The Tamangs are one of the several ethnic groups from north central hilly region of Nepal. Tamang people are predominately found in the districts of sindhupalchowk, rasuwa, Lalitpur,dhading, makwanpur, nuwakot, ramecchap, dolkha, and kavreplanchowk, and small number of tamang who migrated from Nepal can be found in the hilly region of India. The word Tamang may be derived from the Tibetan words "ta" and "mang", meaning horse and soldier respectively. Living mainly north and east of the country, they constitute 5.6% of Nepal's population, which places their population at 1,280,000, slightly higher than the Newars.Their language, also called Tamang is related to both Tibetan and Sherpa languages.

The name Tamang, normally it is Tamag in Tibetan, means horse warriors, Tamags were border police sent by king Trisong of Tibet around 755. They are also good mountaineers and trekking guides. Many of Tamang have been recruited to serve in Indian and British Gurkha regiments since British Raj.

The Tamang generally follow Tibetan Buddhism mixed with elements of the pre-Buddhist Bön and the Tambaist religion. Due to their proximity to the Newar, a slight Hindu influence can be seen in their practices. Their priests include Lamas, Bombos and Tambas. According to the 2001 census, 88.26% of the ethnic Tamang in Nepal were Buddhists and 7.69% were Hindus.[1] The typical song and dance of the Tamangs is "tamang selo" in which they dance to the beat of a drum called "damphu." Damphu is the traditional drum of the Tamangs.

Many Tamang clans do not permit intermarriage with other ethnic groups, although some clans do permit intermarriages with the Gurung, Magar, Newar, and Sherpas. Their descent is traced patrilineally.


The Tamang tribe of Nepal was brought to Kathmandu Valley by King Srong-sen Gampo of Tibet in the 7th century AD as a cavalry division. Their own tradition also says that their original habitat was in Southern Tibet in a place called Uichang. Tamang folk tales reveal that during the early days of resettling in the Kathmandu valley, a public sport to prove the physical as well as spiritual might of the Twelve Tamang leaders was held to prove themselves worthy as military officers. Moktan, the chief of them all, took the initiative, brought a heavy iron beam, and twisted it. Seeing this, the Bal leader brought a long pole and drove it against a precipice and pierced the innermost part of the precipice with so much force that water oozed out in a current. Bomzan then weaved a golden basket and collected this magical water without allowing even a single drop to leak from the basket. Ghising by the dint of his magic vaporized a lake and transformed it into a massive cloud. Pakhrin then brought a bronze plate and stared at it so hard that the strength of the glare broke the plate into pieces. Yonzon in turn suddenly produced a raging hailstorm while Syangdan created fire and the Thing leader extinguished the fire by pouring rain over it. Not daunted by such magical prowess Goley revealed a skyful of stars in broad daylight and Giaba spread a thick blanket of haze over it. Then Mikchan transformed a stick into a poisonous viper and Bozu made a vulture swallow it. Although, these folk tales now sound fictitious, it proved that the twelve vying Tamang leaders were skilled occultists and qualified as worthy Tibetan military officers.

Now, the Twelve Tamang officers made Central Nepal their permanent settlement, settled around the Kathmandu valley and renamed villages after their names. Their villages were respectively called Moktan kipat, Bal kipat, Bomzan kipat, Ghising kipat, Pakhrin kipat, Yonzon kipat, Syangdan kipat, Thing kipat, Goley kipat, Giaba kipat, Mikchan kipat and Bozu kipat in the Chatara and Dhading districts. They ruled these villages till the Gurkha invasion in the west. Their kipat lands were annexed to the Gorkha Kingdom during the reign of King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768 AD.

Adoption of Nationality: All offspring from a Brahmin, Kshetri and Thakuri with a Tamang woman would be included in the Tamang tribe with the family title of Gothar or Godar Tamang of the Atharah jat. In the olden days, prior to the Gorkha conquest the progeny of a Tamang woman with a Khas used to be called Gothar or Godar Tamang. However, since the Gorkha conquest, they have been called Khattris.

The Ngarba Tamang was the term used for the progeny born of a Newar with a Tamang woman. Similarly, Sangri Tamang for progenies of either Gurung, Magar, Limbu, Rai or Sunwar through a Tamang woman. Although this was a good policy for nation building, the tradition of its usage came to an end since the children retained the family titles of their father.

