Kumaoni (;
) is an
Indo-Aryan language
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily concentrated in India, Pa ...
spoken by over two million people of the
Kumaon region
Kumaon (; Kumaoni: ''Kumāū''; ; historically romanized as KemāonJames Prinsep (Editor)John McClelland ) is a revenue and administrative division in the Indian State of Uttarakhand. It spans over the eastern half of the state and is bounded ...
of the state of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
in northern India and parts of
Doti region in Western Nepal.
[ As per 1961 survey there were 1,030,254 Kumaoni speakers in India. The number of speakers increased to 2.2 million in 2011.
Kumaoni is not ]endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
but UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' designates it as a language in the ''unsafe'' category, meaning it requires consistent conservation efforts.
Script
Kumaoni uses the Devanagari
Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental writing system), based on the ...
script.
Geographic distribution and dialects
There are several dialects spoken in the Kumaon region. There is not single accepted method of dividing up the dialects of Kumaoni. Broadly speaking, Kali (or Central) Kumaoni is spoken in Almora and northern Nainital. North-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in Pithoragarh. South-eastern Kumaoni is spoken in South-eastern Nainital. Western Kumaoni is spoken west of Almora and Nainital.
More specifically:
* Johari of the Malla and Talla Johar ( Milam, Munsiyari)
* Askoti of Askot
Askot or Askote ( Kumaoni:असकोट) is a small Himalayan town in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand in India. It is the part of Kanalichhina development Block and Didihat Tehsil.
The place is also famous for the Askot Musk Deer Sanct ...
* Bhabhri of Haldwani
Haldwani ( Kumaoni: ''Haldvānī'') is the largest city of Kumaon. It is also the third most populous city and largest commercial market in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. Haldwani is said to be the financial capital of Uttarakhand, having the ...
and Ramnagar Ramnagar may refer to the following places:
Bangladesh
* Ramnagar, Bangladesh, a village in Chittagong Division
* Ramnagar Union, Jessore Sadar
India Jammu and Kashmir
* Ramnagar, Udhampur, a town in Jammu and Kashmir
** Ramnagar Fort Udha ...
[
*
* Danpuriya of Danpur (]Bageshwar
Bageshwar ( Kumaoni: ''Bāgshyār'') is a town and a municipal board in Bageshwar district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is located at a distance of 470 km from the National Capital New Delhi and 332 km from the State Capital ...
, Kapkot
Kapkot or Kapkote is a village in Bageshwar district, Uttarakhand, India. It houses the headquarters of Kapkot Tehsil, the largest administrative subdivision of Bageshwar district. It is known for being the last bus terminus on the route to Pind ...
)
* Gangoli of Ganai-Gangoli (Kanda
Kanda may refer to:
People
* Kanda (surname)
*Kanda Bongo Man (born 1955), Congolese soukous musician
Places
* Kanda, Tokyo, an area in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
**Kanda Station (Tokyo), a railway station in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
* Kanda River, a ri ...
, Berinag
Berinag is a hill station, located 124 km from Pithoragarh city in the Pithoragarh district, which is the easternmost Himalayan district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the six Administrative Subdivisions (tehsil) of Pitho ...
, Gangolihat
Gangolihat is a Himalayan hill station in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is said that here Adi Shankaracharya did penance to please Adi Shakti. Gangolihat is known for its Shakti Peeth of Haat Kalika Temple - Adi Shakti an ...
)
* Khasparjiya of Almora
Almora ( Kumaoni: ''Almāḍ'') is a municipal board and a cantonment town in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Almora district. Almora is located on a ridge at the southern edge of the Kumaon Hills of th ...
* Kumaiyya of Champawat
Champawat ( Kumaoni: ''Champāvat'') is a town and a Nagar Palika Parishad in Champawat district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Champawat district. The town was the former capital of the Kumaon Kingd ...
* Pachhai of Pali-Pachhhau (Ranikhet
Ranikhet ( Kumaoni: ) is a hill station and cantonment town, nearby Almora Town in Almora district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the home for the Military Hospital, Kumaon Regiment (KRC) and Naga Regiment and is maintained by the In ...
, Dwarahat
Dwarahat is a town, near Almora town and a nagar panchayat in Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India.
