Kirat

[

Bhotia, Sherpa, Thakali
Gurung
Kirati, Rai, Limbu
Newari
Pahari
Tamang]

Kirat refers to the Kirati group or a Kirata confederation that includes the Rai, Limbu, Yakkha and Sunuwar ethnic groups of Nepal. They were the earliest inhabitants of Nepal. Dhimal, Hayu, Koch , Thami, Chepang, and Surel ethnic groups also consider themselves to be of Kirati descent. In their tradition, they claim migrating from China(Yunnan) (via North Burma and Assam) and settling in Nepal. [ P. 33 "Nepalese Culture: Annual Journal of NeHCA" By Tribhuvana Viśvavidyālaya Nepālī Itihāsa, Saṃskr̥ti, ra Purātatva Śikshaṇa Samiti, Tribhuvana Viśvavidyālaya ]

Etymology

The word Kirat or Kirati's source is much disputed. Example of one such school of thought say that it is from the Sanskrit word Kirata found in the "Yajur Veda" describing the "handsome" mountain people and hunters in the forests. [ P. 38 "Other Worlds: Notions of Self and Emotion Among the Lohorung Rai" By Charlotte Hardman ] They are also described in the "Mahabharata", "Kirtarjuniya". [ P. 38 "Other Worlds: Notions of Self and Emotion Among the Lohorung Rai" By Charlotte Hardman ]

Language

Kirat Languages fall under two category.1. Under Bhot-Burmeli Tibeto-Burman category which include Kagate, Kusunda, Kham, Chepang, Chhantyal, Jirel, Tamu(Gurung), Tamang, Thakali, Thami, Dura, Dhimal, Newar, Pahari, Magar, Meche, Yakkha, Rai, Raute, Rang, Raji, Limbu, Lepcha, Loba, Sunuwar, Surel, Sherpa, Hayu, Hyolmo, Hyambu Shyarba2. Under Bharopeli Indo-European category which include Kumhale, Koche, Tharu, Danuwar, Darai, Bote and Majhi. [ Kirat Languages by Dr. Lal Rapcha ] [ Kirat Hijo ra aja by Durgahang Yakkha Rai ]

Religion

:"Main article: Kirat Mundhum"The Kirat follow Kirat Mundhum. Their holy book is the "Mundhum", also mistakenly mistakenly termed after the arrival of hindus in Kirat pradesh as the "Kirat Veda". [ P. 56 "Kiratese at a Glance" By Gopal Man Tandukar ] Kirat Rai people worship Nature and ancestors, Animism and Shamanism, believing in a their primeval ancestors, SumnimaParuhang. Some names for festivals they celebrate include Sakela, Sakle, Toshi, Sakewa, Saleladi Bhunmidev, Chyabrung, Yokwa and Folsyandar. They have two main festivals: Sakewa Uvauli, during plantation season; and Sakewa Udhauli, in the time of the harvest.

Kirat Limbu people believe in Supreme God Tagera Ningwaphuma, who is also known as the supreme knowledge . [ P. 107 "Politics of Culture:A study of three Kirata communities in the Eastern Himalayas" by T.B. Subba ] Ancestor Yuma Sammang and God of War Theba Sammang are second most important deities.

Though all Kirat are of the Kirat religion some were in time converted to hinduism by the ruling elites of later days Nepal [ P. 302 "The Legend of the Gurkhas" By Jimmy Rai-Zimmdar ]

There is a giant Linga of the Kirat at Kirataeshvara. It possibly had a kirat name but all such evidence was destroyed by the next rulers of Nepal [ P. 593 "Language of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook" by George Van Driem ]

There is a tradition amongst the Kirat Limbus there the reclining Vishnu found at Budhanilakantha is the ancestor of the Limbus. [ P. 593 "Language of the Himalayas: An Ethnolinguistic Handbook" by George Van Driem (]

History

Mentioned as Kiratas in "Mahabharat" epic

The Kiratas (Sanskrit: किरात) mentioned in early Hindu texts are the tribals of the forest and mountains. They are mentioned along with Cinas (Chinese). Kirati languages belong to Tibeto-Burman family of Languages . Kiratas have been identified as the present day Rai, Limbu and Sunuwar of Nepal.

