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Dang District (, ) is a district of
Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...
located in the
Inner Terai The Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal comprise several elongated river valleys in the southern lowland Terai part of the country. These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther sout ...
Rapti Zone Rapti Zone ( ) was one of the fourteen List of zones of Nepal, zones, located in the Mid-Western Development Region, Nepal, Mid-Western Development Region of Nepal. It was named after the West Rapti River which drains Rolpa District, Rolpa, Pyut ...
of midwestern
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. Dang Valley is the first largest valley of Asia and World's second largest valley surrounded by
Sivalik Hills The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...
and the Mahabharata Range. Ghorahi is the capital of the dang district and
Deukhuri Deukhuri (), also known as Deukhuri Valley, is a proposed permanent capital of Lumbini Province in Nepal which was decided on 20th of Aswin 2077 BS (October 6, 2020 AD). The temporary capital of Lumbini is in Butwal (Rupandehi District). The ...
of the dang district is capital of the Lumbini province. The district headquarter Ghorahi is the seventh largest city and also the Lumbini province headquarters the largest sub-metropolitan city of Nepal.
Tulsipur Tulsipur is a town and tehsil in the Balrampur district, Uttar Pradesh, Balrampur district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, A very famous sacred place Devi Patan Temple lies in the city, which is a sacred and pilgrimage site for Hindus, m ...
sub-metropolitan city, the second largest city of Dang, is a major transportation hub with extensive road and air networks. The district covers an area of 2,955 km2 and has a population of 674,993 (2021 census). Dang district has been archaeologically studied extensively since the 20th century due to the discoveries of ancient fossils of apes and early humans. The district is considered the center of
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
language in Nepal and is home to Nepal's second oldest university,
Nepal Sanskrit University Nepal Sanskrit University () is one of the universities in Nepal. It was established in December 1986 and has its central office at Beljhundi in Dang district of Lumbini Province, Nepal. The university is 13 km away from the city of Ghorahi. A ...
, which is the only
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
university of the country, as well as Rapti Academy of Health Sciences (RAHS), the state-owned medical college of
Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...
with the Prime Minister of Nepal as the Chancellor. There are numerous temples and gumbas in Dang Deukhuri district with puranic legendary connections to
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
,
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
,
Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
and
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
, making it one of the richest cultural sites of the country.


History and prehistory


Prehistory

Archeologists consider the Churiya range very ancient with the existence of
Sivapithecus ''Sivapithecus'' () (syn: ''Ramapithecus)'' is a genus of extinct apes. Fossil remains of animals now assigned to this genus, dated from 12.2 million years old in the Miocene, have been found since the 19th century in the Sivalik Hills of the Ind ...
(syn:''Ramapithecus),'' a link between man ''a''nd ape. The pre-historic study of Dang valley has been carried out by Tribhuvan University since 1966, including the geological study of the Valley by Robert M. West from the
American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
and the Department of Mines of then His Majesty's Government of Nepal from 1976, as well as the
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
study of Dang by
University of Erlangen-Nuremberg A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...
(''Fredrich-Alexander-Universität'') of Germany in 1984, among others. According to these concurrent researches, Dang valley was a lake approximately 2.5 to 1 million years ago. During 1984–1986, German researcher Gudrun Corvinus studied the miocene-pliocene stratigraphy and geology of Dang valley researching on the pleistocene holocene period of ancient human settlements. She studied the exposed section of the road being constructed between Koilabas and the Dang Valley running through Deukhuri.
Hand axe A hand axe (or handaxe or Acheulean hand axe) is a Prehistory, prehistoric stone tool with two faces that is the longest-used tool in human history. It is made from stone, usually flint or chert that has been "reduced" and shaped from a larger ...
s and other artifacts dated to early
Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...
(1.8 million to 100,000 years ago) have been found in alluvial deposits along the
Babai River The Babai River () originates in and completely drains Inner Terai Dang Valley of Mid-Western Nepal. Dang is an oval valley between the Mahabharat Range and Siwalik Hills in its eponymous district. Dang was anciently home to indigenous Th ...
in Dang Valley.
Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...
classify these as
Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
, i.e. 'second-generation' toolmaking that succeeds the very oldest
Olduwan The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry during the early Lower Paleolithic spanning the late Pliocene and the first half of the Early Pleistocene. These early tools were simple, usually made by chipping one, ...
. There are more numerous less ancient archeological sites dating to the
Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...
/
Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...
(about 50,000 to 10,000 years ago). These are also along the Babai, as well as in Deukhuri Valley (Rapti River) adjacent and south of Dang Valley.
Archeologists Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolog ...
classify these as
Acheulean Acheulean (; also Acheulian and Mode II), from the French after the type site of Saint-Acheul, is an archaeological industry of stone tool manufacture characterized by the distinctive oval and pear-shaped "hand axes" associated with ''Homo ...
, i.e. 'second-generation' toolmaking that succeeds the very oldest
Olduwan The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry during the early Lower Paleolithic spanning the late Pliocene and the first half of the Early Pleistocene. These early tools were simple, usually made by chipping one, ...
.