Geography
Dwarahat is located at . It has an average elevation of 1,510 metres (4954.068 feet).
Demographics
India c ...
)
*
* Phaldakotiya of Phaldkot
* Rhau-Chaubyansi, (Nainital
Nainital ( Kumaoni: ''Naintāl''; ) is a city and headquarters of Nainital district of Kumaon division, Uttarakhand, India. It is the judicial capital of Uttarakhand, the High Court of the state being located there and is the headquarters o ...
)
* Sirali of Sirakot (Didihat
Didihat is a town and a Nagar Palika in Pithoragarh District in the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is one of the eleven Tehsils of India, administrative subdivisions of Pithoragarh district and also serves as its administrative headquarter. Wit ...
)
* Soriyali of Sor Valley (Pithoragarh
Pithoragarh ( Kumaoni: ''Pithor'garh'') is a Himalayan city with a Municipal Board in Pithoragarh district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is the fourth largest city of Kumaon and the largest in Kumaon hills. It is an education hub of t ...
)
Some Kumaoni speakers are also reportedly found in Western Nepal.
History
Various Kumaoni text founded from the katyuri and chand era on temple stones and as copper plate inscriptions. Kumaoni was official language of Kumaon Kingdom.
Phonology
Consonants
* can also be heard as in free variation, depending on the dialect.
Vowels
* can be heard as in free variation.
* can be heard as either back or central in free variation.
* can be heard as in free variation.
Grammar
Being part of the Indo-Aryan dialect continuum
A dialect continuum or dialect chain is a series of language varieties spoken across some geographical area such that neighboring varieties are mutually intelligible, but the differences accumulate over distance so that widely separated varie ...
Kumauni shares its grammar with other Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...
like Dotyali, Nepali, Hindi
Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...
, Rajasthani
Rajasthani may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Rajasthan, a state of India
* Rajasthani languages, a group of languages spoken there
* Rajasthani people, the native inhabitants of the region
* Rajasthani architecture
* Rajasthani art ...
, Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
and Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...
.
It shares much of its grammar with the other language of the Central Pahari group like Garhwali Garhwali may refer to:
* Garhwali people, an ethno-linguistic group who live in northern India
* Garhwali language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by Garhwali people
* anything from or related to:
**Garhwal division, a region in state of Uttarakhan ...
.
The peculiarities of grammar in Kumaoni and other Central Pahari languages exist due to the influence of the now extinct language of the Khasas
Khasas (Devanāgarī: खश; ') were an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe and a late Janapada kingdom from Himalayan regions of northern Indian subcontinent mentioned in the various historical Indian inscriptions and ancient Indian Hindu and Tibetan lite ...
, the first inhabitants of the region.
In Kumauni the verb substantive is formed from the root ''ach'', as in both Rajasthani and Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
. In Rajasthani its present tense, being derived from the Sanskrit present ''rcchami'', I go, does not change for gender. But in Pahari and Kashmiri it must be derived from the rare Sanskrit particle *''rcchitas'', gone, for in these languages it is a participial tense and does change according to the gender of the subject. Thus, in the singular we have: - Here we have a relic of the old Khasa language, which, as has been said, seems to have been related to Kashmiri. Other relics of Khasa, again agreeing with north-western India, are the tendency to shorten long vowels, the practice of epenthesis, or the modification of a vowel by the one which follows in the next syllable, and the frequent occurrence of disaspiration. Thus, Khas siknu, Kumauni ''sikhno'', but Hindi ''sikhna'', to learn; Kumauni ''yeso'', plural ''yasa'', of this kind.
Verb conjugation
Conjugation
Conjugation or conjugate may refer to:
Linguistics
* Grammatical conjugation, the modification of a verb from its basic form
* Emotive conjugation or Russell's conjugation, the use of loaded language
Mathematics
* Complex conjugation, the chang ...
of the verb ''Lekh'' (लेख) to write, in all three tenses in Kumaoni.
Present tense
Past tense
Future tense
Example short phrases
Official Status
There have been demands to include Kumaoni along with Garhwali in the 8th schedule of the Constitution of India so that it could be made one of the Scheduled Language of India.