Tamangs as Soldiers: All the Tamangs belong to the Kirat tribe and were recruited along with the other Kirat tribes of Limbu, Rai and Sunwar, Surung and Magars in the 10th and 7th Gurkha Rifles and were identified as being a part of the the brave Gurkhas of Nepalese nationality.Their Language: Tamang language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman or Kirat group of the Himalayan region, and has a close affinity with the Gurung or Tamu, Thakali or Tamang and Yolmo or Kagatey Tamang languages. Buddhism is their main religion The Sherpas, the Walungeys and the Shingsabas also belong to the Kirat group.
 

An ethnic group is a group of humans whose members identify with each other, through a common heritage that is real or assumed.
Ethnic identity is further marked by the researcher Seng Yang in the recognition from others of a group's distinctiveness and the recognition of common cultural, linguistic, religious, behavioural traits as indicators of contrast to other groups.

Ethnicity is an important means through which people can identify themselves. According to "Challenges of Measuring an Ethnic World: Science, politics, and reality", a conference organised by Statistics Canada and the United States Census Bureau (April 1–3, 1992), "Ethnicity is a fundamental factor in human life: it is a phenomenon inherent in human experience."[5] However, many social scientists, like anthropologists Fredrik Barth and Eric Wolf, do not consider ethnic identity to be universal. They regard ethnicity as a product of specific kinds of inter-group interactions, rather than an essential quality inherent to human groups.[6] Processes that result in the emergence of such identification are called ethnogenesis. Members of an ethnic group, on the whole, claim cultural continuities over time. Historians and cultural anthropologists have documented, however, that often many of the values, practices, and norms that imply continuity with the past are of relatively recent invention.

According to Thomas Hylland Eriksen, the study of ethnicity was dominated by two distinct debates until recently. One is between "primordialism" and "instrumentalism". In the primordialist view, the participant perceives ethnic ties collectively, as an externally given, even coercive, social bond. The instrumentalist approach, on the other hand, treats ethnicity primarily as an ad-hoc element of a political strategy, used as a resource for interest groups for achieving secondary goals such as, for instance, an increase in wealth, power or status.This debate is still an important point of reference in Political science, although most scholars' approaches fall between the two poles.

The second debate is between "constructivism" and "essentialism". Constructivists view national and ethnic identities as the product of historical forces, often recent, even when the identities are presented as old. Essentialists view such identities as ontological categories defining social actors, and not the result of social action.
According to Eriksen, these debates have been superseded, especially in anthropology, by scholars' attempts to respond to increasingly politicised forms of self-representation by members of different ethnic groups and nations. This is in the context of debates over multiculturalism in countries, such as the United States and Canada, which have large immigrant populations from many different cultures, and post-colonialism in the Caribbean and South Asia.

Living at Tamang

Tamangs are mainly found in the districts of Rasuwa, Sindhupalchok, Kavrepalanchok, Makwanpur, Nuwakot, Dhading, Ramechhap, Dolkha, Sindhuli, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. The census of 1991 places their population at 4.9% of the national total. The Tamang language, culture and traditions are rich. They were already described as a powerful nation in historic inscriptions going as far back as the 3rd century, attesting to their ancient civilization. They are Buddhists, and their script originates from Uchen. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. The archives of Tamang religious scriptures are rich, varied and vast. Their intellectual hierarchy had categorizations of royal priests, raconteur of history and other scholastic divisions of labor. They celebrate with equal fervor such diverse religious occasions as Lhosar, Maghe Sankranti, Baisakh Purnima and Shravan Purnima. They are fond of buckwheat delicacies. Their dance culture is equally rich and varied. There are many Tamang sub clans. Their population, according to Census 2001, is 1,282,304.
The Tamangs are an ancient and major indigenous people of Nepal. Their traditional area is the hilly region between the Budhigandaki river and the Likhu river. At present, they live in large numbers in the districts of Rasuwa, Nuwakot, Dhading, Makawanpur, Sindhuli, Ramechhap, Dolakha, Lalitpur, Sindhupalchok and Kavrepalanchok in the Central Development Region. They are also scattered all over the country, and outside Nepal they are found in large numbers in Darjeling, Sikkim, Asam and Nagaland of India and in Burma and Bhutan. The total population of Tamang in Nepal, according to the census of 2001, is 1,282,304, ie 5.6 per cent of the total population of the country. The Tamang language occupies fifth place in the country in terms of the number of speakers speaking any one language and first place among the Tibeto-Burman languages.
The word Tamang has been found to be used in a document of the thirteenth century. That document found by David Jackson (2976:53) mentions that King Bumlde Mgon built the Shrin fortress in Mustang to suppress the ethnic group Tamang of Lower Glo (Mustang). Although the word Tamang was used as early as the thirteenth century to denote an ethnic group, following the expansion of the Gorkhali kingdom the use of the word was prohibited. The Tamang were addressed in a derogatory manner as ‘Bhote' and ‘Murmi'. The Tamangs have, however, continued to call themselves Tamang.

