Danuwar, Darai, Majhi and Bote in physical structure. The name, Kumal, according to experts, was derived from the Sanskrit word, 'Kumbhakar'. The census of 2001 records their population at 99,383.
Kumals have their own language. According to some linguists, their language falls under the Magadheli branch of the Indo-European family (Rimal, BS2053:44). They have their own traditions or cultural practices, customs and lifestyles. They sing and dance while celebrating the birth of a child and on the occasion of ‘chhaithi', or the sixth day of the birth of a child, by partaking of jand (home-made beer) and spirit with meat. The son-in-law officiates the christening process. They give a name to the child and complete the process by slaughtering cock or hen. Marriage can take place by arrangement or by mutual consent of the girl and the boy. Those marrying by consent should go through the customary process. At the time of bride entering the bridegroom's home and at the time of bridegroom entering the bride's home, a cock is slaughtered and they walk on the track smeared with the blood of the cock. The future life of the couple is usually forecast on the basis of the direction in which the cock is seen lying dead. Widowed wife of older brother can, if they wish, be married to the younger brother.
Kumals have a practice of either burying the dead or immersing it in the river. Mourning is observed for five, seven or 13 days. There is a practice of helping the family of the deceased with resources by each family. Kumals are animists or worshippers of nature. They worship their family god, Same (god of beasts), snake gods and goddesses, Banaskhandi, or gods and goddesses of forests (numbering 50 to 100), Mandali Mai, Semare Mai, Desantari Mai, Chandi, etc. (Gautam and Thapa Magar, 1994:329-332). They believe in dhami-jhankris (shamans).
The traditional occupation of Kumals is making of clay pots. Nowadays, they have become dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry. Since majority of the families do not own land enough for their livelihood, they cultivate others' land to earn their living. Women have equal status with men and the parents, based on the merit of the case, distribute share of parental property to daughters, too.

History of the caste system in Nepal

The Nepalese civil code Muluki Ain (1854) was written by Jang Bahadur Rana after his European tour. It codified social codes in practice for several centuries in Nepal that was rooted in Vyavahāra (traditional Hindu legal procedure), Prāyaścitta (avoidance and removal of sin) and Ācāra (the customary law of different castes and communities). These three are collectively called Dharmaśāstra. A traditional Hindu king was duty-bound to put these precepts into practice.This text is just misleading. This should be named untouchability in Nepal not nepalese caste system. Worst information here
Muluki Ain divided Nepalese citizens into two castes "the caste whose water is allowed to remain pure" and "the caste whose water is defiled". Chiefs of the various castes were entrusted with sorting out issues related to their own castes.^[1] The heads of Kamis (blacksmiths) and Sarkis (tanners and cobblers) were called Mijhars. Similarly the head of Damai (tailors and musicians) was called Nagarchi. Castes of the first (non-defiling) category also had their chiefs. In this way community members might not need to go to courts or government offices to settle minor legal matters. Mijhars and Nagarchis, however, added to injustice and exploitation meted out to their respective communities. They were obviously influenced by their masters' natures.^{[citation needed]} Like their masters, they never hesitated to do injustice against their own communities. No appeal was heard against them.
From the medieval period onward, people could lose status through caste demotion. People considering themselves superior used caste as a pretext for exploitation. The lower castes were prevented from entering temples, receiving education, listening to high-caste people's teachings, worshipping, planting Bar or Pipal trees, digging ponds, and participating in fairs and festivals. They could be exiled from the country for looking at a high-caste woman. If they encountered someone of higher caste they would have to step aside. They had to pay jadau (obeisance) to any higher caste person. They could be put to death for rebelling against caste rules. If someone from higher caste married a woman from lower caste, he was not eligible for legal intercession against jarikhat (adultery). A sacred thread-wearing or even non-thread-wearing person would need to be ritually purified if they were touched by an 'untouchable'. Two-way conversation with upper castes was banned for them. These discriminatory provisions of the civil code were based on Hindu scriptures like Parskar Grihyasutra, Gautam Sutra, Manusmṛti and Shukra Niti.^[2][3] There was no provision for lower-caste participation in the economic, social, cultural and administrative spheres. They had to survive on low-paid manual work such as playing indigenous musical instruments, sawing wood, leather-work, practicing music, art and dance, cutting stone, pottery, general labor, cleaning latrines, and washing clothes. This system prevailed till by law until Muluki Ain was revised in 1962.
The present caste system derives from Shah dynasty founder Prithvi Narayan's famous saying that Nepal was a garden of four varnas and 36 castes.^[4] However this is only a rough estimate for the Hill region. The Newari community and the Terai community each has more than 36 castes.

Nepalese caste system

like the Indian caste system, is highly complex and continues the traditional system of social stratification of Nepal. The caste system defines social classes by a number of hierarchical endogamous groups often termed as Jāt. This custom is found in both the Hindu and Buddhist communities of Nepal; but not harsh in Buddhist communities. However, in Nepal people sometimes erroneously use word caste to mean their race or ethnicity. Nepal consist of three main ethnic groups, indigenous, Khas and Madhesi. The ethnic indigenous groups are a different race from Khas and Madhesi people, Khas people who themselves are distinct from Madhesi people. The caste system has traditionally existed in the two races (the Khas and Madhesis), not in indegenous people (such as Gurung, Tamang, Thakali, Magar, Sherpa, Mananggi, Mustanggi, Walunggi and so on). Where as most indigenous people who are ethnic Tibetans who practice Buddhism and they care less about caste, unlike Hindus. (Absolutely false! Whoever wrote this has not done any actual studies, but just presented his/her own biased views. Please read internationally recognized research materials before putting polemic information about 'Nepalese

Ethnic Demography of nepal

Language

Even though Nepali (written in Devanagari script, the same as Sanskrit and Hindi) was the national language and was mentioned as the mother tongue by approximately 58 percent of the population, there were several other languages and dialects. Other languages included Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, Newari, and Abadhi. Non-Nepali languages and dialects rarely were spoken outside their ethnic enclaves. In order to estimate the numerical distribution of different ethnic groups, the census data indicating various mother tongues spoken in the country must be used.
In terms of linguistic roots, Nepali, Maithili, and Bhojpuri belonged to the Indo-European family; the mother tongues of the Tibeto-Nepalese groups, including Newari, belonged predominantly to the Tibeto-Burman family. The Pahari, whose mother tongue was Nepali, was the largest ethnic group. If the Maithili- and Bhojpuri-speaking populations of the Tarai were included, more than 75 percent of the population belonged to the Indo-Nepalese ethnic group. Only three other ethnic groups--the Tamang, the Tharu, and the Newar--approached or slightly exceeded the one-half million population mark. Most of those non-Nepali linguistic and ethnic population groups were closely knit by bonds of nationalism and cultural harmony, and they were concentrated in certain areas.

