The Kirati people (also Kirat, Kirant or Kiranti) are Tibeto-Burman ethnolinguistic groups living in the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim and the northern hilly regions of West Bengal, that is, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts).
Modern scholarship
Contemporary historians widely agree that widespread cultural exchange and intermarriage took place in the eastern Himalayan region between the indigenous inhabitants — called the Kirat — and the Tibetan migrant population, reaching a climax during the 8th and 9th centuries.
Another wave of political and cultural conflict between Khas 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 A collection of manuscripts from the 18th and 19th centuries, till now unpublished and unstudied by historians, have made possible a new understanding of this conflict.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 scholar Khardar Jitmohan.
For over two millennia, a large portion of the eastern Himalaya was identified as the home of the Kirati people, of which the majority are known today as Chamling, Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar and Yakkha. In ancient times, the entire Himalayan region was known as the Kimpurusha Desha Kimpurusha Kingdom (also, Kirata Pradesh).
For over a millennium, the Kirat had inhabited the Kathmandu Valley, where they installed their own ruling dynasty. According to the history of Nepal, the Kirats ruled for about 1100 years (800 BC–300 AD). Their reign had 29 kings. The Kirati population in the valley and the original Australoids and Austro-Asiatic speakers form the base for what had developed into today's Newar population. As time passed, other Kirat groups, now known as Rai, Limbu, Yakkha, Sunuwar and Shrestha settled mostly in the Koshi region of present-day Sikkim, Darjeeling and eastern Nepal. The Limbu people have their own distinct form of Kirat Mundhum, known as Yuma Sammang or Yumaism; they venerate a mythological goddess called Tagera Ningwaphumang.
In addition to ancestor worship, Kirati people also worship Mother Nature.
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 introduced 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 Nyingma, the oldest Buddhist order in Lhasa and Central Tibet, which led followers of the older religion to flee to the Kirat area 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, one in Sikkim and another in Bhutan. The early political order of the Kingdom of Bhutan Hadgaon been established under the political and spiritual leadership of the lama Zhabs-drung Ngawang Namgyal.
Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe
Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe was an 18th-century Limbu scholar, teacher, educator, historian, and philosopher of Limbuwan (pallo kirat) and Sikkim. Sirijanga researched and taught the Sirijanga script, Limbu language and religion of the Limbus in various part of Limbuwan (Pallo Kirat) and Sikkim. He revived the old Limbu script developed in the 9th century.
History of Limbuwan: Kirat people of Limbu nationality Limbuwan has a language spoken by the yakthung tribe which falls in the Sino Tibetan language family. Their language uses a form of brahmic script called "The Sirijunga Script" which was originally created by Sirijunga Hang during the 9th century A.D. The script lost prominence for some 600 years and was later revived by Limbu Scholar Sirijunga Sing-Thebe (Teongsi Sirijuga). Limbuwan had a distinct history and political establishment until its unification with the kingdom of Gorkha in 1774 AD. During King Prithvi Narayan Shah's unification of Nepal, the present-day Nepal east of Arun and west of Mechi rivers was known as Limbuwan (pallo kirat). It was divided into 10 Limbu kingdoms; Morang kingdom was the most powerful and had a central government. The capital of Morang kingdom was Bijaypur (present-day Dharan). The Gorkha conquest had reached the walls of limbuwan and were now battering on the doors. A total of 17 recorded battles took place between the Kingdom of Gorkha and the Kingdom of Limbuwan/Yakthunglajey. After the Limbuwan–Gorkha war and seeing the threat of the rising power of the British East India Company the kings and ministers of some of the provinces of Yakthung laje ("thibong Yakthung laje") kingdoms of Limbuwan gathered in Bijaypur, and they agreed upon the Limbuwan-Gorkha Treaty ("Nun-Pani Sandhi"). This treaty formally merged some of the Limbu provinces into the Gorkha kingdom but it also had a provision for autonomy of Limbuwan under the "kipat" system.
Kiratology Kiratology is the study of Kirats the Mundhum along with history, cultures, languages and literatures of Kirat ethnic people in Nepal, Darjeeling, Sikkim, Assam, Myanmar, and so on. The Mundum or Mundhum is the book of knowledge on origin, history, culture, occupation and traditions of Kirati people. Noted scholars on Kiratology so far is Iman Xin Chemjong who did ground breaking contributions on kirat Mundum/Mundhum, history, cultures, and languages. After Chemjong, PS Muringla, BB Muringla and Bairagi Kainla also contributed towards Kiratology.
After the end of Rana Regime in 2007 BS (1951 AD), when power came back to Shah dynasty the autonomous power given to Limbu Kings was reduced. When King Mahendra ascended the throne he banished the law which prohibits other tribes right to buy land without permission of Subba (Head of Limbu) of particular area as well as levy and taxes to Subba in 1979.
