Kirat history and culture
Nepal is very ancient country, which was ruled by many dynasties in the past. Among them, the Kirat rule is very significant one being the longest period that extended from pre-historic to historic period. In ancient Hindu Scriptures, Nepal is referred as the "Kirat Desh" or "the Land of Kirats".Kirats were indigenous people of Mongolian origin with stout and short stature, high cheekbones, flat noses, narrow black eyes and thin moustaches and beards. They were brave and doughty warriors and very deft archers. Before the advent of the Kirats, there were Ahir and Abhir rule in the valley. Yalambar, the first Kirat King, overthrew the last king of Abhir dynasty Bhuban Shima. Thus after defeating the last ruler of Abhir dynasty, Yalambar laid the foundation of the Kirat dynasty that lasted for about 1225 years.When Kirats occupied the valley, they made Matatirtha their capital. The Kirat kingdom during the rule of Yalambar had extended to Tista in the East and Trisidi in the West. It is said Yalambar had gone to witness the battle of Mahabharata between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was so brave and powerful that Lord Krishna beheaded him prior to the battle suspecting he might fight for the Kauravas. The Kirats revere him as God King these days.In the chronicle of Banasawali William Kirk Patrick mentions that the Kirat rule existed from about 1500 BC to 300 BC. During this long period altogether 29 Kirat Kings ruled over the country.The twenty-nine Kings were1.Yalambar 2.Pari 3. 3.Skandhar 4.Balamba 5.Hriti 6.Humati 7.Jitedasti 8.Galinja 9.Oysgja 10.Suyarma 11.Papa 12.Bunka 13.Swawnand14.Sthunko 15.Jinghri 16.nane 17.luka 18.Thor 19.Thoko 20.Verma 21.Guja 22.Pushkar 23.Keshu 24.Suja 25.Sansa 26.Gunam 27.Khimbu 28.Patuka 29.GastiIt was during the rule of Jitedasti, the 7th Kirat king; Lord Gautam Buddha had visited the valley with his several disciples. He visited holy places of Swayambhu, guheswari etc and preached his religious gospels. Kirats of the valley refused to follow his doctrine but welcomed Lord Buddha and his disciples. It is also said that King Jitedasti had helped the Pandavas in the battle of Mahabharata. It shows, of course, a historical anachronism because according to another legend, the battle Mahabharata had taken place during the resigm of King Yalambar.During the rule of 14th Kirat King Sthunko about 2250 Bc, the Indian Emperor Ashok had his inspections engraved on rocks and a stone-pillar. The pillar known as Ahok-pillar still stands. This historical monument was unknown to the world until Dr. Fuher discovered it in December 1985. Nepal Govt. has prepared a master plan to protect and develop Lumbini region as religious tourism destination.Emperor Ashok also came to the Kathmandu Valley later. The daughter princess Charumati accompanied him. During his stay in the valley, he had built four stupas in four directions and one in the centre of Patan. These monuments speak of the historical fact of Ashok's visit to the valley. Another fact is he had arranged his daughter Charumati's marriage with a local young prince named Devpal. Prince Devpal and his consort Charumati lived at Chabahil near Pashupati area. Later Charumati had built the touss of Devpatan after the death of her husband in his memory. Charumati who had later on become a nun herself also got erected a convent where she resided and practiced Lord Buddha's doctrine.When the 28th Kirat King Patuka was ruling in the valley, the Sombanshi ruler attacked his regime many times from the west. Although he successfully repelled their attacks, he was forced to move to Shankhamul from gokarna. He had built a royal palace called "Patuka" there for him. The 'Patuka' palace is no more to be seen now except its ruins in the form of mound. Patuka had changed Shankhamul into a beautiful town. The last King of the Kirat dynasty was Gasti. He proved to be a weak ruler and was overthrown by the Sombanshi ruler Nimisha. It brought to the end of the powerful Kirat dynasty that had lasted for about 1225 years.After their defeat, Kirats moved to the Eastern hills of Nepal and settled down divided into small principalities. Their settlements were divided into there regions, i.e. 'Wallokirat' that lied to the East of the Kathmandu, 'Majkirat' or Central Kirat region and 'Pallokirat' that lied to the far East of the Kathmandu valley. These regions are still heavily populated by Kirats.
More info about Kirat Rai is found Here
CIVILISATION AND CULTURE
The long rule of Kirats manifests that were strong and well organized people. Their society, administrative system and economy were well organized. Later, their successors Lichhavis also gave due importance to their legacy. They exerted great influence not only in the valley but also outside it in the Eastern region also. We still find many places, hills and rivers that named after the Kirat languages.Kirats enjoyed a free and open society. There was no gender discrimination. To facilitate justice system in the public, law courts were established at many places and effective laws were made to deal with crimes and offences. Nepal had trade link with India, Tibet, then a free country and China. Nepali businessmen carried out trade with these countries. Nepal chiefly exported wool, woollen goods, timber and herbs. Chanakya has mention in his famous book "Kautilya Arthasastra" that Nepali blankets had a big market in bihar then called Magadh. As there was more financial prosperity in trade, more people were engaged in business than in agriculture. This factor also led the migration of people of different racial origin with their own customs and cultures to Nepal. In course of time, these people merged into the main national stream and the part and parcel of one nation the helped to create and develop a healthy feeling of nationalism.By religion, Kirats were originally nature worshippers. They worshipped the Sun, the moon, rivers, trees, animals and stones. Their primeval deities were Paruhang and Sumnima. Hinduism were introduced to and imposed on the Kirats only after the conquest of Gorkhali rulers whose root was in India. Kirats were quite tolerant and liberal to other religions. That's why Buddhism flourished during the Kirat rule in Nepal. Buddhism had enkindled a new interest and attitude among the people. Kirats had had also built many towns. Shankhamul, Matatirtha, Thankot, khopse, Bhadgoan and Sanga were prosperous cities with dense population. Thus it can be safely said that the Kirat period had paved the way for further development and progress of Nepal in all sectors in future.
[Source:http://www.kryuk.org/history.html]
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The term Kirat is derived from the word Kiriat, Kiryat or Kirjath which means a fort or town in Moabite language of the Mediterranean region (New Biblical Atlas on London Religious Tract Society, London). Later on they came to be known as Kiriat-hime, Kiryat-yarim, Kirjath-arba, Kiryat-baal, Kiryat-hujro, Kiryat-sanna and Kiryat-sapher which indicate the meaning of the town or fort of the forest. Thresidents of the above noted towns started calling themselves, “Kereti”. In 2400 BC, a branch of which came to Mesopotamia or the Assyrian country (The History of nations: Assyrians by Leonard W. King), intermingled with the Ashur people and formed one nation with them. Later on they migrated to Northern India and the Himalayan region via Media and Nisa of Northern Persia with the title of the Kirat-Ashur tribe (Prachin Bharat Ka Rajnitic Aur Saskritic Itihas, Rati Bhanu Singh Nahar). In the Sanskrit book of Yogini Tantra, the Kirat nationality is included among the Yavan, Pallava and Koch. Later on became Keretite or the Kerite tribe. The Kereti people then led a nomadic life and spread towards the eastern and north-eastern countries.