The caste system

One integral aspect of Nepalese society is the existence of the Hindu caste system, modeled after the ancient and orthodox Brahmanic system of the Indian plains. The caste system did not exist prior to the arrival of Indo-Aryans. Its establishment became the basis of the emergence of the feudalistic economic structure of Nepal: the high-caste Hindus began to appropriate lands-- particularly lowlands that were more easily accessible, more cultivatable, and more productive--including those belonging to the existing tribal people, and introduced the system of individual ownership. Even though the cultural and religious rigidity of the caste system slowly has been eroding, its introduction into Nepal was one of the most significant influences stemming from the migration of the Indo-Aryan people into the hills. The migrants from the north later were incorporated into the Hindu caste system, as defined by Indo-Aryan migrants, who quickly controlled the positions of power and authority. Tibetan migrants did not practice private ownership; their system was based on communal ownership.
No single, widely acceptable definition can be advanced for the caste system. Bishop and others, however, view caste as a multifaceted status hierarchy composed of all members of society, with each individual ranked within the broad, fourfold Hindu class (varna, or color) divisions, or within the fifth class of untouchables--outcastes and the socially polluted. The fourfold caste divisions are Brahman (priests and scholars), Kshatriya or Chhetri (rulers and warriors), Vaisya (or Vaisaya, merchants and traders), and Sudra (farmers, artisans, and laborers). These Pahari caste divisions based on the Hindu system are not strictly upheld by the Newars. They have their own caste hierarchy, which, they claim, is parallel in caste divisions to the Pahari Hindu system. In each system, each caste (jati) is ideally an endogamous group in which membership is both hereditary and permanent. The only way to change caste status is to undergo Sanskritization. Sanskritization can be achieved by migrating to a new area and by changing one's caste status and/or marrying across the caste line, which can lead to the upgrading or downgrading of caste, depending on the spouse's caste. However, given the rigidity of the caste system, intercaste marriage carries a social stigma, especially when it takes place between two castes at the extreme ends of the social spectrum.
As Bishop further asserts, at the core of the caste structure is a rank order of values bound up in concepts of ritual status, purity, and pollution. Furthermore, caste determines an individual's behavior, obligations, and expectations. All the social, economic, religious, legal, and political activities of a caste society are prescribed by sanctions that determine and limit access to land, position of political power, and command of human labor. Within such a constrictive system, wealth, political power, high rank, and privilege converge; hereditary occupational specialization is a common feature. Nevertheless, caste is functionally significant only when viewed in a regional or local context and at a particular time. The assumed correlation between the caste hierarchy and the socioeconomic class hierarchy does not always hold. Because of numerous institutional changes over the years and increased dilution (or expansion) of the caste hierarchy stemming from intercaste marriages, many poor high-caste and rich low-caste households could be found in the society in 1991.
Although Paharis, especially those in rural areas, were generally quite conscious of their caste status, the question of caste did not usually arise for Tibeto-Nepalese communities unless they were aware of the Hindu caste status arbitrarily assigned to them. Insofar as they accepted caste-based notions of social rank, the Tibeto-Nepalese tended not only to see themselves at a higher level than did the Hindu Pahari and Newar, but also differed as to ranking among themselves. Thus, it was doubtful that the reported Rai caste's assumption of rank superiority over the Magar and Gurung castes was accepted by the two latter groups. Moreover, the status of a particular group was apt to vary from place to place, depending on its relative demographic size, wealth, and local power.