In 2010, a private member's bill was introduced for discussion in the Lok Sabha whose aim was to include Garhwali and Kumaoni in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
However In a step to promote and protect indigenous languages in December 2019 Government of the state introduced Official Kumaoni Books for Classes 1-5 students of kumaon division Schools.
Kumaoni literature
Kumaoni language has had many noteworthy writers, prominent among them are
* Lokratna Pant or Gumani Pant (1790–1846)
* Gauri Dutt Pant "Gaurda" (1872-1939)
* Charu Chandra Pandey (1923–2017)
* Shailesh Matiyani (1931–2001)
* Mohan Upreti
Mohan Upreti (1928–1997) was an Indian theatre director, playwright and a music composer, considered one of the pioneers in Indian theatre music.
A popular figure in Kumaon, Mohan Upreti is remembered for his immense contribution towards the ...
(1925–1997)
* Brijen Lal Shah (1928-1998)
Media and art
Films
* ''Megha Aa'', (First Kumaoni Film). Director Kaka Sharma, Produced S S Bisht, 1987
* ''Teri Saun'', (First film both in Kumaoni and Garhwali), written, produced, and directed by Anuj Joshi, 2003.
* ''Aapun Biraan'' (Apne Paraye) by Shri Kartikey Cine Productions. Written by Rajendra Bora (''Tribhuvan Giri''). Produced by ''Bhaskar Singh Rawat''. 2007.
* ''Madhuli'' by Anamika Film, 2008.
* ''Aapke Liye'', a 1985 TV show aired in Doordarshan Directed by sharbat sanzarr and presented by Mohan Manral showcases the kumaoni mela "kauteek".
Theatre
Kumaoni theatre which developed through its 'Ramleela' plays, later evolved into a modern theatre form with the efforts of theatre stalwarts like Mohan Upreti
Mohan Upreti (1928–1997) was an Indian theatre director, playwright and a music composer, considered one of the pioneers in Indian theatre music.
A popular figure in Kumaon, Mohan Upreti is remembered for his immense contribution towards the ...
, Naima Khan Upreti and Dinesh Pandey, and groups like 'Parvatiya Kala Kendra' (started by Mohan Upreti) and 'Parvatiya Lok Kala Manch'. "Ankhar" of Lucknow did a very good work in the field of kumaoni theater. Ankhar played a number of kumauni plays like "mee yo gayun, mee yo satkyun" writer Nand Kumar Upreti, "Punturi" by Charu Chandra Pandey, "Motor Road" by Govind Ballabh Pant, "Labh Ribhadi" writer Nand Kumar Upreti, "Kagare Aag" and "Tumhare Liye" by Himanshu Joshi, Kumauni translation Naveeen Joshi and कुमाउनी नाटक-जैल थै, वील पै.
Folk music
Folk song genres include ceremonial mandals, martial and melancholy , , and .
Musical instruments used in Kumaon music include the, , , , , , , , and. Tabla and harmonium are also used, but to a lesser extent.
Some prominent singers are:
*Mohan Upreti
Mohan Upreti (1928–1997) was an Indian theatre director, playwright and a music composer, considered one of the pioneers in Indian theatre music.
A popular figure in Kumaon, Mohan Upreti is remembered for his immense contribution towards the ...
, the most famous personality associated with Kumaoni folk music, who is known for his Nanda Devi Jagar & Rajula Malu Shahi Ballad. He is famous for the great Kumaoni song Bedu Pako Baro Masa
''Bedu Pako Baro Masa'' (English: ''Figs do ripen round the year'') is a Kumaoni folk song in Kumaoni language which was composed by Mohan Upreti, B. M. Shah and written by Brijendra Lal Shah. This Kumaoni song was composed, written and first ...
which for many years the identity of the hills of Uttarakahand. It is said this song was also a favourite of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat—
*
*
*
* and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...
who heard it in a band march as this song is also a popular marching song.
* Naima Khan Upreti - She was the wife of Mohan Upreti and was a prominent folk singer. Mohan Upreti and Naima Upreti used to sing folk songs as a duet and they also made the first HMV recording of songs like Bedu Pako and O Lali, O Lali Haushiya. Naima Upreti had collected a large number of songs of the Kumaon and Garhwal region and she rendered them on several occasions.
