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Tamang people

Indigenous native of Nepal, Bhutan and India From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tamang people

Tamang (རྟ་དམག་; Devanagari: तामाङ; tāmāṅ), are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group of Nepal, Southern Bhutan and North-east India. The Nepalese Tamang people constituted 5.6% of the population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 in the 2011 census;[5] the 2021 census reported 1,639,866 Tamangs.[1] The Nepali Tamangs are concentrated in the central hilly and Himalayan regions of Nepal.[6] Indian Tamangs live in the state of Sikkim and in the districts of Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal and Assam states. Bhutanese Tamangs live in various districts in the southern foothills of Bhutan, including Tsirang District, Dagana District, Samtse District, Chukha District, Sarpang District and Samdrup Jongkhar District.[7] Tamang language is the fifth most-spoken language in Nepal.[8]

Quick Facts तामाङ, Total population ...
Tamang
तामाङ
Tamang couple in traditional attire
Total population
c. 1.8 million[1][2][3]
Regions with significant populations
 BhutanN/A
   Nepal1,639,866 (2021)[1]
 India183,812
West Bengal146,203 (2011)[2]
Sikkim37,609 (2011)[3]
Languages
Tamang, Tibetan
Religion
Buddhism (87%) Hinduism (9%) Christianity (3.0%),[4]
Related ethnic groups
Tibetan people, Daman people, Qiang, Gurung, Sherpa, Bhotiya, Thakali
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Quick Facts Tibetan name, Tibetan ...
Tamang people
Tibetan name
Tibetanརྟ་དམག
Transcriptions
Tibetan PinyinTamang
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History

Summarize
Perspective

Historical accounts show that the Tamang ethnic group originated in Tibet. The word ta in the Classical Tibetan means 'horse', and mang means 'warriors';[a] hence, their original way of life evolved around horses.[10] The Tamangs, who have lived on hills outside the Kathmandu Valley to the southern slopes of Langtang, Ganesh, Jugal Himal and Rolwaling probably since prehistoric times, have been mentioned in various Nepalese and colonial historical records under a variety of names, such as Bhote, Lama, Murmi and Sain, some of which terms erroneously conflate the Tamangs with Uighurs.[10] The Tibetans called them Rongpa.[11]

Various Gorkha rulers led campaigns against the indigenous Tamangs. The Gorkha Vamsavali provides details of battles with the Bhotyas of a variety of principalities between 1806 and 1862. In 1739, a ruler named Ghale-Botya attacked Narabhupal Shah as he was marching towards Nuwakot, and Narabhupal Shah also fought several battles against Golma Ghale (Gyalpo). In 1762, Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked the Tamangs in Temal, the Tamang cultural heartland. Tamang oral history says that the local chief, Rinjen Dorje, was killed by the Gorkhas. Gorkhali forces had hidden their weapons in the sand on the Sunkoshi riverbank in order to attack the Tamang forces. Afterwards, the Gorkhas washed their weapons in springs at Dapcha Kuwapani, and this is why the modern-day Tamangs do not drink there. Similar stories appear in oral histories throughout the region.[12]

After the attack on the Tamang region, their traditional homeland area, known as kipat to the Gorkhas, was granted to Gorkha generals or government officials who had pleased the king in some way, displacing the Tamangs from kipat lands. Previously, Tamang landholdings had been divided up by clan. Tamangs also had various forced labor obligations, both in times of peace and war, that differed significantly from other regions of Nepal. One reason is the proximity of the Tamang homeland to the center of royal administration at Kathmandu.[12]

Tamangs were also involved in the Sino-Nepalese War (1788 to 1792). (Nepali: नेपाल-चीन युद्ध), also known as the Sino-Gorkha war and in Chinese the Campaign of Gorkha (Chinese: 廓爾喀之役).The war was initially fought between Nepalese Gorkhas and Tibetan armies over a trade dispute related to a long-standing problem of low-quality coins manufactured by Nepal for Tibet. A few hundred eventually settled in Tibet; they are known as Daman people in China. Previously stateless, since 2003 the Chinese government has classified them as ethnic Tibetans.[13][14][15]

Research indicates that the Tamang are a hybrid population with genetic contributions from both Tibetan and Nepalese ancestries. One study estimates the admixture proportions to be approximately 59% Tibetan and 41% Nepalese.[16]

Culture

Summarize
Perspective
Thumb
People dancing in Sonam Lhosar (Tamang New Year) celebration

Tamang tradition and culture include a distinct language, culture, dress, and social structure. They have over 100 sub-clans. About 87 % of the Tamang people are Buddhist[4] and around 3% are Christians and 8% are Hindu.[4] Their language, Tamang, comes from Tamangic branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family, and is closely related to Gurung. They follow the Chinese lunar calendar of the 12-year cycle. Colorful printed Buddhist mantra cloths are put up in various places in villages and towns.[5]

Their typical song and dance style is known as Tamang Selo, and includes songs representing humor, satire, joy and sorrow. It has a brisk movement and rhythmic beat specific to the Tamangs.[7] A distinctive musical instrument is the damphu, a small, round drum covered with goatskin. Traditional Tamang songs are known as Hwai. Sung by Tamang genealogists callTamba, Hwai songs are ritualistic and hold tremendous importance in Tamang rituals.[17]

Festivals

Thumb
Tamang girl in Sonam Lhosar Festival

Sonam Lhosar is the main festival of the Tamangs and is celebrated in the month of Magh (February–March).[18] It is celebrated to welcome the Tamang new year. Another significant festival is the Saga Dawa, a religious festival based on birthday of Gautam Buddha.[9]

Language

Main article: Tamang language

Tamang is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken predominantly in Nepal, with significant communities in Sikkim and West Bengal, India. It encompasses several dialects, including Eastern, Western, Southwestern, Northwestern, and Eastern Gorkha Tamang, with varying degrees of mutual intelligibility. For instance, Eastern and Western Tamang are mutually unintelligible.[19]  The language employs both the Tamyig script, similar to Tibetan, and Devanagari for writing. Grammatically, Tamang follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) order and utilizes postpositions.[20]  It is tonal and exhibits ergative-absolutive alignment.  Despite being the fifth most spoken language in Nepal,  Tamang faces challenges due to the dominance of Nepali, leading to concerns about language preservation.[21]

Distribution of Tamang in Nepal

The 2011 Nepal census classifies the Tamang people within the broader social group of Mountain–Hill Janajati.[4] At the time of the Nepal census of 2011, 1,539,830 people (5.8% of the population of Nepal) were Tamang. The percentage of Tamang people by province was as follows:

In the following districts, the percentage of Tamang people was higher than the national average of 5.8% (2011):[22]

Notable people

Arts and entertainment

Politics

Engineering, science and social science

Sportspeople

Indian

Nepalese

Notes

  1. Another theory says Tamang may have been derived from the Tibetan word tamang, where ta means 'horse' and mak means 'warrior' in Tibetan.[9][better source needed]

References

External links

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