Caste and Ethnicity

Ethnic Groups

Nepalese society was ethnically diverse and complex in the early 1990s, ranging in phenotype (physical characteristics) and culture from the Indian to the Tibetan. Except for the sizable population of those of Indian birth or ancestry concentrated in the Tarai bordering India, the varied ethnic groups had evolved into distinct patterns over time.
Political scientists Joshi and Rose broadly classify the Nepalese population into three major ethnic groups in terms of their origin: Indo-Nepalese, Tibeto-Nepalese, and indigenous Nepalese. In the case of the first two groups, the direction if their migration and Nepal's landscapes appeared to have led to their vertical distribution; most ethnic groups were found at particular altitudes. The first group, comprising those of Indo- Nepalese origin, inhabited the more fertile lower hills, river valleys, and Tarai plains. The second major group consisted of communities of Tibeto-Mongol origin occupying the higher hills from the west to the east. The third and much smaller group comprised a number of tribal communities, such as the Tharus and the Dhimals of the Tarai; they may be remnants of indigenous communities whose habitation predates the advent of Indo-Nepalese and Tibeto-Mongol elements.
Even though Indo-Nepalese migrants were latecomers to Nepal relative to the migrants from the north, they have come to dominate the country not only numerically, but also socially, politically, and economically. They managed to achieve early dominance over the native and northern migrant populations, largely because of the superior formal educational and technological systems they brought with them. Consequently, their overall domination has had tremendous significance in terms of ethnic power structure.
Within the Indo-Nepalese group, at least two distinct categories can be discerned. The first category includes those who fled India and moved to the safe sanctuaries of the Nepal hills several hundred years ago, in the wake of the Muslim invasions of northern India. The hill group of Indian origin primarily was composed of descendants of high-caste Hindu families. According to Joshi and Rose, "These families, mostly of Brahman and Kshatriya status, have spread through the whole of Nepal with the exception of the areas immediately adjacent to the northern border. They usually constitute a significant portion of the local elites and are frequently the largest landowners in an area." This segment of the Indo-Nepalese population, at the apex of which stands the nation's royal family, has played the most dominant role in the country. Other ethnic groups, including those of Indian origin that settled in the Tarai, have been peripheral to the political power structure.
The second group of Indo-Nepalese migrants includes the inhabitants of the Tarai. Many of them are relatively recent migrants, who were encouraged by the government of Nepal or its agents to move into the Tarai for settlement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the early 1990s, this group mostly consisted of landless tenants and peasants from northern India's border states of Bihar and Bengal. Some of these Indian migrants later became large landowners.
The north Indian antecedents of a number of caste groups in the hills (that is, the first group of Indo-Nepalese migrants), which, in the early 1990s, made up more than 50 percent of the total population, are evident in their language, religion, social organization, and physical appearance. All of these features, however, have been modified in the Nepalese environment. These groups--several castes of Brahmans, the high-ranking Thakuri and Chhetri (the Nepalese derivative of the Kshatriya) castes, and an untouchable category--generally are classified as Pahari, or Parbate. However, in most parts of Nepal (except in the Tarai), the term pahari has only a limited use in that the Paharis generally are known by their individual caste names.
Nepali, the native tongue of the Paharis and the national language of Nepal, is closely related to, but by no means identical with, Hindi. Both are rooted in Sanskrit. The Hinduism of the Pahari has been influenced by Buddhism and indigenous folk belief. The Paharis' caste system was neither as elaborately graded nor as all embracing in its sanctions as that of the Indians; physically, many of the Paharis showed the results of racial intermixture with the various Mongoloid groups of the region. Similarly, the Bhote or Bhotia groups inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas--among whom the Sherpas have attracted the most attention in the mountaineering world--have developed regional distinctions among themselves, although clearly related physically as well as culturally to the Tibetans. The term Bhote literally means inhabitant of Bhot, a Sanskrit term for the trans-Himalayan region of Nepal, or the Tibetan region. However, Bhote is also a generic term, often applied to people of Tibetan culture or Mongoloid phenotype. As used by the Paharis and the Newars, it often had a pejorative connotation and could be applied to any non-Hindu of Mongoloid appearance.
An extraordinarily complex terrain also affected the geographic distribution and interaction among various ethnic groups. Within the general latitudinal sorting of Indo-Nepalese (lower hills) and Tibeto-Nepalese (higher hills and mountains) groups, there was a lateral (longitudinal) pattern, in which various ethnic populations were concentrated in specific geographic pockets. The deeply cut valleys and high ridges tended to divide ethnic groups into many small, relatively isolated, and more or less self- contained communities. This pattern was especially prominent among the Tibeto-Nepalese population. For example, the Bhote group was found in the far north, trans-Himalayan section of the Mountain Region, close to the Tibetan border. The Sherpas, a subgroup within the Bhote, were concentrated in the northeast, around the Mount Everest area. To the south of their areas were other Tibeto- Nepalese ethnic groups--the Gurung in the west-central hills and the Tamang and Rai in the east-central hills--particularly close to and east of the Kathmandu Valley. The Magar group, found largely in the central hills, was much more widely distributed than the Gurung, Tamang, and Rai. In the areas occupied by the Limbu and Rai peoples, the Limbu domain was located farther east in the hills, just beyond the Rai zone. The Tharu group was found in the Tarai, and the Paharis were scattered throughout Nepal. Newars largely were concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. However, because of their past migration as traders and merchants, they also were found in virtually all the market centers, especially in the hills, and as far away as Lhasa in Tibet.
This geographically concentrated ethnic distribution pattern generally remained in effect in the early 1990s, despite a trend toward increasing spatial mobility and relocating ethnic populations. For example, a large number of Bhotes (also called Mananges from the Manang District) in the central section of the Mountain Region, Tamangs, and Sherpas have moved to the Kathmandu Valley. Similarly, Thakalis from the Mustang District adjacent to Manang have moved to Pokhara, a major urban center in the hills about 160 kilometers west of Kathmandu, and to Butawal and Siddhartha Nagar, two important urban areas in the central part of the Tarai, directly south of Pokhara. Gurungs, Magars, and Rais also have become increasingly dispersed.
Most of the Indo-Nepalese peoples--both Paharis and Tarai dwellers (commonly known among the Paharis as madhesis, meaning midlanders)--were primarily agriculturalists, although a majority of them also relied on other activities to produce supplementary income. They generally raised some farm animals, particularly water buffalo, cows, goats, and sheep, for domestic purposes. The Paharis traditionally have occupied the vast majority of civil service positions. As a result, they have managed to dominate and to control Nepal's bureaucracy to their advantage. It was not until the 1980s that a prime minister came from the non- Pahari segment of the population. Despite some loosening of the total Pahari domination of the bureaucracy in recent years, a 1991 newspaper report, summarized in the Nepal Press Digest, revealed that 80 percent of the posts in the civil service, the army, and the police still were held by the Brahmans and Chhetris of the hills, who comprised less than 50 percent of the population; 13 percent were held by Kathmandu Valley Newars, whose share of the total population was merely 3 percent. The report added that even in 1991, the eleven-member Council of Ministers in 1991 had six Brahmans and three Newars. Furthermore, six of the nine-member Constitution Recommendation Commission, which drafted the new constitution in 1990, were hill Brahmans. In spite of the increasing number of Newars holding government jobs, they traditionally were recognized as a commercial merchant and handicraft class. It was no exaggeration that they historically have been the prime agents of Nepalese culture and art. A significant number of them also were engaged in farming. In that sense, they can be described as agro-commercialists.
Most of the Tibeto-Nepalese groups traditionally could be considered agro-pastoralists. Because their physical environment offered only limited land and agricultural possibilities, the Tibeto-Nepalese groups who occupied the high mountainous areas, such as the Bhote and particularly the Sherpa, were almost forced to rely more on herding and pastoral activities than on crop farming. They also participated in seasonal trading activity to supplement their income and food supply. However, those peoples inhabiting the medium and low hills south of the high mountains-- particularly the Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, and Limbu groups-- depended on farming and herding in relatively equal amounts because their environment was relatively more suitable for agriculture. Among these groups, the Gurung, Magar, and Rai historically have supplied the bulk of the famous Gurkha contingents to the British and Indian armies, although their ranks have been augmented from the Thakuri and Chhetri castes of the Indo-Nepalese Paharis. The term Gurkha was derived from the name of the former principality of Gorkha, about seventy kilometers west of Kathmandu, and was not an ethnic designation.

