The Tamang (;

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 systems#Segmental syste ...

: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 census. Tamang people are also found in significant numbers in the Indian state of

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 districts of

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal, ...

and

Kalimpong Kalimpong (Hindi: कलिम्पोंग) is a town and the headquarters of an eponymous district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is located at an average elevation of . The town is the headquarters of the Kalimpong district. The re ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

state of India and various districts in the southern foothills of the

Kingdom of Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...

. Such

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

include the

Tsirang District Tsirang District (Dzongkha: རྩི་རང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Rtsi-rang rdzong-khag''; previously (Chirang), is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) of Bhutan. The administrative center of the district is Damphu. Tsirang ...

, the

Dagana District Dagana District is a district located in Bhutan. Most of the district is populated by Dzongkha speakers. However, in the southwest part near the Sarpang District, Nepali language, Nepali is also spoken as a native language. Administrative division ...

, the

Samtse District Samtse District ( Dzongkha: བསམ་རྩེ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bsam-rtse rdzong-khag''; older spelling "Samchi") is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. It comprises two subdistricts (''dungkhags''): T ...

, the

Chukha District Chukha District (Dzongkha: ཆུ་ཁ་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Chu-kha rdzong-khag''; also spelled "Chhukha") is one of the 20 dzongkhag (districts) comprising Bhutan. The major town is Phuentsholing which is the gateway city ...

, the

Sarpang District Sarpang District (Dzongkha: གསར་སྤང་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Gsar-spang rdzong-khag''; also known as "Geylegphug") is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. Sarpang covers a total area of 1,946 sq km and ...

and the

Samdrup Jongkhar District Samdrup Jongkhar District ( Dzongkha: བསམ་གྲུབ་ལྗོངས་མཁར་རྫོང་ཁག་; Wylie: ''Bsam-grub Ljongs-mkhar rdzong-khag'') is one of the 20 dzongkhags (districts) comprising Bhutan. The dominant langua ...

. Emergent North-East : A Way Forward By H. C. Sadangi Tamang language is the fifth most-spoken language in Nepal.

Etymology

''Tamang'' may be derived from the word ''Tamang'', where ''Ta'' means "horse" and ''Mak'' means "warrior" in

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

. However, there are no written documentations of Horse Riders. Some scientific research claims Tamangs having Prehistoric and Genetic roots. Tamang Girl Portrait

History

The Tamangs, who have lived in from hills outside the

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley ( ne, काठमाडौं उपत्यका; also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley ( ne, नेपाः उपत्यका, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः)), ...

to the southern slope of

Langtang Langtang valley is a Himalayan valley in the mountains of north-central Nepal, known for its trekking routes and natural environment. Administrative The Langtang valley lies in the Rasuwa district of the Bagmati Province in Nepal. Situat ...

Ganesh Ganesha ( sa, गणेश, ), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped Deva_(Hinduism), deities in the Hindu deities, Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in Ganapatya sect. His image is ...

, Jugal himal and

Rolwaling Rolwāling Valley ( ne, रोल्वालिङ् भ्याली. ), knows as a (Gaurishankar) rural municipality, is a section of the Himalayas in east-central Nepal along the Tibet border. Rolwaling Himal includes Melungtse 7181m and M ...

probably since pre-historic time, have been mentioned in various Nepalese and colonial historical records under a variety of names, such as Bhote, Lama, Murmi, Sain some of which terms erroneously conflate the Tamangs with Uighurs. Meanwhile, the Tibetans called them ''Rongpa''. Various Gorkha rulers led campaigns against the Indigenous Tamangs, The Gorkha Vamsavali provides details of battles with the ''Bhotyas'' of a variety of principalities between 1806 and 1862. In 1739, a ruler named Ghale-Botya attacked Narabhupal Shah as he was marching towards Nuwakot, and Narabhupal Shah also fought several battles against Golma Ghale. In 1762,