The Tamangs have a system of six types of societal leaders: Tamba, Ganba, Bonbo, Labonbo, Lama and Choho--to keep the Tamang society continuously alive and dynamic. The six have their respective and important roles to play in the development of Tamang society. The Tamba looks after the cultural aspect and has a very important role to play in marriage ceremonies. The Lama carries out death rites (Ghewa) and undertakes activities related to the Buddhist religion. The Bonbo propitiates the local gods and goddesses and assists by providing treatment to the sick and needy in the village. The Labonbo (Laptaba) keeps alive the history of the clan and lineage through the worship of clan deities. As each thar, or subgroup, has its own Phola or clan deity, there are different Labonbos for each and every subgroup. The Choho looks into cases and dispenses justice and maintains peace, security and wellbeing in society. The Ganba participates in all types of social, political and religious activities. He observes the various activities of society, including whether the Tamba, Bonbo, Lama, Labtaba, Choho, etc have fulfilled their functions as prescribed by rituals and to the best of their ability or not, and evaluates the activities and gives his suggestions. Thus, the six societal leaders or actors continue to make the Tamang society aware of its duties and responsibilities. There are also in Tamang society traditional institutions like Nhangkhor active to undertake socio-cultural activities.
There are more than 70 subgroups (thar and sahathar) within the Tamang, and inter-marriage does not occur within the same subgroup (thar as well as sahathar). Although inter-marriage can occur between a boy, say belonging to the Yonjan subgroup and a girl belonging to the Moktan subgroup, if the mother of both the boy and girl belong to the same subgroup, however, marriage between them is not possible since they are socially recognized as the son and daughter of the same mother. There is the practice of marrying one's maternal uncle's and aunt's daughter. Unlike in Hindu society, Tamang women do not adopt the last name of their husbands following marriage. Their thar or subgroup does not change, the woman remains in the same subgroup her entire life. When she dies, the body cannot be disposed without the presence and permission of her relatives. There is the traditional practice among Tamang daughters of undertaking small economic activities (Pewa) like keeping goats, chicken, etc. This enables the daughter to learn to stand on her feet and makes her self-reliant.
On the occasion of various festival and ceremonies, pujas (worshipping activities) are performed at Gumbas according to Buddhist rituals and injunctions. Along these rituals, Tamangs perform various forms of ancient worships also. They perform Phola venerating the contributions of their ancestors and the history of their earth. Ancestral history is narrated during Phola worship. Similarly the worship of Neda Sipda (deities of land and water) to revere earth as a source of sustenance, worship of Yhulla (Goddess of village) for the prosperity of the villages and the worship of Jyojyomo (most favoured family deity) are also ubiquitous in Tamang societies. Life cycle rituals such as naming ceremony, rice-feeding ceremony, tonsure ceremony, ceremony of giving Nepali Sari (Guniu), marriage ceremony and funeral rite are still prevailing in society. Different ritual experts have different roles in these rituals. A lot of indigenous as well as foreign scholars have conducted research studies on Tamang language and culture. Most illustrious among foreign scholars are Martine Mazaudon (1973), Andras Hofer (1981), Larry Pitter (1981), Brigitte Steinmann (1987), David Holmberg (1989), Thomas E Fricke (1993) and others.