Ethnic Demography of Nepal

. Definition and Data

I. The basic elements of social composition include (a) race, as ethnicity/caste; (b) language or mother tongue; and (c) religion or belief. Many tend to include all these three under the rubric of 'ethnicity'. This seems misplaced. One such example leading to confusion is the terms 'Nepalese ethnic' used as in the case of refugees from Bhutan. They, however, include many ethnic/castes and are considered refugees because of their non-Nepalese political identity. They are indeed a group of people sharing Nepali language of which some have their own Tibeto-Burman mother tongue. Again, not all of them are Hindus as some follow their tribal belief. These so-called 'Nepalese ethnics' are actually a language group whether they subscribe to the semantics of Bhandari's 'Nepali' or Ghising's 'Gorkhali' Ethnicity, language, and religion do tend to overlap but treating them as discrete entities for analysis will contribute to clarity.

2. One also finds loose use of terms in Nepalese anthropological literature. This refers to transposition of linguistic labels in ethnic context such as 'Indo-Aryan' for Caucasoid or Khasa and 'Tibeto-Burman' for Mongoloid or Kirant. These two racial divisions also differ in social structure in that the Caucasoids are caste-based and the Mongoloids are mostly tribal. It would be useful here to make a subtle distinction of native terms 'jat' (caste) for the Caucasoids and 'Jati' (nationality) for the Mongoloids although they have a common etymology in the sense of 'species'. The former pertains to vertical (social) status differentiation and the latter to horizontal (spatial) groupings.

3. Early censuses of Nepal certainly included questions on ethnicity/caste of the population. The question on caste appears as schedule no. 6 in 1911, schedule no. 7 in 1920 and 1930, schedule no.

4 in 1941 and schedule 2 A in 1952/54. Questions relating to language and religion were first included and reported in the 1952/54 census. However, successive census reports did not include ethnic/caste data and linguistic data remained the only basis on the relative size of various ethnic groups. The 1991 census report provides for the first time data on ethnic/caste composition of Nepalese population. The relevant data sources are as follows:

• Vol. 1, Part V, Table 19: Caste/ethnic by residence one year ago
• Vol. 1, Part VII, Table 25: Population by caste /ethnic group
• Vol. 1, Part VII Table 26: Literacy status by caste/ethnic group
• Vol. 1, Part VIII, Table 27: Economic activity by caste/ethnic group
• Vol. 1, Part VIII, Table 28: Major occupation by caste/ethnic group
• Vol. 1. Part IX, Table 29: Major industry division by caste/ethnic group.

4. The caste/ethnic groups are listed in cohorts of ten names commencing from tarai, hill, and then of mountain origin. There is no sequence as to their alphabetical order by name or size of their population. Neither is there any indication as to their caste or ethnic category. In the preface of each census volume, 'ethnic' is subsumed under 'caste', assuming all ethnics to be caste people. The 1991 census lists 60 ethnic and caste group. According to the regional grouping, these include 29 from the tarai, 29 from the hill and 2 from the mountain. Among those listed, three are actually religious groups: Churaute (hill Muslim), Muslim, and Sikh. Similarly. Bengali is included which not an ethnic/caste but a linguistic group. Among the tarai people, some related castes such as Khatwe/Musahar and Kanu/Teli are separately identified while many other (Badhai, Dom, Halkhor, Koiri, Lohar, Mali, Pashi, Tatma, etc.) are not listed. Similarly, excluded are some hill ethnics such as Byansi, Dura, Hayu, Khambu, Mech, and Pahari. These are obviously lumped under 'others' which range from 1,741 among mountain group to 185,994 in hill group and 1.3 million in the tarai group.

Table 1. Ethnic/Caste Composition, 1991

Geographic Region	No. of groups	Population	Per cent
Mountain Group	3	138,293	0.7
Caste	-	-	-
Ethnic	3	136,552	0.7
Others		-	1,741.
0.0
Hill Group	20	12,420,157	67.2
Caste	9	7,457,170	40.3
Ethnic	11	4,776,993	25.8
Others		185,994	1.0
Inner Tarai Group	7	206,068	1.1
Caste	-	-	-
Ethnic	7	206,068	1.1
Tarai Group	25	5,718,770	30.9
Caste	20	2,939,175	15.9
Ethnic	5	1,452,652	7.9
Others		1,326,943
Unstted/Foreigners	-	7,809	0.0
Total	55	18,491,097	100.0

Source: Salter & Gurung, forthcoming.

II. Composition

5. Table 1 is an attempt at summarizing the census data on ethnicity/caste. The first order of classification is by elevation zone, as to the 'native area' of each ethnic/caste group. These are distinguished as mountain, hill, inner tarai, and the tarai. Recognition is given to inner tarai as it has numerous indigenous ethnic groups. Such geographic grouping is followed by second order of classification by social categories into ethnic, caste and others. The mountain and inner tarai zones have only ethnics as natives. The hill and tarai have both ethnics and castes. The status of Newar is problematic since it includes both caste and non-caste people. However, they qualify as ethnics owing to their distinctive language and culture. Similar is the case with Bhotia and Sherpa. As mentioned above, there is no caste group among people of mountain and inner tarai origin. The hill social group has more ethnics while the tarai has more castes. The distribution of ethnic groups by native area is shown in the Ethnographic Map and Diagram B.

6. Two-thirds of Nepal's total population belong to the hill origin group (Diagram A). People of tarai origin come next with 30.9 percent; Those of inner tarai origin and mountain origin are 1.1 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. Thus, 67.9 percent of total population are of highland origin and 32.0 percent of lowland origin. In terms of social structure, caste people constitute 56.2 percent of total population (Diagram A). The'ethnics are 35.5 percent and the rest 8.3 percent subsumed as others.

