The Kulung Rai also call Kulunge Rai/Rodu are one of the major subgroup of

Rai people The Rai are an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirati people, Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman languages, Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity. They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Benga ...

www.insidehimalayas.com and indigenous communities of

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

, as well as parts of northeastern

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligur ...

and

Darjeeling district Darjeeling District is the northernmost district of the state of West Bengal in eastern India in the foothills of the Himalayas. The district is famous for its hill station and Darjeeling tea. Darjeeling is the district headquarters. Kurseon ...

of India, having their own Kulung language, culture, history and tradition. The Kulung population in Nepal is estimated to be in the region of 150,000-200,000. Rai_Languages_Clusters_in_Eastern_Nepal

The ethno-linguistic region inhabited by the Kulungs is called the "Mahakulung" ("Greater Kulung") and is located in the Solukhumbu district of

Sagarmatha Zone Sagarmāthā Zone ( ne, सगरमाथा अञ्चल) or Sagarmatha Anclal ( ne, सगरमाथा अञ्चल) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructuring of zones into provinces. The headquarters of Sagarmat ...

of Nepal. It specifically refers to the Hongu valley, comprising Gudel, Chheskam,

Bung A stopper or cork is a cylindrical or conical Closure (container), closure used to seal a container, such as a bottle, tube or barrel (storage), barrel. Unlike a Lid (container), lid or bottle cap, which encloses a container from the outside wit ...

, Pawai and

Sotang Sotang ( ne, सोताङ) is one of the 7 rural municipalities of Solukhumbu District of Province No. 1 of Nepal. It was established on 10 March 2017 merging former VDCs Sotang, Pawai and Gudel (only 2 wards of Gudel). Total area of Sotan ...

, as well as villages in the

Sankhuwasawa District Sankhuwasabha District ( ne, सङ्खुवासभा जिल्ला ) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district's area is 3,480 km2 with a population of 159,203 in 2001 and 158,742 in 2011. ...

and the valleys of the Hongu, Sangkhuwa and Sisuwa rivers. Presently Mahakulung is located in the Bung, Chheskam, Gudel and Sotang village development committees in the

Solukhumbu District Solukhumbu District ( ne, सोलुखुम्बु जिल्ला , Sherpa: , Wylie: shar khum bu dzong) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. As the name suggests, it consists of the subregions Solu and Khumbu. ...

in the eastern part of Nepal. There are Kulung communities in 22 districts of Nepal. However, the major settlements are Solukhumbu, Sankhuwasabha, Bhojpur, Khotang, Sunsari, Morang, Jhapa, Illam, Tehrathum and Kathmandu. They are part of

Kirat The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

community, tracing their lineage from the Kirati ruler Khambu. First time in the hunting era four Kitanti ancestors namely Khapdulu, Ratapkhu, Chhemsi and Tamsi had entered Mahakulung through Rawakhola of Khotang. They liked those places and so Ratapkhu inhabited in Sotang, Khapdulu, Tamsi and Chhemsi created Pelmang, Chheskam and Chhemsi villages respectively. Recently generations of those four Kiranti ancestors are known as Kulung and those large area they have been occupying in Solukhumbu are called Mahakulung. With the beginning of modern era, they started to go out from their territory to search better life. In this regards some migrated Sikkim and Darjeeling of India and some in different parts of Nepal. In

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, some Kulung youth were admitted into the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

and then they migrated in more developed cities such as Dharan, Jhapa and Ilam of Nepal. The Kulung practise

exogamous Exogamy is the social norm of marrying outside one's social group. The group defines the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. One form of exogamy is dual exogamy, in which two groups c ...

clan A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...

marriage. As per their traditional laws, they are not allowed to marriage within 5 generations of their mother and 7 generations of their father, meaning suppose generation of two brothers now can get marriage after 7 generation of their father and 5 generation of their mother. In this situation they have to create next sub clan form their main clan is called "Phomchim" in Kulung language. The Kulung community is one of the most marginalized ethnic groups in the country. As they reside in remote hilly areas, basic infrastructure and services, like drivable roads, electricity, clean drinking water, education, communication and health services are lacking. The majority of Kulungs are dependent on traditional agriculture, cultivating

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most species generally referred to as millets belong to the tribe Paniceae, but some millets al ...

and

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

; they are also hunters and fishermen. Due to unproductive land conditions, they are not able to produce adequate food from their farms. They are compelled to migrate in search of potering and agricultural work for their livelihood. They practice traditional religion Kirati and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Unlike most Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal, the Kulung bury their dead instead of cremating them.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20130101123632/http://www.himalayanlanguages.org/languages/kulung *https://web.archive.org/web/20121224133117/http://oiyp.oxfam.org.au/blog/indigenous/a-story-of-a-distinct-himalayan-kulung-people {{Ethnic groups in Nepal Indigenous peoples of South Asia Indigenous peoples of Nepal Kulung