Prithvi Narayan Shah Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...

attacked the Tamangs in

Temal Temal is a former municipality in the Shkodër County, northwestern Albania. At the 2015 local government reform it became a subdivision of the municipality Vau i Dejës. The population at the 2011 census was 1,562.Sunkoshi riverbank. for attacking on tamang forces. Afterwards, later at end of war Gorkhas washed their weapons in springs as Dapcha Kuwapani, and this is why to the modern day tamangs do not drink there. Similar stories appear in oral histories throughout the region. After the attacking of the Tamang region, their homeland traditional area, known as ''kipat'' to the Gorkhas, was granted to Gorkha generals or government officials who had pleased the king in some way, displacing the Tamangs from ''kipat'' lands. Previously Tamang landholdings had been divided up by clan. Tamangs also had various forced labour obligations, both in times of peace and war, that differed significantly from other regions of Nepal. One reason is the proximity of the Tamang homeland to the centre of royal administration at Kathmandu. Tamangs were also involved in the Sino-Nepalese War ( Nepali: नेपाल-चीन युद्ध), also known as the Sino-Gorkha war and in Chinese the campaign of Gorkha (

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

: 廓爾喀之役).The war was initially fought between Nepalese Gorkhas and Tibetan armies over a trade dispute related to a long-standing problem of low-quality coins manufactured by Nepal for Tibet. It is believed that Tibetans who travelled to Nepal for trade purposes had settled in and around Kathmandu valley.

Political participation

Some

ethnographers Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

have drawn a link between Tamang people and ancient Mongol populations who emigrated to the Himalayas. Tamsaling Nepal Rastriya Dal, and the more broadly representative Mongol National Organisation (MNO), support

self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

for Tamangs and campaign on an discrimination platform. The MNO opposes conversion of non-Hindus to Hinduism. It currently holds no official parliamentary vote. The

Federal Limbuwan State Council Federal Limbuwan State Council (FLSC) is an active federal supported political party of eastern Nepal led by Kumar Lingden, advocating an ethnic autonomous region for the Limbu people. It is a merger of 5 former political parties: among them Sang ...

(FLSC) also works towards similar goals for self-determination for the

Kirati people 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 ...

s, who co-mingle with Tamangs, citing a reneged treaty with Kathmandu for autonomy. The associated Sanghiya Limbuwan Party has participated in calling a

banda Banda may refer to: People *Banda (surname) *Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician *Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor *Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician *Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh warr ...

during the

2015 Nepal blockade : The 2015 Nepal blockade, which began on 23 September 2015 and lasted about six months, was an economic and humanitarian crisis which severely affected Nepal and its economy. Nepal has accused India of imposing an undeclared blockade trigger ...

in an attempt to draw attention to their demands. In the 1980s, a militant

Gorkhaland The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is a semi-autonomous council for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal state in India. The GTA was formed in 2012 to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was formed in 198 ...

movement within

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

led by the prominent Subhas Ghising was viewed as a security threat due to its activities in and around the strategically significant

Siliguri Corridor The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the Chicken's Neck, is a stretch of land around the city of Siliguri in West Bengal, India. at the narrowest section, this geo-political and geo-economical corridor connects the eight states of northeast I ...

Madan Tamang Madan Tamang was an Indian politician and the president of Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League (ABGL), a moderate faction of the Gorkhaland movement. Opposed to violent methods for the process, he stood for a negotiated settlement to the Gorkhaland di ...

, a Tamang-Indian politician and proponent for Gorkhaland statehood, was assassinated in 2010, with the

government placing blame on another Gorkhaland political party. The

Gorkhaland Territorial Administration The Gorkhaland Territorial Administration is a semi-autonomous council for the Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal state in India. The GTA was formed in 2012 to replace the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, which was formed in 1988 ...

was created as a compromise to Ghorkaland statehood in

. In Nepal, ethnic tensions between indigenous groups and khas peoples remains an issue. In 2017 Binay Tamang was appointed as the Chairperson of GTA.