7. Of the enumerated 30 castes, 9 are of hill origin and 20 of tarai origin. However, the hill castes with Nepali mother tongue, form the largest social group with 40.3 percent of total population. These include the political elites Bahun, Chhetri, and Thakuri (30.6%) as well as artisan castes Kami, Damai, and Sarki (8.7%). In fact, Kamis outnumber all other ethnics except Magar, Tharu, Newar and Tamang. The tarai has numerous castes but the proportion of dominant castes, Brahmin, Rajput and Kayastha is very small (1.6%). Of the 26 listed ethnic groups, 3 are from mountain, 11 from hill, 7 from inner tarai and 5 from the tarai. Ethnic groups of mountain origin are the Bhotia, Thakali and Sherpa. Hill ethnics include the traditional Gurkha tribes (Gurung, Magar, Limbu, Rai) who account for 14.1 percent of the total population. Other populous hill ethnics are the Tamang (5.5 percent) and the Newar (5.6 percent). The seven ethnics of the inner tarai are small isolated o,roups. The tarai is represented by five ethnic groups of which the Tharu (6.5 percent) form the largest ethnic group of Nepal after the Magar (7.2 percent).

III. Migration

8. The ethnographic map shows the distribution pattern of 38 ethnic/caste groups. This is supplemented by native area and their share in total population (Diagram B). The Bhotia of the mountain, and Tharu and Muslim of the tarai are spread laterally across the country. Tribal ethnics are more pronounced in eastern hill as well as eastern tarai. Central inner tarai is another area of ethnic concentration. There has been significant dispersal of people from their native area, with two main migratory trajectories. One is from the west to east, particularly after mid-18th century with expansion of Gorkhali state led by hill castes. The other is north-to-south or decent to the lowlands, a result particularly of malaria control since the 1950s. Both east-west and north-south migration processes are very pronounced in the case of people of the hills, the traditional zone of the Nepalese population.

9. The west-to-east population movement along the hill corridor is best exemplified by the hill castes. Of the total 7.5 million hill caste people, only 1.4 million or 18.2 percent are reported in the western hills, their native area. Nearly 3 million of them are in central and eastern hills. They constitute 51.1 percent of central hill (including Kathmandu Valley) and 40.9 percent of eastern hill population. The dominant eastward trajectory is also seen in the intra-hill migration of the four hill ethnic groups with martial tradition. The Magar and Gurung of the central hills, who participated in the Gorkhali military campaigns, number 128, 818 in the eastern hill while Rai and Limbu of the east total only 12. 238 in the central and western hills.

10. Table 2 and Diagram C show the sectoral distribution of population by ethnicity/caste. Caste people outnumber ethnics in all three sectors. They are 70 percent in the western sector and just a majority in the central sector. The ethnics constitute only quarter of the western population. In both the central and eastern sectors, they are about a third of the sectoral population. The north to-south migration trajectory is obvious from the large number of people of highland (mountain and hill) origin in the lowlands.

Table 2. Ethnicity/Caste by Sector

Caste/Ethnic Group	West	Central	East	All
Caste	69.6	50.5	54.0	56.4
Ethnic	25.4	31.9	30.8	29.9
Others	4.9	17.7	15.1	13.6
All	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
(Population)	(4089715)	(6,105,216)	(8,296,166)	(18,491,097)

11. Of Nepal's total population, 52 percent now reside in the lowlands (inner tarai and tarai) districts. On the other hand, people of lowlands origin constitute less than one-third of the total population. This discrepancy between majority population in the lowlands despite smaller size of its native population can be explained by large-scale' influx of highlanders. Thus, of the 12.6 million people of highland origin, 3.9 million or 30.8 percent are residing in the lowlands. People of hill origin now constitute 83.1 percent of the inner tarai and 30.9 percent of the tarai population. In contrast, among the 5.8 million people of lowland origin, only 182,284 or 3.1 percent are reported in the highlands. They constitute a mere 2.2 percent of the hill and 0.9 percent of the mountain population.

Table 3. Ethnicity/Caste by Elevation Zone

Elevation	Caste	Ethnic	Others	All	Population
Mountain	66.2	29.1	4.6	100.0	1182105
Hill	56.8	31.7	12.5	100.0	7695391
Inner Tarai	48.2	45.9	5.9	100.0	1694424
Tarai	57.3	24.9	17.9	100.0	7919177
All	56.4	29.9	13.6	100.0
(Population)	(10,425,518)	(5,532,916)	(2,532,663)		(18,491,097)

12. Table 3 and Diagram D show the distribution of population by elevation zones. In the mountain zone, two-third population is of caste people and 21.9 percent are ethnics. In the hill, respective shares of caste and ethnics are 56.8 percent and 31.7 percent respectively. Ethnics constitute a fair share (45.9 percent) of inner tarai population but still the caste people predominate (48.2 percent). In the tarai population, a quarter is ethnics, 57.3 percent caste people, and large share (17.9 percent) as others.

IV. Distribution

13. Divergent patterns are observable when comparing the maps of native areas (Ethnographic map) with current majority population of particular ethnic/ caste groups by district (Map II). In all, only eleven social groups emerge as the majority in population at the district level. Out of the 75 districts, the Chhetri are majority in 22 districts. The Bahun predominate in nine districts followed by the Tamang in seven. The Magar, Tharu, and Rai are in majority in six districts each. The Yadav are a majority in five districts between Bagmati and Kosi rivers. The Gurung and Muslim are more numerous in four districts each. The Limbu and Newar outnumber other ethnic/caste groups in three contiguous districts each.

14. The numerical dominance of districts by ethnicity/caste indicates both the persistence and erosion of native areas. The Chhetri stronghold of 17 contiguous districts in the west conforms to their homeland in the Karnali region. However, their majority in the tarai district of Kanchanpur, once a Tharu majority area, is due to migration in recent decades. Four other Chhetri majority districts (Dolakha, Ramechhpa, Okhaldhunga, Udayapur) are outposts in the east with a longer history. The Bahun majority districts include five adjoining districts in the central hills, one in inner tarai (Chitwan), and three in the tarai. Their majority in Morang and Jhapa is due to large-scale migration from the eastern hills. The Tamang. majority districts correspond to their native area around Kathmandu Valley. The Tharu majority districts are mostly in the tarai, their traditional habitat.