These Kirat-Ashur people came to North India earlier than the Aryans (Bharat Ka Parampara Aur Prachin Itihas, Rnagheya Raghav). As the Assyrian country was mountainous and the Kirat-Ashur people were great hunters, they preferred to live in the mountainous countries of Kabul, Kashmir, Karakoram and all the Himalayan regions.
Buddhist writers refer to other Yakkha Principalities besides Alavaka. The Kirat Vansavali mentions that after twelve generations, one branch of Kirat people migrated from the Indo-Gangetic plains to the Himalayan region and the other branch to Lanka or Ceylon to the south.
The origin of the Kirat people of Nepal can be traced back in combination of three races. According to the Kirat Mundhum, three races are known by the names of Khambongbas or the Khambos, the Tangsangthas or the Mongols and the Munaphens or the Chinese. The Khambongbas or the Khambos were the first immigrants to this Himalayan region. The Tangsangthas or the Mongols and the Munaphens or the Chinese people came in later periods and intermingled with the Khambos and constituted a big Kirats race. Gradually they established their kingdom in this Himalayan region and later some of them migrated to India, Burma, Syam, Vietnam, Malaya and Philippine islands,12 established their kingdoms and kept their respective records of history.
HISTORICAL PERIOD OF MAHABHARATA
Banashur was the first Kirat king to rule the central Nepal. Bhuktaman of Gopal dynasty conquered their territory. When Krishna came to know about the establishment of a Kirat rule in central Nepal, he sent a strong force of the Yadava tribe under the command of Bhuktaman to conquer the kingdom of Banashur. He attacked Banashur, killed him and established his new kingdom. Thus the kings of this Yadava dynasty ruled central Nepal for eight generations. Later on during ruling period of king Bhuvansingh of the same dynasty, a Kirat king of eastern Nepal, Yalamba, attacked him and defeated him in the battle. The territory of Central Nepal in those days extended from river Trisuli in the west to river Tamba Koshi in the east and from Chitlang in the south to the Himalayan ranges in the north. His kingdom extended from river Tista of Bhutan to river Trisuli in the west. He shifted the capital of central Nepal from Yalung to Thankot after his conquest.
During the reign of the sixth Kirat king Humati Hang. Arjun, the son of Pandu of Indraprastha, visited the kirat kingdom. When Arjun came to know that his combatant was as strong as Mahadev or the Great God, he addressed him as Mahadev or the Great God and begged him pardon for his mistake of taking him as an ordinary man and humbly prayed him for his blessings to acquire Pashupatastra. Five Pandavas came to Himalaya in search of Arjun as he was late in returning back. Kirat King Subahu and Pulinda of western terai of modern Nepal received them with great respect and helped them to reach Indrakil Parvat.
Bhimsen fought with the Rakshas servants of Kirat King Kubera in Alkapur, the capital of the Kirat kingdom in the Himalaya. Kubera advised Bhimsen and asked him not to depend only upon strength of Rakshas and search other alternative tactics to win the war. Bhimsen was thankful for the great advice and always respected Kubera. He again fought with a Gandharba Kirat near a stream in the Himalayas. The Gandharba, Yakkha and Kirat Ashur were very proud calling themselves Devas which meant the civilized person. When Dronacharya was roaming about with his five Pandava pupils in flat lands of south of present day Nepal, he was honored by the Kirat Prince Ekalabya of Nepal, the image of whose head is still regarded Akash Bhairav by the people of Kathmandu.
Kirat King Viratha paid a tribute to the five Pandavas with great respect and hospitality in his palace for years. Before the coming of the Aryans towards eastern India, there were only Kirat kings in every village in North Bihar, North Bengal and Assam. They used to call the modern Assam and Lohit by the name of Mlechha desh or Mech people.
According to the Markandey Puran, the famous seven Kirat kingdoms during the Mahabharat time were Aswakut or Kabul, Kulya or Kulu Valley, Matsya or North Bihar Paundra or Bengal, Sumer or Assam, Malak or Mlek or Lohit, Kinner Kirat or Garhwal and Nepal. The Kirat nation in those days included Khambos or Khamboja, Yaven, Saka or Scythian, Pallava or Parthian, Parad or Balhikas, Assyrian and Khasas. They were all civilized people but they had no connection with the Aryan culture. So the Aryans used to call them Shudra.
At that time, there were many kings in Bihar and Bengal like Harba Hang, Darba Hang, Viratha, Satya and Kichaka. Among them, King Viratha was very famous. In those days, the Kirat people were ruling all the lands from Himalayan Mountains to the sea shores of the Bay of Bengal.
KING NARKASHUR OF ASSAM
Nakrashur ruled in Assam who belonged to Kirat-Ashur tribe. Pragjyotishpur was his capital. He belonged to the Kiratashur nationality, also called Mlechha king or the king of the Mlech or Mech people. (Kirat Janakriti, S.K.Chatterjee).Some Mongoloids migrated from the north and intermingled with Kirat-Ashur race and established their habitat in Assam.
King Bhagadatta, the son of King Narkashur, also took part in the battle of Kuruchetra. He formed two regiments and fought on the side of Kauravas against the Pandavas. He was slain in the battle. Another Kirat king, Jitedasti who was fighting the Kauravas was also slain so the Kirat forces fought under the command of Bhimsen. It is said that Bhimsena commanded Kiratis to plunder all the cocks of Kuruchetra and destroy them before the time of cock-crow early in the morning. The Kirat soldiers were successful in the night attack upon the Kauravas as instructed. Even to this day the Kirat people once a year collect a number of cocks at night and perform a puja ceremony in the name of Bhimsen and consume all the cocks before the time of the first cock-crow early in the morning. Many generations after King Bhagadatta, one of his descendents, Vaskar Varma became a famous king in Assam.
KING JITEDASTI
After the death of King Humati Hang, his son Jitedasti became the seventh Kirat king in Central Nepal.
During his regime, the administrative chiefs of Kirat revolted against the king of Central Nepal and ceased to regard him as their King. They choose Bhaiphutta hang as their king by common consent of all the chiefs elected in about 500 BC. King Bhaiphutta Hang made his capital in Phedap and ruled eastern Nepal.
KING PARBATE OF KIRAT LAND
Descendant of Bhaiphutta, king Parbate, was very powerful king of eastern Himalayan region. He was very good at art of archery. Chandragupta Mourya of Magadha asked his help when he revolted against Nanda king of Magadha. Parbate King helped him in the war that took place in Kusumpur with his Kirata, Khamboja, Parasika and Balhika forces.
Nanda king was defeated in the war and his kingdom came in to the hand of Chandra Gupta. The Kirat king Parbate again helped King Chandra Gupta in driving away the Greek governor Seleucus from Punjab and Shindh. For this military help King Chandra Gupta gave the north and east part of the Magadha kingdom to the Kirat king. From that time, the Kirat people again began to migrate to North Bihar and North Bengal. But later on by political tactics of Chanakya, the Kirat chief Parbatak was murdered, so most of the Kirat people of Kusumpur and North Bihar left the plains and returned to their mountain homes. From that time onwards, they were called the Madhesia Kirat or the Kirat of Kashigotra.
