Kumal in Nepal

Ministry Obstacles

The Kumal of Nepal speak over 20 languages. Evangelistic and church planting projects need to take these into account.

Outreach Ideas

Increasing numbers in Nepal are coming to know Christ in these days. Pray that some of these believers will remember to carry the good news of Jesus to the Kumal people.

Pray for the Followers of Christ

Pray for those who know and follow Christ among the Kumal community of Nepal. Pray they will grow in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and will be quick to repent of sin. Pray they will learn to live in the power of the Lord's Spirit.

Pray for the Entire People Group

Pray the Kumal community will be given the gift of knowledge about the Savior, Jesus Christ. Pray they will desire to worship the Creator, instead of created spirits.

Country	Nepal
Region	South Asia
Continent	Asia
10/40 Window	Yes
Persecution Rank	Not ranked
Location in Country	Nawalparasi District, Lumbini Zone..   Source:  www.ethnologue.com
Total States on file:	14
Lumbini (41,000)	Gandaki (22,000)	Narayani (17,000)	Rapti (12,000)
Bagmati (8,800)	Kosi (4,500)	Janakpur (3,100)	Mechi (3,000)
Bheri (2,500)	Dhawalagiri (2,100)	Seti (1,700)	Karnali (900)
Sagarmatha (800)	Mahakali (500)

kumal in nepal

Introduction

The Kumals are regarded as one of the ancient indigenous peoples/nationalities of Nepal. They are scattered in various areas of the country. The traditional occupation of Kumals is making clay pots. Recently, they have become dependent on agriculture and animal husbandry. Women have equal status with men. They worship their family god, Same (god of beasts), snake gods and goddesses, Banaskhandi, or gods and goddesses of forests, and others.

Tharu culture

Language

There is no one Tharu language unifying Tharu communities in different parts of Nepal and India. Several speak various endemic. tharu langauge . In western Nepal and adjacent parts of India, Tharus speak variants of hindi  urdu and  awadhi .  In and near central Nepal, they speak a variant of  bhojpuri .In eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of. maithili . More standard versions of these dialects are widely spoken by non-Tharu neighbors in the same areas so that there are no important linguistic barriers between Tharus and their neighbors. However, there are linguistic barriers between these dialects standing in the way of communication between Tharus from different regions. Tharu people have their own language often known as "Tharu Language". Many professors and well educated persons say that many others languages were derived from Tharu Language (like as Nepali, Maithli, Bhojpuri etcTharu were already living in the Terai before  indo  europeans arrived, raising the question of what they may have been speaking at that time. The only surviving pre-Indo-European language in the Terai is kusunda, santhali  further west.Marriage system


Traditionally, marriages were often arranged during the pregnancies of two women. If they gave birth to opposite sex babies, the two babies were supposed to be married if they grew up as friends. It was problematic if a boy or girl came of age and rejected their assigned fiance(e). Finding a replacement was difficult because most girls and boys were already engaged. However this custom has been disappearing. Most Tharus now practice conventional  arrange marriges . They also practice love marriages, inter cast marriage, international marriage, inter world, marriage after courtship and eloping.Religion

The spiritual beliefs and moral values of the Tharu people are closely linked to the natural environment. The  pantheon of their gods comprises a large number of deities  that live in the forest. They are asked for support before entering the forest
According to the 2001 Census of Nepal, 87.63% of the Tharu people were      Hindus   whereas 13.95% were  buddhists.    

Tharu Household structure

In the western Terai, most Rana Tharu prefer living in Badaghar called lough houses with big families of many generations, sometimes 40-50 people. All household members pool their labor force, contribute their income, share the expenditure and use one kitchen.  
Tharus from the mid west and far west of Nepal have been practicing the Badghar system, where a Badghar is elected chief of a village or a small group of villages for a year. The election generally takes place in the month of Magh (January / February), after celebrating theMaghi Festival and after completing major farming activities. In most cases, each household in the village which engages in farming has one voting right for electing a Badghar. Thus the election is based on a count of households count rather than a headcount. The role of the Badghar is to work for the welfare of the village. The Badghar direct the villagers to repair canals or streets when needed. They also oversee and manages the cultural traditions of the villages. They have an authority of punishing those who do not follow their orders or who go against the welfare of the village. Generally the Badghar has a Chaukidar to help him. With the consent of the villagers theBadghar may appoint a"Guruwa" who is the medic and chief priest of the village.
As Tharus society is mainly involved in farming, irrigation is one of the most important aspects of the community. Tharus in western Nepal built canals that irrigate thousands of hectares of land. Hundreds of years ago, without using any sophisticated tools, they built hundreds of kilometers of irrigation canals in the Kailali and Bardiya districts of Nepal. An irrigation canal could be used by several villages. Its water and diversion works need to be managed fairly. For this purpose, the Badghars of different villages elect a person for the position ofChaudhary to manage a canal system. When needed, the Chaudhary orders the Badghars to send people to repair or build the canals. In most cases the Badghars and Chaudharis are unpaid leaders of the community. However, they are exempt from compulsory physical labor for the betterment of the society. As a token of respect, the community members may also help them in farming for a day free of cost.