15. The districts with Magar majority are in the central hill but the core of their native area has been indented by districts with Bahun predominance. In the case of the Rai, Gurung, Limbu, and Newar, there is convergence in the group of districts with their majority population and their native area. The Yadav and Muslim majority districts are all in the tarai but with a contrast that while the former occupy five contiguous districts in Mithila region, the latter's majority districts are dispersed.

16. Diagram E summaries the regional pattern of dominance by ethnicity/caste. The most numerous first three ethnic/caste group is indicated by their percentage of population for each of the 13 geographic regions. The Chhetri outnumber others in two regions each of the mountain, hill and inner tarai zone. They are second most numerous in Kathmandu Valley and eastern tarai and third in central hill and central river tarai.

17. The Bahun are predominant in central hill and central tarai. They are second in western mountain and central inner tarai, and third placed in central mountain, Kathmandu Valley and Western tarai. The Tamang are more numerous than others in central mountain and central inner tarai. They are second most numerous in eastern hill and eastern inner tarai. The Newar outnumber other ethnic/caste groups in Kathmandu Valley. The Tharu are predominant in western tarai, second in western inner tarai and central tarai and third most numerous in eastern tarai. The Yadav are most numerous in eastern tarai, particularly in district between Bagmati and Kosi rivers. Others second in regional population are Magar in western and central hill, Gurung in central hill, Rai in eastern mountain, and Muslim in eastern tarai. Similarly third in regional population include Kami in western mountain and western hill, Limbu in eastern mountain, Rai in eastern hill, Magar in western and eastern inner tarai, and Muslim in central tarai.

V. Linguistic Dynamics

18. This essay is focussed on ethnic/caste data. A brief inquiry into mother tongue data provides some interesting facts on cultural change among the ethnics. During the period 1952/54 - 1981, population of Nepal increased by 124.5 percent, from 8.2 million to 18.5 million. For the same period, the population of seven Indo-Aryan languages, the mother tongue of caste people, increased by 126.9 percent. On the other hand, of the 19 mother tongues spoken by ethnics, only Danuwar, Dhimal, Rajbansi, and Tharu, recorded population increases exceeding the national average (Table 4).

Table 4. Ethnicity and Language

In Percent

Ethnic Group	Language Family	Share of Total Population 1991	Increase in Speakers 1952/54-91	Retention of Mother Tongue 1991
Mountain
1. Bhote-Sherpa	(T-B)	0.7	73.7	90.0
2. Thakali	(T-B)	0.0	115.1	51.8
Hill
3. Chepang	(T-B)	0.0	76.0	68.5
4. Gurung	(T-B)	1.2	40.5	50.7
5. Jirel	(T-B)	0.0	55.4	86.5
6. Limbu	(T-B)	1.4	74.6	85.5
7. Magar	(T-B)	2.3	57.2	32.1
8. Newar	(T-B)	3.7	80.1	66.1
9. Rai-Kirant	(T-B)	2.4	86.1	83.6
10. Tamang	(T-B)	4.9	82.8	88.6
11. Thami	(T-B)	0.1	40.6	75.4
Inner Terai
12. Danuwar	(I-A)	0.1	46.7	159.6
13. Darai	(I-A)	0.0	111.4	60.4
14. Kumhal	(I-A)	0.0	-59.7	1.8
15. Majhi	(I-A)	0.1	97.6	20.6
16. Raji	(T-B)	0.0	95.4	90.4
Tarai
17. Dhimal	(T-B)	0.1	164.8	89.5
18. Rajbansi	(I-A)	0.5	140.7	104.1
19. Tharu	(I-A)	5.4	176.2	83.2

Note: I-A = Indo-Aryan, T-B = Tibeto-Burman.

Of the 19 ethnic languages, 13 are Tibeto-Burman and 6 Indo-Aryan. All mountain and hill ethnics have Tibeto-Burman mother tongue while inner tarai and tarai ethnics have Indo-Aryan mother tongue. Rajbansi and Dhimal language are Tibeto-Burman intrusions in inner tarai and the tarai respectively.

19. Of these 19 languages, only 7 claim a share exceeding one percent of the total populations. Tharu speakers are 5.4 percent, followed lay Tamang (4.9%) and Newar (3.7%) speakers. The Tharu speakers also show highest increase, by 2.8 times, during 1952/54 1991. Others with substantial increase are all from the tarai and inner tarai: Dhimal and Danuwar by 2.6 times, Rajbansi by 1.9 times. Among the hill ethnics, Rai-Kiranti, Tamang and Newari-speaking population increased 80 to 86 percent as compared to national population increase of 124.5 percent. Gurung and Thami language speakers recorded the lowest increase (40%). Among mountain languages, the increase ranged from 73.7 percent for Bhote-Sherpa to 45.1 percent for Thakali. In contrast, the number of Kumhale speakers declined by 59.7 percent in about four decades.

20. The temporal change in population by mother tongue also provides an indication in language retention by the ethnics (Table 4). In this regard, Kumhals show the least level of retention: 1,413 speakers against a population of 76,635. It is also low among the Majhi with only half the population retaining their language. Among hill ethnics, two-third Magars and half of Gurungs and Thakalis have lost their mother tongue. The percent of language retention among other hill ethnics is Chepang - 68.5, Newar - 66.1, Thami - 75.4, Rai-Kiranti - 83.6, Limbu - 85.5, jirel -

86.5 and Tamang 88-8. Bhote-Sherpa, Raji and Dhimal have retention level of 90 percent. Rajbansi appears as an exception where the language speakers exceed the number of their population.