KING STUNGKO
Stungko was the fourteenth Kirat king. It was during his reign that king Ashoka visited Nepal. King Ashok was a great believer of Buddhism. He visited all the holy places in Nepal and in commemoration of his visit, he built Buddhist monuments in Nepal. His Buddhist stupa of Patan is a famous one (Nepal of Itihasic Bebachana). Although the Kirat king Stungko was not a follower of Buddhism, yet he allowed the foreigners to preach his new faith in his territory.
Who are Kirats?
Kirat or Kirants are the indigenous ethnic group of Himalayas. Although only Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha, Yakthunba, Bahing, Jero, Kulung, Khaling, Chamling, Nachhiring, Lohorung are generally called as Kirati, Gurung, Tamang, Tharu, Meche, koche, Jirel, Magar, Thakali, Sunuwar, Newar, Kagate, Lapche, Dhimal, Danuwar, also claims themselves to be a Kirati. Outside Nepal original inhabitants of Dooars i.e. Meche and koche, Bodo and Kachari tribes of Assam, also claims themselves to be a Kirati-mongolian. Their languages belong to Tibeto-Burman family of languages and have been living in this land of Himalaya since 2500 years ago. They are well known as a great warrior and hunter. There are many views, opinions, regarding the Kirat identity expressed by various writer, intellectuals, scholars and historians. Some are listed below:
1. All the Mongoloids who speak Tibeto-Burman language residing within the territory of Nepal like Rai Limbu, Meche, koche, Sunuwar, Danuwar, Hayu, Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Sherpa, Thakali, Chepang, are Kirat. Tanka Bahadur Rai, Kirat Bhumi Ra Kirat Janjiwan
2. Kirats are the inhabitants of Himalayan Mountains whose inhabitation extends from Chambaa in the west to Aasam, Nagabhumi, Meghalaya, Burma and Cambodia in the east. They are known by different names in different places like Bhota in Ladakh, Lahuli in Chamba, Kannor in Satjal valley, Jaad in Nelang, Marchha in Marrniti, Magar and Gurung in western Nepal, Tamang in mid-Nepal, Newar in Kathmandu valley, Rai, Limbu and Yakkha in eastern Nepal, Lepcha in Sikkim, Naga in Nagaland and Aasam. Dr. Kamala Saskritayan, Kirat Jatiko Eetihas
3. Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Sunuwar, Newar, Tamang, Sherpa, Kagate, Lapche, Mechekoche, Dhimal, Tharu, Danuwar,Limbu, Rai, all are Kirats even though mainly Rai and Limbu are considered as Kirats at present in Nepal. All the hill people of Aasam, Shaan, Kachin, Karen of Burma, Tai of Thailand, Khambooj of philiphines and Yuyani of China are also Kirats. Eman Singh Chemjong, Limbu-Nepali-English dictionary
4. Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar, Jirel, Koyu, Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Mechekoche and Newar of Kathmandu valley who speak Tibeto-Burman language are Kirats. Door Bahadur Bista, Fatalism and Development, Culcutta
5. Generally Rai are considered as Kirats but at some places Limbu are also known as Kirats who are the ancient people of Himalayan region, residing in eastern part of Nepal at present. The inhabitation areas of kirats are divided into three regions: Wallo Kirat Pradesh, Majh Kirat Pradesh and Pallo Kirat Pradesh. Janaklal Sharma, Hamro Samaj(Ek Aadhyan)
6. Kirats arrived at their present day habitats some 2000-2500 years ago. They were powerful and their territory was vast. They possibly reach the Ganga valley at one time. Brian Houghton Hudson
7. Kirats are found abundantly in the eastern part of Nepal. They are brave and great warrior, rude at the same time. F.B. Hamilton, an account of the kingdom of Nepal, New Delhi
8. Kirat mainly refers to Khambu. Yakkha and Limbu describe themselves to be different. But they intermarry with each other and it has been in practice since long back which merged the tradition, religious ceremony and facial structure of these three different groups into similar one. Practically, these three groups are very much similar with each other so all of them can be referred as Kirati. Eden Vansittart, Gurkhas Culcutta.
Naulakh Kirat (Nine lakhs kirat)
Before the Gorkha invasion, present day kiratis were known as Naulakh kirat. The term ‘Rai’ did not use to signify to a caste. British Diplomat and Historian Brian Houghton Hodgson(1880:399) mention that the meaning of naulakh means that every family has to collect a revenue of 2 aana which gives total of 9,00,000 (nau lakh) aana from all the Kiratis so they were called as nau lakh Kirat. Historian George A Grierson in his book ‘Linguistic Survey of India’s also agree with Hodgson statement and adds that probably naulakh Kirat is named estimating the number of Kirats in the region.
Rai(Post or Administrator)
‘Rai’ does not refer to a caste. The term came into extensive use, mostly to signify a caste, after the conquest of Gorkhalis over the Kirat land. After the Gorkha invasion, Gorkhalis used a tactics to pacify their defected enemies by giving the title ‘Rai’ to some of the powerful Kiratis which authorized them to collect revenue in the area mentioned. For the similar purpose Limbus were given a title “Subba” and, especially, Khambus were entitled “Rai”. As the time passed this title ‘Rai’ came into use to as a caste to signify a group of people.
Charles Mcdougal, in his book “The Kulunge Rai”, mention that ‘Rai’ term did not use to signify to a single caste before the Gorkha invasion as it does today. The term was entitled to some kiratis. Prithvi Narayan Shah provided a full right over their ancestral land to the Kiratis. He appointed some of the local Kiratis to run the administrative function in that area and entitled them the honorable post “Rai”. The purpose of providing such a specific title to the Kiratis was that there were no any direct administrative units to look after the newly conquered area in the rapidly expanding Gorkhali regime. This title would help to develop a cordial relationship between the Kiratis and the Gorkhalis. Previous main personnel were dismissed in Majh Kirat Pradesh and in their vacant post other Kiratis were appointed as ‘Rai’.
Historian Janak Lal Sharma, in his book “Hamro Samaj-Ek Aadhyan”, writes that the term ‘Rai’ came into use after the inclusion of Kirat Pradesh into modern Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah at around 1831 B.S. He provided the title ‘Rai’ to the some of the local leaders giving them the authority to work as a local administrator. Similarly Limbus were entitled as ‘Subba’ , Sunuwar as ‘Mukhiya’ and Yakkha as ‘Devan’.
According to another Historian Ghal Rai, the title “Rai”, “Subba”, “Thari” , “Majhiya”, or “Mukhiya”, were given to autocrats who were authorized to collect the land revenue in Limbuwaan and Khambuwaan region. Such titles were written in front or at the end of their names by only such entitled person at that time.
Historical Kirat lands
Kirats were the earliest inhabitant of Kathmandu Valley. For over two millennia, a large portion of the eastern Himalaya has been identified as the home of the Kirat people, of which the majorities are known today as Rai, Limbu and Yakkha. 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. The earliest references to the Kirat as principal inhabitants of the Himalayan region are found in the texts Atharvashirsha and Mahabharat believed to date to before the 9th century BC. For over a millennium, the Kirat had also inhabited the Kathmandu valley occupying more than 80% of its land, where they installed their own ruling dynasty.