Tharus

Since ancient times, Dang valley is considered to have been inhabited by the
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology) In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often populari ...
Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group living in the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official ethnicity by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost in Uttara ...
, albeit the exact timing of origin is still a matter of archeological research Researchers consider that the valley was a growing center of Tharu civilisation. In the current times,
Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group living in the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official ethnicity by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost in Uttara ...
comprise one of the prominent indigenous ethnic communities of Nepal, and the Tharus inhabiting Dang valley are called Dangaura Tharus who have been able to retain their rich and unique traditions.


Medieval and Modern History

With a long history of over 1300 years, the valley is recognised to have been a focal pilgrimage and shelter place for the disciples of
Nath Natha, also called Nath (), are a Shaivism, Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism, Tantra and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent.
sect, the followers of
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...
and
mahasiddha Mahasiddha (Sanskrit: ''mahāsiddha'' "great adept; ) is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the "siddhi of perfection". A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sādhanā, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and ...
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
and his guru
Matsyendranath Matsyendranātha, also known as Matsyendra, Macchindranāth, Mīnanātha and Minapa (early 10th century) was a saint and yogi in a number of Buddhism, Buddhist and Hinduism, Hindu traditions. He is considered the revivalist of hatha yoga as we ...
. The Goraksha or Ratnanath temple in the district is believed to have been built by king-turned-disciple Ratnanath, whose original name was King Ratnaparikshak and was given initiation by
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
himself in the nearby forest. Evidence show that when the
Khasa Kingdom Khasa-Malla kingdom (), popularly known as Khasa Kingdom () and Yatse () in Tibetan, was a medieval kingdom established around the 11th century in regions that are presently in far-western Nepal and parts of Uttarakhand state in India. The ...
was in existence in western Nepal, Dang was virtually under their political domination. One of the document of Punya Malla mentions that the valley was awarded to Jayakar Pundit as a virta in 1336 AD. From 1350 AD onwards, Meghraj Singh Chauhan of Chauhan dynasty is recorded to have been the king of the region as per the records in the Yogi Ratna Nath's Chaughera monastery of Dang valley, the third-in-line of Yogi
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
. The temple held a strong spiritual importance over the rulers of the valley, even after the change of power to new dynasties as such the internal activities of the temple were almost entirely unaffected for hundreds of years. Nevills Gazetteer of Bahreich (1922:124) mentions that in 1485 AD, Dangdun was in the possession of Udat Singh. Evidence shows that the last independent king Nawal Singh Chauhan ruled from Chaughera of Dang until 1760 AD as the
House of Tulsipur Tulsipur State was a small kingdom in the Awadh region of India that became the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh under the British Raj. Tulsipur also extended north beyond Dundwa Range of the Siwaliks to include the Dang and Deukhuri ...
which ruled one of the largest
Taluq A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ce ...
s of
Oudh The Kingdom of Awadh (, , also Oudh State, Kingdom of Oudh, Awadh Subah, or Awadh State) was a Mughal subah, then an independent kingdom, and lastly a British protectorate in the Awadh region of North India until its annexation by the Br ...
, India, which then included the Dang and Deukhuri Valleys.The town shares its name with another
Tulsipur Tulsipur is a town and tehsil in the Balrampur district, Uttar Pradesh, Balrampur district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, A very famous sacred place Devi Patan Temple lies in the city, which is a sacred and pilgrimage site for Hindus, m ...
in Dang Deukhuri District, Nepal (c.65k North); the two towns are linked historically by having the same ruler. In 1760 AD, Gorkhali King
Prithvi Narayan Shah Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...
annexed the valley into the expanding Gorkha Kingdom. Three years later, Dang (except Tulsipur lands south of the Siwalik Hills) was given as a dowry to the King of Salyan in 1763 AD for the marriage of King Prithvi Narayan Shah's daughter. Around 1808 AD, Dang valley was finally annexed into the Kingdom of Nepal when Salyan state merged with the Unified Nepal of Shah kings. Since Dang was somewhat higher, hotter, better-drained and therefore less
malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...
l than most Inner Terai valleys in Nepal, it was settled to some extent by Shah and ''Rana'' courtiers and other ''Nepalese''. Deukhuri was more of a Tharu enclave until
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
was introduced to control the disease-bearing ''
Anopheles ''Anopheles'' () is a genus of mosquito first described by the German entomologist Johann Wilhelm Meigen, J. W. Meigen in 1818, and are known as nail mosquitoes and marsh mosquitoes. Many such mosquitoes are Disease vector, vectors of the paras ...
''
mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...
in the 1950s. Before the construction of Rapti Bridge, Koilabas of Dang Valley was a major trading post with India which was slowly abandoned later. Koilabas has remnants of Persian
Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
- style architecture visible in its ruins even now. Long time ago, Dang used to be the capital of Rapti Zone.