Caste and Ethnicity

Ethnic Groups

Nepalese society was ethnically diverse and complex in the early 1990s, ranging in phenotype (physical characteristics) and culture from the Indian to the Tibetan. Except for the sizable population of those of Indian birth or ancestry concentrated in the Tarai bordering India, the varied ethnic groups had evolved into distinct patterns over time.
Political scientists Joshi and Rose broadly classify the Nepalese population into three major ethnic groups in terms of their origin: Indo-Nepalese, Tibeto-Nepalese, and indigenous Nepalese. In the case of the first two groups, the direction if their migration and Nepal's landscapes appeared to have led to their vertical distribution; most ethnic groups were found at particular altitudes. The first group, comprising those of Indo- Nepalese origin, inhabited the more fertile lower hills, river valleys, and Tarai plains. The second major group consisted of communities of Tibeto-Mongol origin occupying the higher hills from the west to the east. The third and much smaller group comprised a number of tribal communities, such as the Tharus and the Dhimals of the Tarai; they may be remnants of indigenous communities whose habitation predates the advent of Indo-Nepalese and Tibeto-Mongol elements.
Even though Indo-Nepalese migrants were latecomers to Nepal relative to the migrants from the north, they have come to dominate the country not only numerically, but also socially, politically, and economically. They managed to achieve early dominance over the native and northern migrant populations, largely because of the superior formal educational and technological systems they brought with them. Consequently, their overall domination has had tremendous significance in terms of ethnic power structure.
Within the Indo-Nepalese group, at least two distinct categories can be discerned. The first category includes those who fled India and moved to the safe sanctuaries of the Nepal hills several hundred years ago, in the wake of the Muslim invasions of northern India. The hill group of Indian origin primarily was composed of descendants of high-caste Hindu families. According to Joshi and Rose, "These families, mostly of Brahman and Kshatriya status, have spread through the whole of Nepal with the exception of the areas immediately adjacent to the northern border. They usually constitute a significant portion of the local elites and are frequently the largest landowners in an area." This segment of the Indo-Nepalese population, at the apex of which stands the nation's royal family, has played the most dominant role in the country. Other ethnic groups, including those of Indian origin that settled in the Tarai, have been peripheral to the political power structure.
The second group of Indo-Nepalese migrants includes the inhabitants of the Tarai. Many of them are relatively recent migrants, who were encouraged by the government of Nepal or its agents to move into the Tarai for settlement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In the early 1990s, this group mostly consisted of landless tenants and peasants from northern India's border states of Bihar and Bengal. Some of these Indian migrants later became large landowners.
The north Indian antecedents of a number of caste groups in the hills (that is, the first group of Indo-Nepalese migrants), which, in the early 1990s, made up more than 50 percent of the total population, are evident in their language, religion, social organization, and physical appearance. All of these features, however, have been modified in the Nepalese environment. These groups--several castes of Brahmans, the high-ranking Thakuri and Chhetri (the Nepalese derivative of the Kshatriya) castes, and an untouchable category--generally are classified as Pahari, or Parbate. However, in most parts of Nepal (except in the Tarai), the term pahari has only a limited use in that the Paharis generally are known by their individual caste names.
Nepali, the native tongue of the Paharis and the national language of Nepal, is closely related to, but by no means identical with, Hindi. Both are rooted in Sanskrit. The Hinduism of the Pahari has been influenced by Buddhism and indigenous folk belief. The Paharis' caste system was neither as elaborately graded nor as all embracing in its sanctions as that of the Indians; physically, many of the Paharis showed the results of racial intermixture with the various Mongoloid groups of the region. Similarly, the Bhote or Bhotia groups inhabiting the foothills of the Himalayas--among whom the Sherpas have attracted the most attention in the mountaineering world--have developed regional distinctions among themselves, although clearly related physically as well as culturally to the Tibetans. The term Bhote literally means inhabitant of Bhot, a Sanskrit term for the trans-Himalayan region of Nepal, or the Tibetan region. However, Bhote is also a generic term, often applied to people of Tibetan culture or Mongoloid phenotype. As used by the Paharis and the Newars, it often had a pejorative connotation and could be applied to any non-Hindu of Mongoloid appearance.
An extraordinarily complex terrain also affected the geographic distribution and interaction among various ethnic groups. Within the general latitudinal sorting of Indo-Nepalese (lower hills) and Tibeto-Nepalese (higher hills and mountains) groups, there was a lateral (longitudinal) pattern, in which various ethnic populations were concentrated in specific geographic pockets. The deeply cut valleys and high ridges tended to divide ethnic groups into many small, relatively isolated, and more or less self- contained communities. This pattern was especially prominent among the Tibeto-Nepalese population. For example, the Bhote group was found in the far north, trans-Himalayan section of the Mountain Region, close to the Tibetan border. The Sherpas, a subgroup within the Bhote, were concentrated in the northeast, around the Mount Everest area. To the south of their areas were other Tibeto- Nepalese ethnic groups--the Gurung in the west-central hills and the Tamang and Rai in the east-central hills--particularly close to and east of the Kathmandu Valley. The Magar group, found largely in the central hills, was much more widely distributed than the Gurung, Tamang, and Rai. In the areas occupied by the Limbu and Rai peoples, the Limbu domain was located farther east in the hills, just beyond the Rai zone. The Tharu group was found in the Tarai, and the Paharis were scattered throughout Nepal. Newars largely were concentrated in the Kathmandu Valley. However, because of their past migration as traders and merchants, they also were found in virtually all the market centers, especially in the hills, and as far away as Lhasa in Tibet.
This geographically concentrated ethnic distribution pattern generally remained in effect in the early 1990s, despite a trend toward increasing spatial mobility and relocating ethnic populations. For example, a large number of Bhotes (also called Mananges from the Manang District) in the central section of the Mountain Region, Tamangs, and Sherpas have moved to the Kathmandu Valley. Similarly, Thakalis from the Mustang District adjacent to Manang have moved to Pokhara, a major urban center in the hills about 160 kilometers west of Kathmandu, and to Butawal and Siddhartha Nagar, two important urban areas in the central part of the Tarai, directly south of Pokhara. Gurungs, Magars, and Rais also have become increasingly dispersed.
Most of the Indo-Nepalese peoples--both Paharis and Tarai dwellers (commonly known among the Paharis as madhesis, meaning midlanders)--were primarily agriculturalists, although a majority of them also relied on other activities to produce supplementary income. They generally raised some farm animals, particularly water buffalo, cows, goats, and sheep, for domestic purposes. The Paharis traditionally have occupied the vast majority of civil service positions. As a result, they have managed to dominate and to control Nepal's bureaucracy to their advantage. It was not until the 1980s that a prime minister came from the non- Pahari segment of the population. Despite some loosening of the total Pahari domination of the bureaucracy in recent years, a 1991 newspaper report, summarized in the Nepal Press Digest, revealed that 80 percent of the posts in the civil service, the army, and the police still were held by the Brahmans and Chhetris of the hills, who comprised less than 50 percent of the population; 13 percent were held by Kathmandu Valley Newars, whose share of the total population was merely 3 percent. The report added that even in 1991, the eleven-member Council of Ministers in 1991 had six Brahmans and three Newars. Furthermore, six of the nine-member Constitution Recommendation Commission, which drafted the new constitution in 1990, were hill Brahmans. In spite of the increasing number of Newars holding government jobs, they traditionally were recognized as a commercial merchant and handicraft class. It was no exaggeration that they historically have been the prime agents of Nepalese culture and art. A significant number of them also were engaged in farming. In that sense, they can be described as agro-commercialists.
Most of the Tibeto-Nepalese groups traditionally could be considered agro-pastoralists. Because their physical environment offered only limited land and agricultural possibilities, the Tibeto-Nepalese groups who occupied the high mountainous areas, such as the Bhote and particularly the Sherpa, were almost forced to rely more on herding and pastoral activities than on crop farming. They also participated in seasonal trading activity to supplement their income and food supply. However, those peoples inhabiting the medium and low hills south of the high mountains-- particularly the Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, and Limbu groups-- depended on farming and herding in relatively equal amounts because their environment was relatively more suitable for agriculture. Among these groups, the Gurung, Magar, and Rai historically have supplied the bulk of the famous Gurkha contingents to the British and Indian armies, although their ranks have been augmented from the Thakuri and Chhetri castes of the Indo-Nepalese Paharis. The term Gurkha was derived from the name of the former principality of Gorkha, about seventy kilometers west of Kathmandu, and was not an ethnic designation.