Just before the unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah, western territory of Kiratis(Majh Kirat) extended up to Banepa and Dhulikhel(Wallo Kirat).Yalamber ruled up to Tista, Bhutan during his regime. So, the eastern territory of kirats extends upto Tista. Considering the present boundary of Nepal it reached up to Tamoor River in the east. At present Kiratis are found abundantly in Janakpur, Sagarmatha, Koshi and Mechi zone. Historical Kirats Land is divided in to mainly three regions:
1. Wallo Kirat : Sunkoshi to Likhu
2. Majh Kirat : Likhu to Arun
3. Pallo Kirat : Arun to Singalila
Culture and Religion
The Kiratis follow Kirat Mundhum. Their holy text is the Mundhum, also known as the Kirat Veda. Kirats worship nature and their ancestors. Animism and shamanism and belief in their primeval ancestors, Sumnima and Paruhang are their cultural and religious practices. The names of some of their festivals are Sakela, Sakle, Tashi, Sakewa, Hong/Segro, Tam/Tuma Tam, Tos, Tosi, Bhunmidev, Chyabrung, Yokwa and Folsyandar. They have two main festivals: Sakela/Sakewa Sili/ Ubhauli during plantation season and Sakela/Sakewa Sili/Udhauli during the time of harvest.
Before the unification of Nepal there was wide spread practice of killing and consuming beef in kirats community but it was banned forcefully after the implication of Gurkhas military rule. Many Kiratis were punished severely if found guilty of killing so-called holy animal of Hindu belief i.e. cow and oxen. The punishment included fine, forceful slavery, cutting of body parts, taking away the children, woman of the family and selling them somewhere else for slavery and also death penalty. They were forced into taking Hindu names and accept Hinduism during the Prithvi Narayan Shah's Khasnization policy and the later Khas rulers of Nepal maintained this policy. Many of the Kirat initially stayed away from Hinduism but were encouraged to convert by the ruling elites of later Nepal.
There is a giant Linga of the Kirat at Kirateshwara. It believed that all Kirat names, language and traditions were suppressed by the Khas rulers and people, but all such evidences were destroyed by the next rulers of Nepal.
Language
There is a huge form of different languages spoken by different groups of Kiratis. Their Language belongs to Tibeto-Burman family of language. The languages spoken by one group of Kiratis is not understandable in another group. The huge diversity in their languages may have been raised since they are the ancient people living in different geographical regions, having their own ruling kingdom, not compiling to the single central ruling system and changes created on the long run of its use. Even though they speak a different languages there is a very cordial relationship with each other and their culture, tradition, lifestyle match with each other in many ways. Khaling, Kulung, Bahing, Thulung, Uubuchaurase, Jero, Koyi, Dumi, Sampang, Chamling, Puma, Bantawa, Mewahang, Yamphu, Aathpahare, Yakkha, Limbu, Dhimal are some of the Kirat languages.
During the Kirat Ruling Periods in Nepal there was huge use of the Kirat languages. It was in much developed stage and its use was vast ranging from the domestic, social and administrative use. After the Gorkhali invasion the language and the cultural traditions of kiratis faced a great challenge. The use of Kirati language was banned after the establishment of Gorkhali administration in Kirats’ land. Khas language, belonging to hindu-aryan community, was used for the social and administrative purpose thus discouraging the Kirati language. Kiratis were discouraged to use their language. The books written in Kirat language were burned. This act of avoiding and discouraging the use of Kirat language started during unification period and reached its climax at Rana Ruling period. The establishment of schools, colleges and university became rapid after 2007 B.S. but there was no any provision of teaching and learning Kirat languages. Establishment of new schools spread the monotony of khas language and elimination and the destruction of Kirat languages became even rapid. Khas language was referred as Nepali language after the establishment of Radio Nepal in 2007 and all the programmes, news were aired in Khas language. There was no any programme run in Kirati language. It also caused demerit to the Kirati language. In this way there was a huge suppression of Kirat culture and language after the unification of Nepal.
Adapted From आदिबासी किरात महासंघ नेपाल's web
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KIRAT PEOPLE PRACTICE SHAMANISM BUT THEY CALL IT “KIRAT RELIGION”. THE KIRATIS FOLLOW KIRAT MUNDHUM. THEIR HOLY TEXT IS THE MUDHUM, ALSO KNOWN AS THE KIRAT VEDA. KIRAT RAI WORSHIP NATURE AND THEIR ANCESTORS. ANIMISM AND SHAMANISM AND BELIEF IN THEIR PRIMEVAL ANCESTORS, SUMNIMA AND PARUHANG ARE THEIR CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES. THE NAMES OF SOME OF THEIR FESTIVALS ARE SAKELA, SAKLE, TASHI, SAKEWA, SALELADI BHUNMIDEV, CHYABRUNG, YOKWA AND FOLSYANDAR. THEY HAVE TWO MAIN FESTIVALS: SAKELA/SAKEWA UBHAULI DURING PLANTATION SEASON AND SAKELA/SAKEWA UDHAULI DURING THE TIME OF HARVEST.
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 and Yakkha. In ancient times, the entire Himalayan region was known as the Kimpurusha Desha (also, Kirata Pradesh), 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 Australoids and Austro-Asiatic speakers 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.
Furthermore, the Balinese worship Pancha-Dhyani aspects of the Buddha of Nepalese culture e.g., Akshobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddha, Bhairochana and Ratnasambhawa referring to them as various Deotas of the Brahminic pantheon. These divinities are totally unknown in Hindu India. The Balinese also worship the Nepalese deity Manjusri, the Celestial Architect, which is also unknown to the Hindus of Brahminic culture. None but the Kirati-Mongolians of pre-Brahminic Nepal could have transplanted their culture to Bali, a culture which had remained virtually unknown to the world outside until its presence was discovered by a Dutch scholar in 1814.
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The term Kirat is derived from the word Kiriat, Kiryat or Kirjath which means a fort or town in Moabite language of the Mediterranean region (New Biblical Atlas on London Religious Tract Society, London). Later on they came to be known as Kiriat-hime, Kiryat-yarim, Kirjath-arba, Kiryat-baal, Kiryat-hujro, Kiryat-sanna and Kiryat-sapher which indicate the meaning of the town or fort of the forest. Thresidents of the above noted towns started calling themselves, “Kereti”. In 2400 BC, a branch of which came to Mesopotamia or the Assyrian country (The History of nations: Assyrians by Leonard W. King), intermingled with the Ashur people and formed one nation with them. Later on they migrated to Northern India and the Himalayan region via Media and Nisa of Northern Persia with the title of the Kirat-Ashur tribe (Prachin Bharat Ka Rajnitic Aur Saskritic Itihas, Rati Bhanu Singh Nahar). In the Sanskrit book of Yogini Tantra, the Kirat nationality is included among the Yavan, Pallava and Koch. Later on became Keretite or the Kerite tribe. The Kereti people then led a nomadic life and spread towards the eastern and north-eastern countries.