Administration

The district consists of two sub-metropolitan cities and eight municipalities, out of which one is an urban municipality and seven are rural municipalities.The administrative regions are as follows: * Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City * Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City * Lamahi Municipality *
Gadhawa Rural Municipality Gadhawa Rural Municipality (Nepali: गढवा गाउँपालिका sometimes गडवा गाउँपालिका) is located in Deukhuri valley of Dang Deukhuri District, Dang district of Lumbini Province, Nepal. This rural ...
* Rajpur Rural Municipality * Shantinagar Rural Municipality * Rapti Rural Municipality *
Banglachuli Rural Municipality Banglachuli Rural Municipality (Nepali: वंगलाचुली गाउँपालिका) is a Gaunpalika in Dang District in Lumbini Province of Nepal. On 12 March 2017, the government of Nepal implemented a new local administrative str ...
* Dangisharan Rural Municipality * Babai Rural Municipality


Geography and Climate

This district consists of the larger easterly and upstream portions of the parallel
Inner Terai The Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal comprise several elongated river valleys in the southern lowland Terai part of the country. These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther sout ...
valleys of Dang and Deukhuri, plus enclosing ranges of hills and mountains. Downstream, both valleys cross into
Banke District Banke District (; , a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The district, located in midwestern Nepal with Nepalganj as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 385,840 in 2001 and 491,313 in ...
. To the south, the district borders
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
, a state in India, Nepal's neighboring country—specifically the Balarampur and
Shravasti district Shravasti district is one of the districts of the Uttar Pradesh state of India, with Bhinga town as its district headquarters. Shravasti district is a part of Devipatan Division. According to Government of India, it is among the 121 minority ...
s of
Awadh Awadh (), known in British Raj historical texts as Avadh or Oudh, is a historical region in northern India and southern Nepal, now constituting the North-central portion of Uttar Pradesh. It is roughly synonymous with the ancient Kosala Regio ...
. Because the international border follows the southern edge of the outermost
Siwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...
foothills called the Dudhwa Range, there is no Outer Terai extending onto the main Ganges Plain inside this district. The permeable geology of the Siwaliks does not support moisture retention or soil development, so they are covered with unproductive scrub forest. The Dudhwas rise steeply to a crest at about 700 meters, then slope more gradually into the Deukhuri Valley, down to 250 meters elevation at the Rapti River. The Dudhwas extend more than 100 km, causing the Rapti to detour west around them before turning southeast down the main trend of the plains into India. Deukhuri's climate is nearly tropical and it is well watered by the river, as well as possessing abundant groundwater. North of Deukhuri Valley, the Dang Range rises as high as 1,000 meters with passes at about 700 meters. The Dang Valley lies north of these hills, drained by the
Babai River The Babai River () originates in and completely drains Inner Terai Dang Valley of Mid-Western Nepal. Dang is an oval valley between the Mahabharat Range and Siwalik Hills in its eponymous district. Dang was anciently home to indigenous Th ...
tributary to the
Ghaghara The Ghaghara River, also known as the Karnali River in Nepal, Mapcha Tsangpo in Tibet, and as the Sarayu River in the lower Ghaghara of India's Awadh, is a perennial trans-boundary river that originates in the northern slopes of the Himalaya ...
(Karnali). Valley elevations range from 600 meters along the Babai with alluvial slopes gradually rising northward to 700 meters along the base of the
Mahabharat Range The Lower Himalayan Range, also called the Lesser Himalayas and Mahabharat Lekh or Himachal, is one of the four parallel sub-ranges of the Himalayas. It has the Great Himalayas to the north and the Sivalik Hills to the south. It extends from th ...