Culture

Tamang tradition and culture includes a distinct language, culture, dress and social structure. They have over 100 sub-clans. About 90% of the Tamang are Buddhist. Their language,

Tamang The Tamang (; Devanagari: तामाङ; ''tāmāṅ'') are an Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group of Nepal. In Nepal Tamang/Moormi people constitute 5.6% of the Nepalese population at over 1.3 million in 2001, increasing to 1,539,830 as of the 2011 c ...

, comes from the Tamangic branch of the Tibeto-Burman language family and is closely related to

Gurung Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha, ...

. They follow the Chinese lunar calendar of the 12-year cycle. Colorful printed Buddhist

mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

cloths are put up in various places in villages and towns. Their typical song and dance style is known as

Tamang Selo Tamang Selo ( Nepali: तामाङ सेलो) is a genre of Nepali folk song sung by the Tamang people of Nepal and is widely popular among the Nepali-speaking community in Nepal, in India, and around the world. It is usually accompanied by t ...

, and includes songs representing humor, satire, joy and sorrow. It has a brisk movement and rhythmic beat specific to the Tamangs. A distinctive musical instrument is the damphu, a small, round drum covered with goatskin. Traditional Tamang songs are known as Hwai. Sung by Tamang genealogists called Tamba, Hwai songs are ritualistic and hold tremendous importance in Tamang rituals. Tamang Sonam Lochhar 2018 DC (39632023534)

Tamang Sonam Lochhar 2018 DC (39632023534)

Festivals

Sonam Lhosar Sonam Lhosar is a new year festival of the Tamang people, Tamang and Hyolmo people, Hyolmo people of Nepal and the Sikkim and Darjeeling regions of India. It falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice which is usually the Magh (Nepal ...

is the main festival of the Tamangs and is celebrated in the month of Magh (February–March). It is celebrated to welcome the Tamang new year. Also significant is

Buddha Jayanti Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Prince ...

, a religious festival based on birthday of

Gautam Buddha Gautama, Gautam or Gotama may refer to: Ancient sages and philosophers * Akṣapāda Gautama, a Hindu sage and founder of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy: see Nyāya Sūtras * Indrabhuti Gautama, chief disciple of Mahavira * Gautama Buddha, t ...

Trekking and tourism

Tamang villages are often visited on Nepal's numerous trekking routes, one being labelled ''Tamang Heritage Trail''.

Notable Tamang people

- Indian

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and the president of

Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League ( ABGL) (also called All India Gorkha League (AIGL/IGL)) is a political party working amongst the Nepali-speaking Gorkha population in Darjeeling District and Kalimpong District of West Bengal, India. The party was ...

(ABGL) *

Subhash Ghisingh Subash Ghisingh was an Indian politician who was the leader of Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), which he founded in 1980. He was the chairman of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council in West Bengal, India from 1988 to 2008. He spearheaded ...

- founding leader of

Gorkha National Liberation Front Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF) is a political party in the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, India. It was formed in 1980 by Subhash Ghisingh with the objective of demanding a Gorkhaland state within India. Early history Part of the ...

(GNLF) *

Prem Singh Tamang Prem Singh Tamang (born 5 February 1968), better known as P. S. Golay, is an Indian politician and the current Chief Minister of Sikkim and founding leader of the Sikkim Krantikari Morcha (SKM). Before forming the party, he was a key member of ...

- 6th and current

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the Indian state of

* Parijat (Bishnu Kumari Waiba) - Indian-born Nepali writer * Nim Dorjee Tamang - Indian footballer * Nagen Tamang - Indian footballer from Kurseong * Nim Dorjee Tamang - Indian footballer * Nagen Tamang - Indian footballer *

Hira Devi Waiba Hira Devi Waiba (9 September 1940 – 19 January 2011) was an Indian folk singer in the Nepali-language and is hailed as the pioneer of Nepali folk songs. Her song "Chura ta Hoina Astura Tamang Selo ( Nepali: तामाङ सेलो) ...