These Kirat-Ashur people came to North India earlier than the Aryans (Bharat Ka Parampara Aur Prachin Itihas, Rnagheya Raghav). As the Assyrian country was mountainous and the Kirat-Ashur people were great hunters, they preferred to live in the mountainous countries of Kabul, Kashmir, Karakoram and all the Himalayan regions.
Buddhist writers refer to other Yakkha Principalities besides Alavaka. The Kirat Vansavali mentions that after twelve generations, one branch of Kirat people migrated from the Indo-Gangetic plains to the Himalayan region and the other branch to Lanka or Ceylon to the south.
The origin of the Kirat people of Nepal can be traced back in combination of three races. According to the Kirat Mundhum, three races are known by the names of Khambongbas or the Khambos, the Tangsangthas or the Mongols and the Munaphens or the Chinese. The Khambongbas or the Khambos were the first immigrants to this Himalayan region. The Tangsangthas or the Mongols and the Munaphens or the Chinese people came in later periods and intermingled with the Khambos and constituted a big Kirats race. Gradually they established their kingdom in this Himalayan region and later some of them migrated to India, Burma, Syam, Vietnam, Malaya and Philippine islands,12 established their kingdoms and kept their respective records of history.
HISTORICAL PERIOD OF MAHABHARATA
Banashur was the first Kirat king to rule the central Nepal. Bhuktaman of Gopal dynasty conquered their territory. When Krishna came to know about the establishment of a Kirat rule in central Nepal, he sent a strong force of the Yadava tribe under the command of Bhuktaman to conquer the kingdom of Banashur. He attacked Banashur, killed him and established his new kingdom. Thus the kings of this Yadava dynasty ruled central Nepal for eight generations. Later on during ruling period of king Bhuvansingh of the same dynasty, a Kirat king of eastern Nepal, Yalamba, attacked him and defeated him in the battle. The territory of Central Nepal in those days extended from river Trisuli in the west to river Tamba Koshi in the east and from Chitlang in the south to the Himalayan ranges in the north. His kingdom extended from river Tista of Bhutan to river Trisuli in the west. He shifted the capital of central Nepal from Yalung to Thankot after his conquest.
During the reign of the sixth Kirat king Humati Hang. Arjun, the son of Pandu of Indraprastha, visited the kirat kingdom. When Arjun came to know that his combatant was as strong as Mahadev or the Great God, he addressed him as Mahadev or the Great God and begged him pardon for his mistake of taking him as an ordinary man and humbly prayed him for his blessings to acquire Pashupatastra. Five Pandavas came to Himalaya in search of Arjun as he was late in returning back. Kirat King Subahu and Pulinda of western terai of modern Nepal received them with great respect and helped them to reach Indrakil Parvat.
Bhimsen fought with the Rakshas servants of Kirat King Kubera in Alkapur, the capital of the Kirat kingdom in the Himalaya. Kubera advised Bhimsen and asked him not to depend only upon strength of Rakshas and search other alternative tactics to win the war. Bhimsen was thankful for the great advice and always respected Kubera. He again fought with a Gandharba Kirat near a stream in the Himalayas. The Gandharba, Yakkha and Kirat Ashur were very proud calling themselves Devas which meant the civilized person. When Dronacharya was roaming about with his five Pandava pupils in flat lands of south of present day Nepal, he was honored by the Kirat Prince Ekalabya of Nepal, the image of whose head is still regarded Akash Bhairav by the people of Kathmandu.
Kirat King Viratha paid a tribute to the five Pandavas with great respect and hospitality in his palace for years. Before the coming of the Aryans towards eastern India, there were only Kirat kings in every village in North Bihar, North Bengal and Assam. They used to call the modern Assam and Lohit by the name of Mlechha desh or Mech people.
According to the Markandey Puran, the famous seven Kirat kingdoms during the Mahabharat time were Aswakut or Kabul, Kulya or Kulu Valley, Matsya or North Bihar Paundra or Bengal, Sumer or Assam, Malak or Mlek or Lohit, Kinner Kirat or Garhwal and Nepal. The Kirat nation in those days included Khambos or Khamboja, Yaven, Saka or Scythian, Pallava or Parthian, Parad or Balhikas, Assyrian and Khasas. They were all civilized people but they had no connection with the Aryan culture. So the Aryans used to call them Shudra.
At that time, there were many kings in Bihar and Bengal like Harba Hang, Darba Hang, Viratha, Satya and Kichaka. Among them, King Viratha was very famous. In those days, the Kirat people were ruling all the lands from Himalayan Mountains to the sea shores of the Bay of Bengal.
KING NARKASHUR OF ASSAM
Nakrashur ruled in Assam who belonged to Kirat-Ashur tribe. Pragjyotishpur was his capital. He belonged to the Kiratashur nationality, also called Mlechha king or the king of the Mlech or Mech people. (Kirat Janakriti, S.K.Chatterjee).Some Mongoloids migrated from the north and intermingled with Kirat-Ashur race and established their habitat in Assam.
King Bhagadatta, the son of King Narkashur, also took part in the battle of Kuruchetra. He formed two regiments and fought on the side of Kauravas against the Pandavas. He was slain in the battle. Another Kirat king, Jitedasti who was fighting the Kauravas was also slain so the Kirat forces fought under the command of Bhimsen. It is said that Bhimsena commanded Kiratis to plunder all the cocks of Kuruchetra and destroy them before the time of cock-crow early in the morning. The Kirat soldiers were successful in the night attack upon the Kauravas as instructed. Even to this day the Kirat people once a year collect a number of cocks at night and perform a puja ceremony in the name of Bhimsen and consume all the cocks before the time of the first cock-crow early in the morning. Many generations after King Bhagadatta, one of his descendents, Vaskar Varma became a famous king in Assam.
KING JITEDASTI
After the death of King Humati Hang, his son Jitedasti became the seventh Kirat king in Central Nepal.
During his regime, the administrative chiefs of Kirat revolted against the king of Central Nepal and ceased to regard him as their King. They choose Bhaiphutta hang as their king by common consent of all the chiefs elected in about 500 BC. King Bhaiphutta Hang made his capital in Phedap and ruled eastern Nepal.
KING PARBATE OF KIRAT LAND
Descendant of Bhaiphutta, king Parbate, was very powerful king of eastern Himalayan region. He was very good at art of archery. Chandragupta Mourya of Magadha asked his help when he revolted against Nanda king of Magadha. Parbate King helped him in the war that took place in Kusumpur with his Kirata, Khamboja, Parasika and Balhika forces.
Nanda king was defeated in the war and his kingdom came in to the hand of Chandra Gupta. The Kirat king Parbate again helped King Chandra Gupta in driving away the Greek governor Seleucus from Punjab and Shindh. For this military help King Chandra Gupta gave the north and east part of the Magadha kingdom to the Kirat king. From that time, the Kirat people again began to migrate to North Bihar and North Bengal. But later on by political tactics of Chanakya, the Kirat chief Parbatak was murdered, so most of the Kirat people of Kusumpur and North Bihar left the plains and returned to their mountain homes. From that time onwards, they were called the Madhesia Kirat or the Kirat of Kashigotra.