. The district then extends upslope to the crest of the Mahabharats at 1,500 to 1,700 meters elevation. The bordering districts to the north are Pyuthan, Rolpa, and Salyan. The Rapti River of Western Nepal traverses through most of the lower Dang valley. It flows beneath the Churia range first on the northern side of the hills and then leaves the hills on the southern side. Nepal's second-longest bridge over Rapti river in Dang district connects Sisahaniya of Rapti Rural Municipality with Mahadeva of Gadawa Rural Municipality in the district.


Demographics

The dry and agriculturally unproductive Dudhwa range creates a buffer zone between the divergent cultures of the plains of Uttar Pradesh and the Inner Terai. Deukhuri was severely malarial before the late 1950s when
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
came into use to suppress mosquitos so that
Tharu people The Tharu people are an ethnic group living in the Terai in southern Nepal and northern India. They speak Tharu languages. They are recognized as an official ethnicity by the Government of Nepal. In the Indian Terai, they live foremost in Uttara ...
who had evolved resistance managed to live in isolation from other cultures of the plains to the south and the hills to the north. Although road development further reduced Deukhuri's isolation by the 1980s, the valley retains some of its
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden (; ; ) or Garden of God ( and ), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.. The location of Eden is described in the Book of Ge ...
charm with its lazy river, thick jungle alternating with rice paddies, surrounding hills in the middle distance and unique peoples. Dang Valley is higher, less tropical, drier and less malarial than Deukhuri. Despite poorer soil and more seasonal streamflow, its healthier climate made it more attractive to settlers from outside even before the introduction of DDT. Since the early 1990s activist groups have been attempting to eradicate the practice of child
indentured servitude Indentured servitude is a form of labor in which a person is contracted to work without salary for a specific number of years. The contract called an " indenture", may be entered voluntarily for a prepaid lump sum, as payment for some good or s ...
among the Tharu, many of whom sold young daughters to wealthy families in urban areas. This region has a plurality of people of the Tharu ethnicity. The steep, virtually uninhabited southern slopes of the Mahabharat Range are another cultural buffer zone between traditional Tharu lands and the culturally distinct ''Middle Hills'' where Nepali is the dominant language, the homeland of dangi
Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...
s. The Kumal (potter) ethnic group is also semi-indigenous.At the time of 2021 census, Dang District had a population of 674,993 and literacy rate of 81.4%. As their first language, 67.2% spoke Nepali, 25.9% Tharu, 2.1%
Awadhi Awadhi may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Awadh or Oudh region in Uttar Pradesh, northern India ** Awadhi people, ethnic group of India *** Awadhi language Awadhi, also known as Audhi, is an Indo-Aryan language belonging ...
, 1.1%
Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...
, 2.1% Magar, 0.5%
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
, 0.2%
Newar Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...
and 0.9% other languages as their first language. Ethnicity/caste: 26.6% were
Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...
, 26.4% Tharu, 14.5% Magar, 9.5% Hill Brahmin, 6.8% Bishwokarma, 2.8% Pariyar, 1.9% Sanyasi, 1.8% Mijar, 1.5% Kumal,1.5% Yadav and 6.7% others. Religion: 95.3% were
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 1.8%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.9%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 1.06%
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, 0.9%
Prakriti Prakriti ( ) is "the original or natural form or condition of anything, original or primary substance". It is a key concept in Hinduism, formulated by the ''Samkhya'' school, where it does not refer merely to matter or nature, but includes all cog ...
, 0.01% Kirat and 0.03% others.