In Yoga Vasistha 1.15.5 Rama speaks of "kirAteneva vAgurA", "a trap [laid] by Kiratas", so about BCE Xth Century, they were thought of as jungle trappers, the ones who dug pits to capture roving deer. The same text also speaks of King Suraghu, the head of the Kiratas who is a friend of the Persian King, Parigha.

Hindu myth has many incidents where their God Shiva has imitated a Kirat person. [ Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas ]

History of Limbuwan describes some of the achievements of Kirata people in eastern Nepal.

Background

Historians today are convinced that a widespread cultural conflict took place in the eastern Himalayan region between the indigenous inhabitants – called the Kirat – and the Tibetan migrant population, reaching a climax during the 18th and 19th centuries. Another wave of political and cultural conflict, between Gorkhali and Kirat ideals, surfaced in the Kirat region of present-day Nepal during the last quarter of the 18th century. A collection of manuscripts from the 18th and 19th centuries, till now unpublished and unstudied by historians, have made possible a new understanding of this conflict. These historical sources are among those collected by Brian Houghton Hodgson – a British diplomat and self-trained Orientalist appointed to the Kathmandu court during the second quarter of the 19th century – and his principal research aide, the Newar scholar Khardar Jitmohan.

For over two millennia, a large portion of the eastern Himalaya has been identified as the home of the Kirat people, of which the majority are known today as Rai, Limbu, Yakha and Lepcha. In ancient times, the entire Himalayan region was known as the "kimpurusha desha", a phrase derived from a Sanskrit term used to identify people of Kirat origin. These people were also known as "nep", to which the name "nepala" is believed to have an etymological link. The earliest references to the Kirat as principal inhabitants of the Himalayan region are found in the texts of "Atharvashirsha" and "Mahabharata", believed to date to before the 9th century BC. For over a millennium, the Kirat had also inhabited the Kathmandu Valley, where they installed their own ruling dynasty.This Kirat population in the valley, along with original Austro-asiatic and mongoloid settlers form the base for later Newar population. As time passed, however, those Kirat, now known as the Limbu settled mostly in the Koshi region of present-day eastern Nepal and Sikkim.

From around the 8th century, areas on the northern frontier of the Kirat region began to fall under the domination of migrant people of Tibetan origin. This flux of migration brought about the domination by Tibetan religious and cultural practices over ancient Kirat traditions. This influence first imposed shamanistic "Bön" practices, which in turn were later replaced by the oldest form of Tibetan Buddhism. The early influx of "Bön" culture to the peripheral Himalayan regions occurred only after the advent of the "Nyingma", the oldest Buddhist order in Lhasa and Central Tibet, which led followers of the older religion to flee to the Kirat areas for survival. The Tibetan cultural influx ultimately laid the foundation for a Tibetan politico-religious order in the Kirat regions, and this led to the emergence of two major Tibetan Buddhist dynasties: in Sikkim and Bhutan. The early political order of the Kingdom of Bhutan had been established under the political and spiritual leadership of the lama Zhabs-drung "Ngawang Namgyal". Consequently, Bhutan used to be known in the Himalayan region as the ‘kingdom of [Buddhist] spiritual rule’ (in old Nepali, "dharmaako desh"). The Tibetan rulers of Sikkim were also known as Chögyal, or spiritual rulers.