KING STUNGKO
Stungko was the fourteenth Kirat king. It was during his reign that king Ashoka visited Nepal. King Ashok was a great believer of Buddhism. He visited all the holy places in Nepal and in commemoration of his visit, he built Buddhist monuments in Nepal. His Buddhist stupa of Patan is a famous one (Nepal of Itihasic Bebachana). Although the Kirat king Stungko was not a follower of Buddhism, yet he allowed the foreigners to preach his new faith in his territory.
Who are Kirats?
Kirat or Kirants are the indigenous ethnic group of Himalayas. Although only Sunuwar, Limbu, Yakkha, Yakthunba, Bahing, Jero, Kulung, Khaling, Chamling, Nachhiring, Lohorung are generally called as Kirati, Gurung, Tamang, Tharu, Meche, koche, Jirel, Magar, Thakali, Sunuwar, Newar, Kagate, Lapche, Dhimal, Danuwar, also claims themselves to be a Kirati. Outside Nepal original inhabitants of Dooars i.e. Meche and koche, Bodo and Kachari tribes of Assam, also claims themselves to be a Kirati-mongolian. Their languages belong to Tibeto-Burman family of languages and have been living in this land of Himalaya since 2500 years ago. They are well known as a great warrior and hunter. There are many views, opinions, regarding the Kirat identity expressed by various writer, intellectuals, scholars and historians. Some are listed below:
1. All the Mongoloids who speak Tibeto-Burman language residing within the territory of Nepal like Rai Limbu, Meche, koche, Sunuwar, Danuwar, Hayu, Magar, Gurung, Tamang, Sherpa, Thakali, Chepang, are Kirat. Tanka Bahadur Rai, Kirat Bhumi Ra Kirat Janjiwan
2. Kirats are the inhabitants of Himalayan Mountains whose inhabitation extends from Chambaa in the west to Aasam, Nagabhumi, Meghalaya, Burma and Cambodia in the east. They are known by different names in different places like Bhota in Ladakh, Lahuli in Chamba, Kannor in Satjal valley, Jaad in Nelang, Marchha in Marrniti, Magar and Gurung in western Nepal, Tamang in mid-Nepal, Newar in Kathmandu valley, Rai, Limbu and Yakkha in eastern Nepal, Lepcha in Sikkim, Naga in Nagaland and Aasam. Dr. Kamala Saskritayan, Kirat Jatiko Eetihas
3. Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Sunuwar, Newar, Tamang, Sherpa, Kagate, Lapche, Mechekoche, Dhimal, Tharu, Danuwar,Limbu, Rai, all are Kirats even though mainly Rai and Limbu are considered as Kirats at present in Nepal. All the hill people of Aasam, Shaan, Kachin, Karen of Burma, Tai of Thailand, Khambooj of philiphines and Yuyani of China are also Kirats. Eman Singh Chemjong, Limbu-Nepali-English dictionary
4. Rai, Limbu, Sunuwar, Jirel, Koyu, Gurung, Magar, Thakali, Mechekoche and Newar of Kathmandu valley who speak Tibeto-Burman language are Kirats. Door Bahadur Bista, Fatalism and Development, Culcutta
5. Generally Rai are considered as Kirats but at some places Limbu are also known as Kirats who are the ancient people of Himalayan region, residing in eastern part of Nepal at present. The inhabitation areas of kirats are divided into three regions: Wallo Kirat Pradesh, Majh Kirat Pradesh and Pallo Kirat Pradesh. Janaklal Sharma, Hamro Samaj(Ek Aadhyan)
6. Kirats arrived at their present day habitats some 2000-2500 years ago. They were powerful and their territory was vast. They possibly reach the Ganga valley at one time. Brian Houghton Hudson
7. Kirats are found abundantly in the eastern part of Nepal. They are brave and great warrior, rude at the same time. F.B. Hamilton, an account of the kingdom of Nepal, New Delhi
8. Kirat mainly refers to Khambu. Yakkha and Limbu describe themselves to be different. But they intermarry with each other and it has been in practice since long back which merged the tradition, religious ceremony and facial structure of these three different groups into similar one. Practically, these three groups are very much similar with each other so all of them can be referred as Kirati. Eden Vansittart, Gurkhas Culcutta.
Naulakh Kirat (Nine lakhs kirat)
Before the Gorkha invasion, present day kiratis were known as Naulakh kirat. The term ‘Rai’ did not use to signify to a caste. British Diplomat and Historian Brian Houghton Hodgson(1880:399) mention that the meaning of naulakh means that every family has to collect a revenue of 2 aana which gives total of 9,00,000 (nau lakh) aana from all the Kiratis so they were called as nau lakh Kirat. Historian George A Grierson in his book ‘Linguistic Survey of India’s also agree with Hodgson statement and adds that probably naulakh Kirat is named estimating the number of Kirats in the region.
Rai(Post or Administrator)
‘Rai’ does not refer to a caste. The term came into extensive use, mostly to signify a caste, after the conquest of Gorkhalis over the Kirat land. After the Gorkha invasion, Gorkhalis used a tactics to pacify their defected enemies by giving the title ‘Rai’ to some of the powerful Kiratis which authorized them to collect revenue in the area mentioned. For the similar purpose Limbus were given a title “Subba” and, especially, Khambus were entitled “Rai”. As the time passed this title ‘Rai’ came into use to as a caste to signify a group of people.
Charles Mcdougal, in his book “The Kulunge Rai”, mention that ‘Rai’ term did not use to signify to a single caste before the Gorkha invasion as it does today. The term was entitled to some kiratis. Prithvi Narayan Shah provided a full right over their ancestral land to the Kiratis. He appointed some of the local Kiratis to run the administrative function in that area and entitled them the honorable post “Rai”. The purpose of providing such a specific title to the Kiratis was that there were no any direct administrative units to look after the newly conquered area in the rapidly expanding Gorkhali regime. This title would help to develop a cordial relationship between the Kiratis and the Gorkhalis. Previous main personnel were dismissed in Majh Kirat Pradesh and in their vacant post other Kiratis were appointed as ‘Rai’.
Historian Janak Lal Sharma, in his book “Hamro Samaj-Ek Aadhyan”, writes that the term ‘Rai’ came into use after the inclusion of Kirat Pradesh into modern Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah at around 1831 B.S. He provided the title ‘Rai’ to the some of the local leaders giving them the authority to work as a local administrator. Similarly Limbus were entitled as ‘Subba’ , Sunuwar as ‘Mukhiya’ and Yakkha as ‘Devan’.
According to another Historian Ghal Rai, the title “Rai”, “Subba”, “Thari” , “Majhiya”, or “Mukhiya”, were given to autocrats who were authorized to collect the land revenue in Limbuwaan and Khambuwaan region. Such titles were written in front or at the end of their names by only such entitled person at that time.