Education

The district, with literacy rate of 81.4%, has become an emerging educational hub of Nepal in recent years and has growing number of schools, child development centers, resource centers and campuses. New initiatives taken by the rural municipalities and sub-metropolitan cities of the district have aimed at improving the quality of the education - most notably - making of the English language medium compulsory. Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City has also initiated to make the pre-primary level fully English medium. Nepal Sanskrit University (formerly Mahendra Sanskrit University) Nepal Sanskrit University act was enacted by
King Birendra Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev (; 29 December 1945 – 1 June 2001) was King of Nepal from 1972 until his assassination in 2001. Early life and education Birendra was born at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace in Kathmandu as the eldest son of th ...
in the advice and consent of Rastriya Panchayat in 1986 "to manage
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
education in Nepal up to the highest mark and to study, research, protect and promote the special achievements received from Sanskrit education in various sectors as per the demand of time and to develop Nepal as a centre of knowledge and inspiration in Sanskrit education upon abiding by the traditional dharma, moral values, propriety and good behavior". As per this, Mahendra Sanskrit University (later renamed Nepal Sanskrit University) was established in Dang which at the time of its commencement was the second university of the country after Tribhuvan University. Currently, the university offers Intermediate (Uttar Madhyama), Bachelor (Shastri), Bachelor of Education, Masters (Acharya) and Doctoral courses in classical and modern subjects. It offers intermediate in
Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
, Bachelors Of Ayurvedic Medicine And Surgery
AMS AMS or Ams may refer to: Organizations Companies * Alenia Marconi Systems * American Management Systems * AMS (Advanced Music Systems) * ams AG, semiconductor manufacturer * AMS Pictures * Auxiliary Medical Services Educational institutions ...
and condensed courses for Ayurvedacharya, as well as yoga training. Rapti Academy of Health Sciences (RAHS) Legislature-Parliament unanimously endorsed the ‘Rapti Health Science Academy Bill, 2074’ on 10 October 2017 as per the government's decision to open one state-owned medical college in each province of Nepal. Currently, Rapti Academy of Health Sciences (RAHS) serves as the only state-owned medical college of
Lumbini Province Lumbini Province () is a Provinces of Nepal, province in western Nepal. The country's Provinces of Nepal, third largest province in terms of area as well as List of Nepalese provinces by population, population, Lumbini is home to the World Herita ...
with the Prime Minister of Nepal as the Chancellor. In addition to normal medical procedures, the state hold entity is providing Intensive Care Units (ICU), Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) as well as Pediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU).