Both of these kingdoms adopted policies of suppression of indigenous practices, replacing them with those of Tibetan Buddhism. Bhutan’s religious rulers established a tradition of appointing religious missions to other Himalayan kingdoms and areas, through which they were able to establish extensive influence in the region. Bhutan’s ambitious missions were sent as far west as Ladakh. Even before the founding of modern Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha in 1769, Bhutan’s rulers were able to establish spiritual centres in several parts of what was to become the former's territories, including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Gorkha and Vijayapur in the midhills, and Mustang, north of the central Himalayan range.

Sikkim had long been home to Lepcha Kirat people and culture. Under the guidance of Tibetan Buddhist lamas, however, their self-rule and cultural independence was suddenly taken away. Sikkim kings were even able to subdue the entire far-eastern part of the Kirat region – historically known as Limbuwan – for at least a short period of time. Here, the new rulers adopted policies of religious and cultural subjugation, encouraging Sikkim lamas to travel to places of strategic importance in order to establish monastic centres. But the indigenous population did not easily surrender themselves to this cultural invasion. Limbu and Lepcha manuscripts collected by Brian Houghton Hodgson in Darjeeling indicate significant resistance by the Kirat against Tibetan Buddhist rule and cultural domination. While much of this struggle consisted of attempts to strengthen cultural awareness, there were also violent engagements between Kirat communities and their new rulers.

Sirijanga Singthebe and Kirat revival

Limbu society’s first known literary figure and reformer was a talented young man from Tellok, in present-day Taplejung District of far-eastern Nepal. Born around 1704, he was formally known as "Sirichongba", but his more popular name was and remains "Sirijanga". A Limbu-language instruction book found in the collection reveals Sirijanga’s real name: "Rupihaang". The "haang" part of the name is a common Kirat term indicating a family of high or royal origin. Sirijanga had accepted his Lepcha nickname by claiming to be the incarnation of a legendary figure also called Sirijanga. It has been widely believed that it was this supposedly 9th century hero who preserved and revived the ancient Kirat script; but many now feel that the Sirijanga legend was most likely created by the 18th century Sirijanga himself, with the intention of making the Limbu and Lepcha people more ready to believe and follow his teachings. Sirijanga Singthebe revived the old Kirat script, today mistakenly known as Sirijanga. [ " Sirijongahang Kirat Lipika Aviskarak hoinan, Punarutthankarta matra hun" by Manjul Yakthungba, Then Chairperson of Kirat Yakthung Chumlung as Published in tanchhoppa Year 7 Issue 12] With the use of his newly revived script he collected, composed and copied huge amounts of Kirat literature pertaining to history and cultural traditions. He traveled extensively through remote regions, attempting to amass sources of Limbu knowledge and culture. Eventually, he began going from village to village, publicising his findings and establishing centres of Kirati learning. In doing all of this, Sirijanga laid the foundation for a Kirat ethnic revival, and contributed significantly to the resistance against Tibetan Buddhist cultural domination. Sirijanga preached that acquiring broad cultural knowledge and experience was the key to the revival and enrichment of a community. In an attempt to trace the sources of his culture, he at first studied with local Tibetan Buddhist lamas, who at the time were the only means in the region of connecting to a learned tradition. Sirijanga was also witness to the influx of the Hindu-based Khas culture from the western hill districts of today’s Nepal. As such, along with his preliminary studies under the local lamas, he also practiced reading and writing in contemporary Khas, now known as Nepali. In order to better understand the dynamics at play in the region and to gather support for his movement, Sirijanga traveled far and wide to establish contact with rulers and powerful personalities. In one of these adventures, it seems that he had either contacted or met King "Jayaprakash Malla" of Kathmandu. This multi-lingual and multi-cultural exposure to Buddhist and Hindu standards enabled Sirijanga to grasp the fundamentals of both of the region’s dominant cultures. During Sirijanga’s life, the Bhutani and Sikkimi quest for greater control over the eastern Himalaya led to many wars between Limbu and Sikkimi Bhotiya (Bhotiya indicating Tibetan origin) authorities. In due time, the lamas of Sikkim were able to extend their monastic centres into the northern areas of that part of Limbuwan that now lies in Nepal. After a time, this cultural encroachment enabled the Bhotiya rulers to repeatedly subdue and take control of the entire Kirat territory.