Modern ethnic groups The Kirati Population in Nepal number approximately one million (around five percent of the Nepalese population) and speak languages belonging to Tibeto-Burman. Kirant culture is clearly different from the Tibetan and Indo-Nepalese ones, although it has been influenced by them through long term contacts. According to census of 2011, the population of the Kirat peoples, are as following: +The Kirati ethnic groups according to 2011 Nepal CensusGroupLanguages Inhabited areaRai also Called Jemme,Jimdar and KhambuKirati languages and NepaliProvince No. 1 and Makawanpur District of Province No. 3 in Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars of West Bengal, other Northeastern Indian States, southwestern Bhutan, northern BangladeshLimbu SubbaLimbu language and NepaliProvince No. 1 of Nepal, Limbuwan, Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Dooars of West Bengal, other Northeastern Indian States, southwestern BhutanSunuwar MukhiyaSunuwar language and NepaliProvince No. 2 of Nepal, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Sindhuli, Okhaldhunga Sholukhumbu, and other parts of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling and, Kalimpong in West BengalYakkha Dewan also known as jimeYakkha language and NepaliProvince No. 1 of Nepal, Sankhuwasabha, Dhankuta and other parts of eastern Nepal, Sikkim, Darjeeling and Kalimpong in West Bengal
In academic literature, the earliest recorded groups of the Kirati are today divided into five groups — the Yakkha, Limbu, Rai and Sunuwar. When the Shah kings conquered, they established the headman and as local rulers and were given the title Yakkha as Dewan, Khambu as Rai, Limbu as Subba, Sunuwar as Mukhiya.P.16 Journal of Anthropological Research, Volume 11, University of New Mexico., 1955
The Kirat groups that today identify themselves using the nomenclature 'Kirat' include the Khambu (Rai), Limbu (Subba), Sunuwar (Mukhia), Yakkha (Dewan).Slusser 1982:9-11, Hasrat 1970:xxiv-xxvii, Malla 1977:132. The tripartition of the Kirat region in Eastern Nepal documented by Hodgson, divided into three region are Wallo Kirat (Near Kirat Khumbu/Khombu/Khimbu), Majh Kirat (Central Kirat/ Khambuwan ) and Pallo Kirat (Far Kirat/ Limbuwan).P.11 Origins and Migrations: Kinship, Mythology and Ethnic Identity Among the Mewahang Rai of East Nepal, Martin Gaenszle Mandala Book Point, 2000 The region Wallo Kirat, Majh Kirat were predominant by Khambu Kirat and Pallo Kirat were preponderance by Limbu Kirat as known as Limbuwan. The Yakkha, Khambu Rai, Subba Limbu, and Sunuwar are different from one another and yet they all sit under one umbrella in many respects.Cross-Cultural Marriage: Identity and Choice, Rosemary Breger, 1 Jun 1998
The Kirati people and Kiranti languages between the rivers Likhu and Arun, including some small groups east of the Arun, are usually referred to as the Kirat people, which is a geographic grouping rather than a genetic grouping.Graham Thurgood, Randy J. LaPolla The Sino-Tibetan Languages 2003 Page 505, "The Kiranti people and languages between the rivers Likhu and Arun, including some small groups east of the Arun, are usually referred to as 'Khambu Rai', which is a somewhat vague geographic grouping rather than a genetic grouping. Most Kiranti languages have less than 10,000 speakers and are threatened by extinction. Some are spoken only by elderly people. Practically all Kirati speakers are also fluent in Nepali, the language of literacy and education and the national " The Sunuwars inhabit the region westward of River Sun Koshi.
Kirati origins of Newar society The Kirat were among the earliest inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and a large percentage of Newar caste groups such as the Jyapu, Gathu, Sayami and many others are believed to have descended from them. Modern Newar caste groups display mixed racial traits with a predominance of East Asian features following centuries of racial mixing between migrants from the Indian plains and elsewhere with the original population. The putative continuity of Newar society from the mythical Kirat King Yalambar (Aakash Bhairav) and the pre-Licchavi population has been discussed by many historians and anthropologists.Encyclopædia Britannica The language of the Newars, Nepal bhasa, a Tibeto-Burman language, is classified as a Kirati language. Similarly, the over 200 non-Sanskritic place names found in the Sanskrit inscriptions of the Licchavi period of the first millennium C.E. are acknowledged to belong to the proto-Newar language; modern variants of many of these words are still used by the Newars today to refer to geographical locations in and around Kathmandu valley.Kamal Prakash Malla (1996) "The Profane Names of the Sacred Hillocks" in Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 23(1), pp. 1-9. Although the 14th century text Gopalarajavamsavali states that at that time, the descendants of the Kirata clan that ruled Nepal before the Licchavis resided in the region of the Tamarkoshi river,Vajracharya, Dhanavajra and Kamal P. Malla (1985) "The Gopalarajavamsavali: A Facsimile Edition Prepared by the Nepal Research Centre in Collaboration With the National Archives, Kathmandu. With an Introduction, a Transcription, Nepal and English Translations, a Glossary and Indices", Franz Steiner Verlag Wiesbaden GMBH, Kathmandu, pp. 26, 122. a number of Newar caste and sub-caste groups and clans also claim descent from the erstwhile Kirat royal lineage.Gellner, David N. and Declan Quigley (eds.) (1995) "Contested Hierarchies: A Collaborative Ethnography of Caste among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal", Clarendon Press, Oxford.