Tourism

Due to the influence of Hinduism, the valley has numerous temples with legendary connections to
Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...
,
Shaivism Shaivism (, , ) is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Para Brahman, supreme being. It is the Hinduism#Demographics, second-largest Hindu sect after Vaishnavism, constituting about 385 million H ...
,
Shaktism Shaktism () is a major Hindu denomination in which the God in Hinduism, deity or metaphysics, metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically to be a woman. Shaktism involves a galaxy of goddesses, all regarded as different aspects, mani ...
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Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
making it one of the prominent cultural sites of the country. The district's pilgrimage sites receive increasing number of visitors, both domestic and international, particularly from India. The district's Tharu Cultural Museum is a tourist attraction, and is a national showcase of Tharu art, culture and traditions.Major heritage sites in Dang Deukhuri District include:


Cultural Sites

Ambikeshwari Temple is one of the spiritually important Hindu temple located in Dang district. The temple also known as ‘Maiko Than’ (Mother's Place) and is situated to the north of Ghorahi 3.5 kilometers away on bank of Katuwa Khola. The temple is also a Shaktipeetha, supposed to have emerged due to the falling of right ear of Satidevi according to the
Swasthani Shree Swasthani is a Hindu goddess ( Parameshwari) and is responsible for the good fortune, welfare and power. She is mostly worshipped in Nepal in the holy month from poush Shukla purnima to magh Shukla purnima with dedicated rituals. Following ...
Purana of Hinduism. This temple is the most popular Shaktipeeth of Dang valley. Ratnanath (Gorakhnath) Mandir, Chaughera is in Chaughera of Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city. It is one of the major tourist and spiritual place of the Dang District. The temple is the namesake of Yogi Ratna Nath, third-in-line of Yogi
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
. The temple held a strong spiritual importance over the rulers of the valley since older times, even after the change of power to new dynasties as such the internal activities of the temple were almost entirely unaffected for hundreds of years. The legend of the origin of the monastery is tied to the rulers of the valley, as the narration tells us of a king who went hunting in the jungle where he saw a beautiful deer and shot an arrow. The wounded deer went deep into the forest, and the king followed it. Then suddenly, in the middle of the forest, he met a radiant ascetic, seated in a deep state of meditation with arrow in front of him. The king understood his mistake and apologized. The Siddha forgave him and granted him a boon through yogic power to reign over the Dang Valley. The yogi was Ratannath, the disciple of Yogi
Gorakhnath Gorakhnath (also known as Gorakshanath (Sanskrit: ''Gorakṣanātha'') (Devanagari : गोरक्षनाथ / गोरखनाथ), c. early 11th century) was a Hindu yogi, mahasiddha and saint who was the founder of the Nath Hindu monas ...
and he took the arrow and gave it to the king, saying "as long as you keep the arrow, you will keep your kingdom firm." The king then started to worship Ratannath, and since then the king's lineage continued the worship and kept the arrow for six months. The other six months the Yogis worshipped the arrow and the king had to give them half of the revenue that he got from his kingdom" (summarized from Narharinath 2022: 516) Dharapani Temple is situated in the Dharna municipality-01 of the district at the base of chure range, south of Babai river about 9 kilometer drive from the center of Ghorahi. The temple is believed to have been in the ancient site where the five
Pandava The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, aɳɖɐʋᵊ IAST: Pāṇḍava) is a group name referring to the five legendary brothers, Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who are central figures of the Hindu epic ''Mahabhara ...
s brother sat and chanted prayers to
Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...
during their journey to Uttarapantha (Himalayas). The temple has the world's largest ''
Trishula The ''trishula'' () is a trident, a divine symbol, commonly used as one of the principal symbols in Hinduism. It is most commonly associated with the deity Shiva and widely employed in his iconography. Etymology The name ''trishula'' ultimate ...
'' and is one of the major tourist destination of the valley. In recent years, the temple has become an important visiting site for Hindu devotees as well as for prominent personalities such as the President of Nepal, police chiefs, chief justices and ministers. Barhakune Daha (Baraha Chhetra), also known as Baraha Chhetra, is situated 3 km North from Ghorahi sub-metropolitan city. The region is dedicated to the Hindu God
Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...
and is widely worshipped during Makar Sankranti festival. The name comes from a pond around the temple which has twelve "bara" (in Nepali) corners. Chameri cave is situated at the slopes of the Mahabharat range and is also known locally as "Siddha" cave thought to have been used by saints for penance in the valley. There has also been archeological interest in the cave due to the possibility of it being used by pre-historic humans. The cave is 4 storey tall with a spacious ground hall which can accommodate almost a thousand people in its space. Chameri cave holds archeological importance and various preliminary observations are being carried out or further research.