The root of this state of conflict can be seen to lie in the politics of culture and knowledge at play in the region. Sikkimi Tibetan rulers and Buddhist spiritual leaders were able to subjugate the entire far-eastern Kirat region by means of their hold over the established learned traditions and the systematic spiritual culture of Buddhism. It was realisation of this that led Sirijanga to emphasise the necessity of a peaceful, knowledge-based movement. In present-day terms, Sirijanga’s ethnic movement can be said to be one of Kirat empowerment through education. Sirijanga’s movement came to represent a significant threat in particular to the Sikkimi Bhotiya rulers and their spiritual gurus. The man’s writings and teachings, his Kirati alphabet and the literary texts he collected, attracted significant numbers of Limbus and Lepchas, and led to the start of an ethnic awakening. Sirijanga was able to establish centres of Kirat cultural and religious learning in many places throughout the eastern Himalayan hills. The Sikkimi authorities felt enough under threat to want Sirijanga eliminated. He was killed in 1741, somewhere near the Pemiyongchi Monastery in Sikkim. The Kirat learning centres were subsequently destroyed, and Sirijanga’s disciples murdered or brutally suppressed.

Gorkhali hegemonies

The next phase of military and cultural threat faced by the Kirat people was at the hands of the Gorkhali expansionists of Nepal, shortly after Sirijanga's death. The nature and intensity of this hegemony was to prove significantly different from that of the earlier Tibetan one, however. From the very beginning, the Gorkha court’s intention in the region was not the extension of its Hindu-based culture. Rather, Gorkha’s was a clear military campaign of territorial expansion.

After the completion of the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley in 1769, the Gorkhali army marched east towards the Kirat territory. The Sen rulers of eastern Nepal, known as Hindupati, had established a weak rule in the Kirat region by adopting a policy of mutual understanding with the local Kirat leaders. The Gorkhali military campaign, in contrast, brought with it a forceful and brutal occupation. During the conquest, the invading authorities adopted a harsh divide-and-rule policy: they first asked the Kiratis to surrender, assuring them that they would retain local rule and their traditional order. After many took up this offer, however, the conquerors instead demanded that Gorkhali rule be obeyed and Gorkhali traditions be followed. Manuscripts in Hodgson’s collection make mention of Kirat men, male children and pregnant women having been murdered in great numbers. The Gorkhalis ultimately divided the Kiratis into two groups, the "sampriti" and the "niti": the former were those who had surrendered to Gorkhali power and cultural traditions, while the latter maintained their own traditions. The Gorkhali authorities naturally favoured the "sampriti"s, killing the "niti"s or forcing them to flee their lands. As a result, much of the "niti" population migrated towards Sikkim and Bhutan. But Gorkhali wartime policy changed, particularly after the conquest of the territories of Kumaun and Garhwal far in the west. By the end of the 18th century, the authorities in Kathmandu were in need of more state revenue, and implemented a policy to bring people into Nepali territory in order to make barren land arable. The Kirat who were ousted from their lands during the Gorkhali military conquest were also asked to return home, albeit under the condition that Gorkhali rule and traditions were strictly followed. Relatives and friends of those who had fled were recruited to call them back, and people moved again between the state-given identities of "niti" and "sampriti".

See also

* Kirata Kingdom
* Limbuwan Gorkha War history
*Wambule
* History of Kirats [http://www.limbulibrary.com.np/pdf/HISTORY & CULTURE-Iman.pdf]

References

External links

* [http://www.kiratrai.org Kirat Rai]
* [http://www.kiratisaathi.com Online kirat community]
* [http://www.welcomenepal.com/emuseum.asp Ethnographic Museum]
*http://www.kryuk.com Official web site of Kirat Rai in UK