Historical Kirat lands
Kirats were the earliest inhabitant of Kathmandu Valley. For over two millennia, a large portion of the eastern Himalaya has been identified as the home of the Kirat people, of which the majorities are known today as Rai, Limbu and Yakkha. 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. The earliest references to the Kirat as principal inhabitants of the Himalayan region are found in the texts Atharvashirsha and Mahabharat believed to date to before the 9th century BC. For over a millennium, the Kirat had also inhabited the Kathmandu valley occupying more than 80% of its land, where they installed their own ruling dynasty.
Just before the unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah, western territory of Kiratis(Majh Kirat) extended up to Banepa and Dhulikhel(Wallo Kirat).Yalamber ruled up to Tista, Bhutan during his regime. So, the eastern territory of kirats extends upto Tista. Considering the present boundary of Nepal it reached up to Tamoor River in the east. At present Kiratis are found abundantly in Janakpur, Sagarmatha, Koshi and Mechi zone. Historical Kirats Land is divided in to mainly three regions:
1. Wallo Kirat : Sunkoshi to Likhu
2. Majh Kirat : Likhu to Arun
3. Pallo Kirat : Arun to Singalila
Culture and Religion
The Kiratis follow Kirat Mundhum. Their holy text is the Mundhum, also known as the Kirat Veda. Kirats worship nature and their ancestors. Animism and shamanism and belief in their primeval ancestors, Sumnima and Paruhang are their cultural and religious practices. The names of some of their festivals are Sakela, Sakle, Tashi, Sakewa, Hong/Segro, Tam/Tuma Tam, Tos, Tosi, Bhunmidev, Chyabrung, Yokwa and Folsyandar. They have two main festivals: Sakela/Sakewa Sili/ Ubhauli during plantation season and Sakela/Sakewa Sili/Udhauli during the time of harvest.
Before the unification of Nepal there was wide spread practice of killing and consuming beef in kirats community but it was banned forcefully after the implication of Gurkhas military rule. Many Kiratis were punished severely if found guilty of killing so-called holy animal of Hindu belief i.e. cow and oxen. The punishment included fine, forceful slavery, cutting of body parts, taking away the children, woman of the family and selling them somewhere else for slavery and also death penalty. They were forced into taking Hindu names and accept Hinduism during the Prithvi Narayan Shah's Khasnization policy and the later Khas rulers of Nepal maintained this policy. Many of the Kirat initially stayed away from Hinduism but were encouraged to convert by the ruling elites of later Nepal.
There is a giant Linga of the Kirat at Kirateshwara. It believed that all Kirat names, language and traditions were suppressed by the Khas rulers and people, but all such evidences were destroyed by the next rulers of Nepal.
Language
There is a huge form of different languages spoken by different groups of Kiratis. Their Language belongs to Tibeto-Burman family of language. The languages spoken by one group of Kiratis is not understandable in another group. The huge diversity in their languages may have been raised since they are the ancient people living in different geographical regions, having their own ruling kingdom, not compiling to the single central ruling system and changes created on the long run of its use. Even though they speak a different languages there is a very cordial relationship with each other and their culture, tradition, lifestyle match with each other in many ways. Khaling, Kulung, Bahing, Thulung, Uubuchaurase, Jero, Koyi, Dumi, Sampang, Chamling, Puma, Bantawa, Mewahang, Yamphu, Aathpahare, Yakkha, Limbu, Dhimal are some of the Kirat languages.
During the Kirat Ruling Periods in Nepal there was huge use of the Kirat languages. It was in much developed stage and its use was vast ranging from the domestic, social and administrative use. After the Gorkhali invasion the language and the cultural traditions of kiratis faced a great challenge. The use of Kirati language was banned after the establishment of Gorkhali administration in Kirats’ land. Khas language, belonging to hindu-aryan community, was used for the social and administrative purpose thus discouraging the Kirati language. Kiratis were discouraged to use their language. The books written in Kirat language were burned. This act of avoiding and discouraging the use of Kirat language started during unification period and reached its climax at Rana Ruling period. The establishment of schools, colleges and university became rapid after 2007 B.S. but there was no any provision of teaching and learning Kirat languages. Establishment of new schools spread the monotony of khas language and elimination and the destruction of Kirat languages became even rapid. Khas language was referred as Nepali language after the establishment of Radio Nepal in 2007 and all the programmes, news were aired in Khas language. There was no any programme run in Kirati language. It also caused demerit to the Kirati language. In this way there was a huge suppression of Kirat culture and language after the unification of Nepal.
Adapted From आदिबासी किरात महासंघ नेपाल's web
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किराँत संस्कृति (Kirat Culture)
Courtesy://kalimpongnews.net
Written By : admin on September 26, 2013
Kirat or Kirati are indigenous ethnic groups of the Himalayas (mid-hills) extending eastward from Nepal into India, Burma and beyond. They migrated to their present locations via Assam, Burma, Tibet and Yunnan in ancient times. Prototype Tibeto-Burmans originated in the Yellow River basin around 10,000 years ago.
Although only the Sunuwar(the people who inhabit the region westward of River Sun Koshi),Khumbu or Khambu (also known as Rai),Limbu (also known as Yakthumba or Subba) and Yakha (also known as Dewan or Zimdar) are generally called Kirati, the vast majority of ethnic people of the region eastward of Nepal too call themselves as Kirati. These people are also best known as modern Gurkhas. Their languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman family of languages.
The original inhabitants of the Dooars region of India, i.e., the Koch and Mech, also claim themselves to be Kiratis and so do the Bodo and Kachari tribes of Assam.. They derive their titles from the original place of their dwelling, i.e., Koch from the Kosi River, Mech from the Mechi River and the word Kachari is derived from Kachar which means river basin. The basis of these claims relies on the fact that they areMongoloids even though they distinguish themselves from Mongolians elsewhere. They are therefore often identified as Kirati-Mongolians.
(Kirat King Yalamber, who defeated the last Yadava king, Bhuvan Singh)
ETYMOLOGY
The source of the word Kirat or Kirati is much disputed. One school of thought says that it comes from the Sanskrit word Kirata found in the Yajur Veda, describing the handsome mountain people and hunters in the forests. It is also described as Chinese in the Mahabharat, Kirtarjuniya.
RELIGION
KIRAT PEOPLE PRACTICE SHAMANISM BUT THEY CALL IT “KIRAT RELIGION”. THE KIRATIS FOLLOW KIRAT MUNDHUM. THEIR HOLY TEXT IS THE MUDHUM, ALSO KNOWN AS THE KIRAT VEDA. KIRAT RAI WORSHIP NATURE AND THEIR ANCESTORS. ANIMISM AND SHAMANISM AND BELIEF IN THEIR PRIMEVAL ANCESTORS, SUMNIMA AND PARUHANG ARE THEIR CULTURAL AND RELIGIOUS PRACTICES. THE NAMES OF SOME OF THEIR FESTIVALS ARE SAKELA, SAKLE, TASHI, SAKEWA, SALELADI BHUNMIDEV, CHYABRUNG, YOKWA AND FOLSYANDAR. THEY HAVE TWO MAIN FESTIVALS: SAKELA/SAKEWA UBHAULI DURING PLANTATION SEASON AND SAKELA/SAKEWA UDHAULI DURING THE TIME OF HARVEST.