- Nepali

singer *

Aruna Lama Aruna Lama (9 September 19454 February 1998) was an Indian-born Nepali language singer from Darjeeling. She is popularly known as 'Nightingale of the Hills'. She sang hundreds of Nepali songs, including some for Nepali film, and left an indelib ...

- singer, also known as 'Nightingale of the Hills'. *

Navneet Aditya Waiba Navneet Aditya Waiba is an Indian Nepali-language folk singer and the daughter of the late Hira Devi Waiba, the pioneer of Nepali folk music. Navneet and younger brother Satya Aditya Waiba (producer/manager) are the only artists in the Nepali ...

- singer * Gopal Yonjan- musician, music producer, and composer *

Raju Lama Raju Lama ( ne, राजु लामा; born 16 March 1978) is a Nepalese singer-songwriter and an Everester. He is the main singer of the musical band Mongolian Heart. His work involves songs in Nepali, Tibetan, Tamang and other languages. L ...

- singer, lead vocalist of Mongolian Heart band. * Karma Yonzon- singer, musician, music producer, and composer * Buddha Lama- first Nepal Idol winner, singer, musician, Composer *

Nima Rumba Nima Rumba is a singer, lyricist, musician, and actor from Nepal. Some of his popular songs are ''Block Hill'', ''Huri Bataas'', ''Samjhera Ti din Haru'', ''Aau Aauna'', and ''Preeti Basyo''. Personal life Nima was born in Subarnapur, Parsa ...

- singer, musician, composer, and actor *

Prashant Tamang Prashant Tamang (born 4 January 1983) is an Indian singer and film actor based in Kathmandu. He was the winner of ''Indian Idol Season 3'' in 2007.VTEN (Samir Ghising) - rapper *

Robin Tamang Robin Tamang (1968 – 4 July 2023) was a Nepalese singer, musician, actor and founder of rock band Robin and The New Revolution. He was also an actor, and has acted in various Nepalese films. He was well-known for playing the character of Yama ...

- rock musician and actor * Kul Man Ghising - engineer, managing director of Nepal Electricity Authority * Bhim Bahadur Tamang - politician

Gallery

File:Parijat Nepali writer.jpg, alt=Parijat (Bishnu Kumari Waiba), writer and poet, Parijat (Bishnu Kumari Waiba), Nepali writer and poet File:Prashant Tamang 03.jpg, alt=Prashant Tamang, Indian singer and winner of Indian Idol.,

Prashant Tamang Prashant Tamang (born 4 January 1983) is an Indian singer and film actor based in Kathmandu. He was the winner of ''Indian Idol Season 3'' in 2007.Indian Idol ''Indian Idol'' is the Indian Reality television, music competition television franchise based on the ''Pop Idol'' format. Versions : Currently airing – 1 : Upcoming for airing – 0 : Recently concluded – 3 : No longer airing – ...

. File:Prem Singh Tamang.jpg, alt=Prem Singh Tamang, 6th CM of Sikkim,, Prem Singh Tamang, 6th CM of Sikkim, File:Navneet Aditya Waiba.jpg, alt=Navneet Aditya Waiba Tamang/Nepali folk singer.,

Tamang/Nepali folk singer. File:Tamang Sonam Lochhar 2018 DC (39446275955) (1) cropped.jpg, alt=A couple performing Tamang selo dance, A couple performing Tamang Selo dance

References

External links

* {{Authority control Buddhist communities of India Buddhist communities of Nepal Sino-Tibetan-speaking people Ethnic groups in Nepal Ethnic groups in Northeast India Ethnic groups in South Asia

Etymology

History

Political participation

Culture

Festivals

Trekking and tourism

Notable Tamang people

Gallery

See also

References

External links