*Gopal Babu Goswami - who is considered to be a legend in Kumaon for his melodious voice. His songs on the life of the members of the armed forces and their families like Kaile baje muruli, Ghughuti na basa (Hirda cassettes) and many others are legendary, it is said that when these songs were transmitted on All India Radio women could not help but weep when they heard the soul touching voice of Gopal Da as he was lovingly called.
*Heera Singh Rana - identified as a contemporary poet and singer who touched upon various shades of hill life, particularly the plight of women. Besides beauty, love, and romance, his poetry illustrates pains and sufferings and are sharp in satire on the political class.
In the early 1990s songs on the turning life style mainly on the one who are heading towards town being made in which , etc. criticize the changing attitude in kumaoni society, the songs of mohan manral straight away criticize of the changing mindset of metropolitan kumaoni society running away from their roots.
Radio
* In 1962, a new programme was introduced from Akashwani Lucknow- "Utterayana". this programme was specially for the Chinese border area. Jay dev sharma "kamal" Banshidhar Pathak Jigyasu and Jeet Singh Jardhari started this programme. Najeebabad Akashwani kendra relayed this programme .
*With the aim to create a common platform for local communities of Supi in Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
, TERI launched 'Kumaon vani', a community radio service on 11 March 2010. Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...
Governor Margaret Alva
Margaret Nazareth Alva ( born 14 April 1942) is an Indian politician. Alva served as the 17th Governor of Goa, 23rd Governor of Gujarat, 20th Governor of Rajasthan and 4th Governor of Uttarakhand the until the end of her tenure in August 201 ...
inaugurated the community radio station, the first in the state. The 'Kumaon Vani' aims to air programmes on environment, agriculture, culture, weather and education in the local language and with the active participation of the communities. The radio station covers a radius of 10 km reaching out to almost 2000 locals around Mukhteshwar
* In order to create a folk genome tank of Uttarakhand where one can find each genre and occasions in the form of folk music, and to bring the melodious folk from the heart of Himalaya on global screen, the very first internet radio of Kumaon/Garhwal/Jaunsar was launched in year 2008 by a group of non-resident Uttarakhandi from New York, which has been gaining significant popularity among inhabitants and migrants since its beta version was launched in year 2010. This was named after a very famous melody of hills of Himalaya, Bedupako Baramasa O Narain Kafal Pako Chaita Bedupako
See also
*Kumaon Kumaon or Kumaun may refer to:
* Kumaon division, a region in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon Kingdom, a former country in Uttarakhand, India
* Kumaon, Iran, a village in Isfahan Province, Iran
* , a ship of the Royal Indian Navy during WWII
See also
...
*Kumauni People
Kumaonis, also known as Kumaiye and Kumain (in Nepal), are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group who speak Kumaoni language as their first-language and live mostly in Kumaon region in the Indian Himalayas .
Kumaoni is also used as an add ...
*Kumaon Kingdom
Kumaon Kingdom was an independent Himalayan kingdom in the eastern region of present-day Uttarakhand state of India. It was established around 7th century and remained an independent and sovereign kingdom until 1791.
Etymology
Kumaon is beli ...
*List of languages by number of native speakers in India
India is home to several hundred languages. Most Indians speak a language belonging to the families of the Indo-Aryan branch of Indo-European (c. 77%), the Dravidian (c. 20.61%), the Austroasiatic ( Munda) (c. 1.2%), or the Sino-Tibetan (c. 0.8% ...
References
Further reading
*
*''Dr. Shashi Pandey, Ramesh Ch Pandey, Rama Pandey:'' Uttarakhandi Lokoktiyan (Published 2014, Kumaoni and Garhwali Editions)
* ''Devidatta Sarma''; Linguistic geography of Kumaun Himalayas: A descriptive areal distribution of Kumauni language (Studies in Tibeto-Himalayan languages). Mittal Publications; 1994. .
* ''Devidatta Sarma''; The formation of Kumauni language (SILL : series in Indian languages and linguistics). Bahri Publications; 1985.
External links
Kumaoni Language and Literature
Uttarakhandi Lokoktiyan (Kumaoni Sanskaran)
{{Uttarakhand
Northern Indo-Aryan languages
Languages of Uttarakhand
Kumaon division
Endangered languages of India