Culture

The Tharu people themselves say that they are a people of the forest. In Chitwan, they have lived in the forests for hundreds of years practicing a short fallow shifting cultivation .They plant  rice , mustard , corn and lentils, but also collect forest products such as wild fruits, vegetables,  medicinal plants and materials to build their houses; hunt  deer rabbit  and  wild boar and go fishing in the rivers and oxbow lakes.

The Tharus never went abroad for employment – a life that kept them isolated in their own localities   In this isolation they developed a unique culture free from the influence of adjacent India, or from the mountain groups of Nepal. The most striking aspects of their environment are the decorated rice containers, colorfully painted verandahs and outer walls of their homes using only available materials like clay, mud, dung and grass. Much of the rich design is rooted in devotional activities and passed on from one generation to the next, occasionally introducing contemporary elements such as a bus or an airplane  .  The Deukheri Tharu are known for their colorful, shell and/or feather decorated basketry, including ram topne water jug covers.

Tharu in nepal

As of 2011, the Tharu population of Nepal was censured at 1,737,470 people, or 6.6% of the total population . In 2009, the majority of Tharu people were estimated to live in Nepal..  There are several  endogamous sub-groups of Tharu 

·        Rana Tharu in the   kaikali and  kanchanpur districts of the far western Nepal Terai; also in India, in  nainital   uttarakhand and   kheri terai  . Uttar pardesh.  Rana Tharu claim raiput  origin.

Who are Magar

Magar is one, of the 59 indigenous peoples of Nepal, recognized by the government as indigenous nationalities having own distinct language, culture, rituals and history. Their settlements stretch over the western and southern edges of Dhaulagiri Himalayan range and eastwards to the Gandaki River basin.

Their homeland is divided into two sub-regions--the Athara Magarat (literally, 18 Magar region) and Bara Magarat (12 Magar regions), belonging to the Karnali and Gandaki River regions respectively. According to the officials, there exists slightly difference in the rituals, culture, and lifestyles of Magars from these two sub-regions.

Present day Magar settlements range from Tanahu district of Gadaki zone westwards included the districts of Palpa, Argha-Khanchi and Gulmi in Lumbini zone, Syangja, Kaski and Parvat in Gandaki zone, Dolpo, Myagdi and Baglung in Dhaulagiri zone, Rukum, Rolpa, Piuthan and Sallyan in Rapti Zone and Dailekha and Jajarkot in Bheri Zone. The Magars have spread all along the hills of east Nepal and to a few places in the Eastern Terai.Magar is the third largest ethnic/caste groups in Nepal as per the 2011 Census, which reveals that there are--1, 88,733 Magar, representing 7.1 percent of Nepals total population. The Magars are divided into different clans --Thapa, Ale, Rana, Budhathoki, Roka, Gharti, Pun to name a few and they usually identify themselves as belonging through these patrilineal inheritance.Before the unification of Nepal in the mid-18th century, Nepal was divided into different principalities (22 and 24). During that period, the Magars were said to be the King and rulers in mid-western and western region (18th and 12th regions) of Nepal and later on their estates were invaded by the Shah Dynasty and annexed to single Nepal. The interesting is; the most prominent historians namely Hamilton, Baburam Acharya and others claim that the forefathers of former Shah Kings of Nepal were the Magar descent.The language of Magar belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. Even within this Tibeto-Burman family Kham dialect is spoken by Magars in Mid-Western region, Tarali or Kaike in Dolpa district of North-Western region, and Dhut, mostly in the West and Central part of Nepal. According to the recent Census conducted in 2011, Magar are the eighth major mother language speakers ethnic groups. The data reveals that as many at 788,580 people 3 percent of the total population of the country speaks Magar language namely Kham, Tarali or Kaike language.The basis of Magar economy in all areas is usually agriculture growing varieties of crops and vegetables; some are pastoralists who raise sheep and goats some work as craftsmen others adept bamboo work. But the larger communities of Magars engaged in dry-crop farming and buffalo-raising, many have earned name and fame by joining British and Indian Security forces.Their houses are built according to the style of the areas they live in ,l a standard which varies from one locale to the next. Most traditional is the two-storey stone house with thatch or in some cases slate roofing. Many of the smaller houses in the western communities are round oval in shape and washed with ochre or reddish mud. Magar houses in the eastern hills are never round and are most often whitewashed. They have stone walls and wooden shingle roofs, and are two storied with a verandah along the front. Some of the northernmost houses have flat roofs and consist of three storeys, the bottom one being a shelter for animal.