Other Prominent Sites

Jakhera Lake meaning "rain-water collection" is a lake located at Lamai Municipality-5 of Dang, about 35 kilometers far from Ghorahi and two temples dedicated to Ganesh and Siddeswor Mahadev around the lake. The lake is a major tourist attraction in the district and also provides spot for picnic and sight-seeing. The lake lies in the base of Chure hills and is 6 feet deep with a span of 12 hectares. Further prominent sites of the valley include: * Sawarikot * Ghordaura * Chhilli kot, Chhilli Kot Gupha, Chameri Gupha * Devikot * Hanuman Temple * Kalimai Temple, Kalika Temple * Kulpani Mandir * Malika Temple, Mulkot Cave * Ram Janaki Temple * Sirasthan, Srigaun Temple, Sukaura Mound * Bagar Baba mandir, Rihar *Taptakunda Shivalaya, Mamisauri mandir, Rihar *Shiva Mandir, Dhankhola * Shiva Cave, Dhankhola * Mata Malmala Devi, Malmala, Gadawa-1 * Tuhi valley * Suikot Temple * Devisthan Mandir awannagar, Bhamake* Kalika mandir * Jakhera Tal Temple


Transportation

East West Highway —the main east–west highway across Nepal— follows Deukhuri Valley, passing Kalakate and Bhalubang bazar at the upper end and Lamahi downstream. From Bhalubang, branch roads lead up the Rapti River into Pyuthan and
Rolpa District Rolpa (), is a "hill" district in Lumbini Province of Nepal. Rolpa district covers an area of with population (2011) of 221,177. Rolpa town is the district's administrative center. The various grievances of Rolpa's population made the dis ...
s. From Lamahi there are roads north across the Dang Range to Ghorahi, and south over the Dudhwas to
Koilabas Koilabas is a bazaar town situated in Gadhawa Rural Municipality in Dang Deokhuri District in Lumbini Province of south-western Nepal. The town is situated on the southern edge of the Dudhwa Range of the Siwaliks, at Nepal's border with Uttar Pr ...
, which used to be an international trade centre earlier. The East West highway which passes through the Lamahi joints the Banke district leading Kohalpur. Roads from Ghorahi lead to
Rolpa district Rolpa (), is a "hill" district in Lumbini Province of Nepal. Rolpa district covers an area of with population (2011) of 221,177. Rolpa town is the district's administrative center. The various grievances of Rolpa's population made the dis ...
and the Swargadwari pilgrimage site. From Tulsipur a motorable road goes north into Salyan District. Nepal's second-longest bridge over Rapti river in Dang district connects Sisahaniya of Rapti Rural Municipality with Mahadeva of Gadawa Rural Municipality in the district. At Tarigaun, Dang Airport (
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
: DNP,
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
: VNDG) has daily scheduled connection to Kathmandu in Nepal.