Kirat Limbu people believe in a supreme god called Tagera Ningwaphuma, who is also known as the supreme knowledge. The Kirat ancestor Yuma Sammang and god of war Theba Sammang are the second most important deities.
Kirats in Nepal were forced into taking Hindu names and accept Hinduism during the Prithvi Narayan Shah’s Khasnization Policy and the later Khas rulers of Nepal maintained this policy. Many of the Kirat initially stayed away from Hinduism but were encouraged to convert by the ruling elites of later Nepal.
There is a giant linga of the Kirat at Kirateshwara. It believed that all Kirat names, language and traditions were suppressed by the Khas rulers and people, but all such evidences were destroyed by the next rulers of Nepal.
HISTORY
The Kiratas mentioned in early Hindu texts are tribes of the forest and mountains. They are often mentioned along with the Cinas (Chinese). 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 also has many incidents where the god Shiva imitates a Kirat person.
Contemporary historians widely agree that a 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 Brain 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 and Yakkha. In ancient times, the entire Himalayan region was known as the Kimpurusha Desha (also, Kirata Pradesh), 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 Australoids and Austro-Asiatic speakers 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 introduced shamanistic Bon practices, which in turn were later replaced by the oldest form of Tibetan Buddism. 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 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, one in Sikkim and another in 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 Chogyal, 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.
The Kirat were the earliest inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley. Dhimal,Hsyu, Koch, Thami Tharu Chepang and Surel ethnic groups also consider themselves to be of Kirati descent. According to recent DNA and HLA typing done on the Kirat people of Nepal, Bhutan and India, these people’s ancestors migrated from south-east Tibet near the Burma border. However, Kirat people are not Khampa. Recent DNA studies on Tibeto-Burmese peoples have shown them to have both Southeast Asian and Northeast Asian origins. According to Kirati folklore, their ancestors migrated in a great volkerwanderungen from their ancestral homeland eastward to South-East Asia and beyond when Buddhist monks returned with glowing tales of availability of vast fertile lands.
That the monks-emissaries traveled to South-Eastern Asia spreading the doctrine of Four Noble Truths is evident from the fact that traces of pre-Brahminic culture is strongly visible in these lands. For example, the Hindu worshippers on Bali practice a mainly pre-Brahminic form of Hinduism, which early Chinese pilgrims categorized as Deota-Worshipping (deva-worshipping in Brahminic spelling). This peculiar form of Deota-Worshipping, mixed with an archaic form of Buddhism, in Balinese culture has roots deep inside the Kirati culture of pre-Brahminic Nepal.
The Sage of the Sakyas, soon after his Enlightenment had visited the Kiratdom of Kathmandu and worshipped at the Temple of Swayambhunath, the Adi Buddha, the Primordial Buddha during the reign of Kirati King Jite Dasti. Tradition has it that King Jite Dasti and his subjects were converted to the path of Nirwan (Brahminic spelling Nirvana) during this visit. However, King Jite Dasti decreed that his subjects were free to continue to worship Paru Hang (brahmnic name Shankar) while following the Four Noble Truths and this is the provenance visible in Nepal as well as Bali.
Furthermore, the Balinese worship Pancha-Dhyani aspects of the Buddha of Nepalese culture e.g., Akshobhya, Amitabha, Amoghasiddha, Bhairochana and Ratnasambhawa referring to them as various Deotas of the Brahminic pantheon. These divinities are totally unknown in Hindu India. The Balinese also worship the Nepalese deity Manjusri, the Celestial Architect, which is also unknown to the Hindus of Brahminic culture. None but the Kirati-Mongolians of pre-Brahminic Nepal could have transplanted their culture to Bali, a culture which had remained virtually unknown to the world outside until its presence was discovered by a Dutch scholar in 1814.
Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe and Kirat revival:
Te-ongsi Sirijunga Xin Thebe or Teyongshi Ziri Dzö-nga Xin Thebe was an 18th-century Limbu scholar, teacher, educationist, historian and philosopher of Limbuwan and Sikkim. He was formally known as Sirichongba but his more popular name was and remains Sirijanga. Sirijanga researched and taught the Kirat-Sirijonga script, language and religion of the Limbus in various part of Limbuwan and Sikkim. He revived the old Kirat script.
History of Limbuwan: Kirat people of Limbu nationality
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 Koshi rivers was known as Pallo Kirat Limbuwan. It was divided into 10 Limbu kingdoms of which Morang kingdom was the most powerful and had a central government. The capital of Morang kingdom was Bijaypur (present-day Dharan). After the Limbuwan Gorkha War and seeing the threat of the rising power of the British East India Company, the kings and ministers of all the 10 Limbu kingdoms of Limbuwan gathered in Bijaypur to agree upon the Limbuwan-Gorkha Treaty. This treaty formally merged the 10 Limbu kingdoms into the Gorkha kingdom but it also had a provision for autonomy of Limbuwan under the “kipat” system.
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 sampritis, killing the nitis 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.
The History of Sunuwar
This ethnic group belongs to the deity of Pandava lineage as Raja Kooli duma mooli. They do not belong to Kirati grouped but inadvertently grouped by the Indian Scholar compiler of Veda called Ved Vyas as indiginious Kirati. They are the direct descendants of great pandava prince Bhimsena by Ghatotkacha’s son Bar Barey. Though Bar Barey was never married in his life time his head was miraculously severed by Sudarshan Chakra and was kept in meditation with the resurrection by the power of Cosmic divine light which helped him see the cosmic drama and witnessed about who actually fought Mahabharata war. He was kept as cosmic invissible witness to see the great war of Truth and evil. He explained his Pandava grandfathers the details about who won the great war. He confirmed that it was the Sudarshan Chakra who actually fought single handedly all the entire war. It killed Bhisma Pitamah, Karna, Dronacharya but spared the life of majority of Kiratis at the will of Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna has never fought the war and never killed any sentient beings.
After almost all the scenes of Mahabharata, Lord Krishna showed the Cosmic Divine Transcendental to Bar Barey and declared thus ” My dear son, Bar Barey, I am pleased by your meditation and witness fot the truth over evils. Your progenies will be called Sunu varam(Sunuwar), who shall be come forth out of your eternal light of your Third eyes as the part and parcels of your soul in the form of golden dove and shall live forever. Your progenies were previously gopies and gwalas who will be reborn again as a brown complexioned as your speech incarnation. They shall go, multiply and be fruitful. Their look will symbolize like doves which is the sign of love and peace. You will never perish, you have now got an eternal life in the Supreme abode of mine the Spiritual world. They will worship my unpronounced primordial Word, and meditate upon it. This will be called Sruti Veda, i.e. original veda, the source of four vedas.
They will be revered by yogis and Brahmins, Kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras as an epitome of my Name. Your progenies shall be recognised as my eternal sons and remain on this earth till my next reincarnation as Isha, the beloved son of Me, the God Father. They will cooperate with my Supreme Son as brothers and sisters to help him spread the good messages of my Word. They shall always meditate upon inconceivable Name of mine, not within the domain of alphabets. They will mix with these Kiratis and guide them to come to me. They will do all religious services to all Kiratis. They are not Kiratis but will be among them.
Kirati history
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