The Caste System

One integral aspect of Nepalese society is the existence of the Hindu caste system, modeled after the ancient and orthodox Brahmanic system of the Indian plains. The caste system did not exist prior to the arrival of Indo-Aryans. Its establishment became the basis of the emergence of the feudalistic economic structure of Nepal: the high-caste Hindus began to appropriate lands-- particularly lowlands that were more easily accessible, more cultivatable, and more productive--including those belonging to the existing tribal people, and introduced the system of individual ownership. Even though the cultural and religious rigidity of the caste system slowly has been eroding, its introduction into Nepal was one of the most significant influences stemming from the migration of the Indo-Aryan people into the hills. The migrants from the north later were incorporated into the Hindu caste system, as defined by Indo-Aryan migrants, who quickly controlled the positions of power and authority. Tibetan migrants did not practice private ownership; their system was based on communal ownership.
No single, widely acceptable definition can be advanced for the caste system. Bishop and others, however, view caste as a multifaceted status hierarchy composed of all members of society, with each individual ranked within the broad, fourfold Hindu class (varna, or color) divisions, or within the fifth class of untouchables--outcastes and the socially polluted. The fourfold caste divisions are Brahman (priests and scholars), Kshatriya or Chhetri (rulers and warriors), Vaisya (or Vaisaya, merchants and traders), and Sudra (farmers, artisans, and laborers). These Pahari caste divisions based on the Hindu system are not strictly upheld by the Newars. They have their own caste hierarchy, which, they claim, is parallel in caste divisions to the Pahari Hindu system. In each system, each caste (jati) is ideally an endogamous group in which membership is both hereditary and permanent. The only way to change caste status is to undergo Sanskritization. Sanskritization can be achieved by migrating to a new area and by changing one's caste status and/or marrying across the caste line, which can lead to the upgrading or downgrading of caste, depending on the spouse's caste. However, given the rigidity of the caste system, intercaste marriage carries a social stigma, especially when it takes place between two castes at the extreme ends of the social spectrum.
As Bishop further asserts, at the core of the caste structure is a rank order of values bound up in concepts of ritual status, purity, and pollution. Furthermore, caste determines an individual's behavior, obligations, and expectations. All the social, economic, religious, legal, and political activities of a caste society are prescribed by sanctions that determine and limit access to land, position of political power, and command of human labor. Within such a constrictive system, wealth, political power, high rank, and privilege converge; hereditary occupational specialization is a common feature. Nevertheless, caste is functionally significant only when viewed in a regional or local context and at a particular time. The assumed correlation between the caste hierarchy and the socioeconomic class hierarchy does not always hold. Because of numerous institutional changes over the years and increased dilution (or expansion) of the caste hierarchy stemming from intercaste marriages, many poor high-caste and rich low-caste households could be found in the society in 1991.
Although Paharis, especially those in rural areas, were generally quite conscious of their caste status, the question of caste did not usually arise for Tibeto-Nepalese communities unless they were aware of the Hindu caste status arbitrarily assigned to them. Insofar as they accepted caste-based notions of social rank, the Tibeto-Nepalese tended not only to see themselves at a higher level than did the Hindu Pahari and Newar, but also differed as to ranking among themselves. Thus, it was doubtful that the reported Rai caste's assumption of rank superiority over the Magar and Gurung castes was accepted by the two latter groups. Moreover, the status of a particular group was apt to vary from place to place, depending on its relative demographic size, wealth, and local power.

Language

Even though Nepali (written in Devanagari script, the same as Sanskrit and Hindi) was the national language and was mentioned as the mother tongue by approximately 58 percent of the population, there were several other languages and dialects. Other languages included Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tharu, Tamang, Newari, and Abadhi. Non-Nepali languages and dialects rarely were spoken outside their ethnic enclaves. In order to estimate the numerical distribution of different ethnic groups, the census data indicating various mother tongues spoken in the country must be used.
In terms of linguistic roots, Nepali, Maithili, and Bhojpuri belonged to the Indo-European family; the mother tongues of the Tibeto-Nepalese groups, including Newari, belonged predominantly to the Tibeto-Burman family. The Pahari, whose mother tongue was Nepali, was the largest ethnic group. If the Maithili- and Bhojpuri-speaking populations of the Tarai were included, more than 75 percent of the population belonged to the Indo-Nepalese ethnic group. Only three other ethnic groups--the Tamang, the Tharu, and the Newar--approached or slightly exceeded the one-half million population mark. Most of those non-Nepali linguistic and ethnic population groups were closely knit by bonds of nationalism and cultural harmony, and they were concentrated in certain areas.