Hill Culture: Gurungs and Magars
Leavened with nothing but the water of God
Comes from Rumjatar the flour of millet pounded,
Gurungs have mastered the knowledge of God
And Brahmans are left astounded.
- Nepali poet Jnandil (c.1821-83) Hardy, self-sufficient peasant farmers, Gurungs and Magars are the "aboriginals" of the western hills. Both groups exhibit Mongoloid features and speak Tibeto-Burman dialects - signs that their ancestors probably migrated here from Tibet, though nobody's sure when. Together, they form the backbone of the Gurkha regiments, and also account for a fair proportion of the Nepalese army. Although Gurungs are a common sight around Pokhara, where many have invested their Gurkha pensions in guest houses and retirement homes, their homeland remains the middle elevations from Gorkha to the southern slopes of the Annapurna Himal. The majority who don't serve in the military herd sheep for their wool, driving them to pastures high on the flanks of the Himalaya, and raise wheat, maize, millet and potatoes. Gurungs were once active trans-Himalayan traders, but the Chinese occupation of Tibet ended that, while other traditional pursuits such as hunting and honey-gathering are being encroached upon by overpopulation. Gurungs' unique form of shamanism is coming under pressure, too, as Hinduism advances from the south and Buddhism trickles down with Tibetan settlers from the north. Gurungs employ shamans to propitiate ghosts, reclaim possessed souls from the underworld, and guide dead souls to the land of their ancestors - rituals that contain clear echoes of "classic" Siberian shamanism and are believed to resemble those of the ancient Bon priests of pre-Buddhist Tibet. Some authorities see the ongoing power struggle between Tibetan lamas and Gurung shamans as a modern re-enactment of Buddhism's battle with Bon in seventh-century Tibet; in that instance, Buddhism won. (For an excellent introduction to Gurung shamanism, visit Pokhara's Tamu Kohibo Museum.) A somewhat less cohesive group, Magars are scattered throughout the lower elevations of the western hills (recently they've colonized parts of the eastern hills as well). A network of Magar kingdoms once controlled the entire region, but the arrival of Hindus in the fifteenth century brought swift political decline and steady cultural assimilation. Nowadays, after centuries of coexistence with Hindu castes, most employ Baahun (Brahman) priests and worship Hindu gods just like their Chhetri neighbours, differing only in that they're not allowed to wear the sacred thread of the "twice-born" castes. Similarly, with farming practices, housing and dress, Magars are an adaptable lot and not easily distinguished from surrounding groups - the velvet blouses, coin necklaces and pote malla (thin strands of glass beads) worn by many Magar women, for instance, are also common to Gurungs and Chhetris. Even the Magar language varies from place to place, consisting of at least three mutually unintelligible dialects (most Magars speak Nepali). Despite the lack of unifying traits, however, group identity is still strong, and will probably remain so as long as Magars keep marrying only within the clan.
Your Tip for Nepal Western hills
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Nepal Western hills - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Nepal Western hills - visit the main Nepal Western hills forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Nepal Western hills webguide section below! Thanks.
|