Maps

* Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development has downloadable district maps based on a detailed and comprehensive GIS database:
VDC boundariesLand useRivers, streams, pondsMotor roads and foot trails
* Besides the United Nations/Nepal map of districts and VDCs shown above, their Map Centre has a downloadable PDF version adding municipalities, roads and water detail. * From 1992 to 2002 a definitive series of
large scale G scale or G gauge, also called large scale (), is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability. G scale trains use a fixed track gauge of to accommodate a range of rai ...
topographic maps In modern mapping, a topographic map or topographic sheet is a type of map characterized by large- scale detail and quantitative representation of relief features, usually using contour lines (connecting points of equal elevation), but historic ...
were surveyed and published through a joint project by
Government of Nepal The Government of Nepal () is the central executive authority of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. The government is led by the Prime Minister of Nepal, prime minister (K. P. Sharma Oli, K.P. Oli since 15 July 2024) who selects all the o ...
Survey Department and Finland's
Ministry for Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...
contracting through the ''FinnMap'' consulting firm. Japan International Cooperation Agency substituted for FinnMap mainly in
Lumbini Zone Lumbini () was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal until the restructure of zones to provinces. Within the zone is the city of Lumbini, widely believed to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism and renowned as a major ...
with one sheet showing the easternmost part of Dang-Deukhuri. :Topographic sheets at 1:25,000 scale covering 7.5 minutes latitude and longitude map the Terai and Middle Mountains including all of this district. JPG scans can be downloade
here:
:These sheets cover Dang Deukhuri District: # 2782 1B Amiliya (2005) # 2782 1D Sunpathari Naka (1997) # 2782 2A Rihar (1998) # 2782 2B Satbariya (1998) # 2782 2C, 6A Jangrahawa Mahatiniya (1998) # 2782 2D Bela (1998) # 2782 3A Atthaise (1998) # 2782 3B Hasipur (1998) # 2782 3C Lamahi (2005) # 2782 3D Lalmatiya (2005) # 2782 4A Bangesal (1997) # 2782 4C Bhaluban (1997) # 2782 6B Siriya Naka (1998) # 2782 7A Koilabas (2005) # 2782 7B Jawabairath (1999) # 2882 9D Shitalpati (1998) # 2882 13A Hamsapur (1998) # 2882 13B Panchakule (1998) # 2882 13C Bairiya Kusum (2005) # 2882 13D Hekuli (1998) # 2882 14A Tulsipur (1999) # 2882 14B Dubrin (1999) # 2882 14C Bijauri (1999) # 2882 14D Ghorahi (1998) # 2882 15A Holeri (1999) # 2882 15C Bach Pokhara (1998) # 2882 15D Swargadwari (1999) # (JICA) 097-11 Shiwagadhi (1993)


Dang International Cricket Stadium

Dang International Cricket Stadium (), also known as Ghorahi Int'l Cricket Ground is a proposed International Cricket Stadium. It is located in
Dang Valley The Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal comprise several elongated river valleys in the southern lowland Terai part of the country. These tropical valleys are enclosed by the Himalayan foothills, viz the Mahabharat Range and the Sivalik Hills farther sout ...
, Ghorahi, Dang. This stadium will be one of the biggest cricket stadiums in Nepal. The capacity of the stadium will be over 30,000 spectators. It is the home ground of
Lumbini Lions The Nepal Premier League, officially known as Siddhartha Bank NPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's Twenty20 cricket league held annually in Nepal. Founded by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in 2024, the league features eight province ...
in
Nepal Premier League The Nepal Premier League, officially known as Siddhartha Bank NPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's Twenty20 cricket league held annually in Nepal. Founded by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) in 2024, the league features eight province ...
. Additionally, the stadium is also the home ground of
Lumbini Province cricket team Lumbini Province cricket team, (formerly known as Province No. 5 cricket team) and also known as Team Lumbini is a Nepali provincial cricket team, based in the Lumbini Province of Nepal. The team plays limited overs and 20-over cricket in the ...
and Lumbini Province women's cricket team. Ghorahi Cricket Ground has been hosting under-16 and under-19 provincial-level tournaments. It has also hosted the Dang Cricket League twice and the Sagarmatha T20 League one time. The Ghorahi Cricket Stadium in Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City does not have as much infrastructure as the stadium in Lamahi, but Ghorahi has a good ground capable of hosting big national tournaments.


See also

* Dang Cricket League


References


External links

* {{Authority control Districts of Nepal established during Rana regime or before