History of Tamang’s Tribe
Tamang is the very ancient tribe of Nepal. The Tamanga are original people of Yambu (Kattmandu). Nepalese history speaks that the Enlightened Manjushree made an ancient abode of Tamang in Yambu. The ancient Tamang song- “ Gyanaka Gyamse Phepkaziam or appeared from China” proves that the oldest tribe of Yambu (Kathmandu) is Tamang. There are dense Tamang settlement around the Yambu (Kathmandu) even today. In the course (way) of time, other races also setlled in and around Yambu (Kathmandu) and gradually the Tamang people were displaced. The displacement is the result of today’s social structure.
Dr. Anatoly Yakoblave Shetenko visited Nepal under the archaeological study programme under an agreement between Nepal and USSR. He discovered the tools, Weapons and apparatus of stone age (of about 30000 B.C.) at Budhanilkantha were the same as found in Govy of Mongolia, Asia and America. At present such apparatus of Mongolian stone-age are found in Yambu (Kathmandu, Budhanilkantha) which prove that the Mongolians (Tamangs) came via (by way of) Tibet and Himalayan to Nepal.
It is evident that the Mongols were settled in Yambu (Kathmandu) from North before 30,000 (Thirty thousand) years ago.
According to Janak Lal Sharma, those Mongols came from north are today’s Tamangs.
According to the version of the dynasty of Nepal and Dr. Shetenkoko, Tamangs are the oldest tribe of Nepal.
Source: book of Thu:Chen Thu:Jang, published years 1998, writer’s name Moktan Dupwangel Tamang

About Tamang

The histories written till today could not discovere the original land of Tamang authenlically but the Tamangs claim that they are the authentic tribes of Nepali soil. The administration of Nepal has not shown any concern and hot pain any attention and hot given any important till today it has not been mention in the lichchhabi period about the tribe of Tamang, kingdoms of Tamang and Tamang of the Tamangs have been exploited by the administrators of Nepal, politically, economically, socially, culturally, educationaly etc. till today . The Tamang have been dececnced by historcam antlropolosist , and linguist. No importance is given to the suppressed people of Nepal including Tamang tribe the forgotten kings of different dynasty like sena, bist, magars of Gorkha, newars of Dolkha, Kathmandu Rais and Limbus of East hare been excavated from the ground but no justic have been done to discovere the dynasty of the kings of Tamangs.
The socalled history, what the rulers clain, as very authenthi, dose not mention even a single word about the history of Tamang where as the king dome of mallas (at the malls period) Yambu (kathmandu), Herang (patan) and khpong (Bhaktapur had small population than the population of the scattered peoples of Tamang around. Yambu there were many force Tamang state, but no word is written in the socalled history of sicalled rules. Waiba, Rumba, Bala, Ghising like Tamang state were in excistance before the origination of the kingdom of Gorkha.
Tamang people do not have witten history so thein history is living orally in the mount and mind of the old people. They recall the names of the kings. The achelogical excarvation may help to write the authentic history of Tamang. The oral history handed down by the olds to the next generation (The Taamba) have been sketched down in Tamang scripts in the (Buddistic tamayiga scripts) the original of the following dynastic and Drongrap, pharap, Kerap including the books Hamera, Jikten, Tamchhyoi, Ruochhen, kukpa kha Chhyai, Tamang chumila thanusa then Babsa etc. hand written books have been found. Most of the authenlic information we call preserved are oral than the written or documented one . The Tamang people have handen down thein history from old generaion to the next orally till today and it has been helping to preserve thein history very little.
Fendal’s state administration has no concern to excarate, to discover to awalyas se and to write the real history and to write the real history of economically sufferied Tamang people . The left over acheological assets and the oral historical assets are waiting for the time then they will be documented authentically. Though the historians, recharch scholars of different areas and lingnists, have document, written, discovered, seached, analsed and rewriting but to write the true history of Tamang it is the responsibility of the native Tamang to write the modern History of Tamang.
The words and meaning related with Tamang- history
Specially it is the collection of oral- history, heard, seen, read the reseach of papers of native and foreign research scholars arhiles of different magazines and information of books actuchit deals with the orign the history, oral Tamang state and the history of the dynastics of Tamang kings
1. Tamang
2. Zong
3. Grang/ Rong/ jamu
4. Yambu (kathmandu / Nepal)
5. Gle / Glesa (Gyalbo / Gyalsa)
6. Kani and Murmi / Mulmi

1. Tamang
Tamanage is the most important tribe race among more then 60 tribeal races of Nepal.
The tamangs speak Tamang language. Damphu, Tungha, urchunga and selo etc. These things symbolize Tamang tribe . Home made apparels like syama (Lungi like pharia), Gya, Gabarko, Gyatokaroka, home made woolen blankets pakhi syoldo surkai (Lukuni), phenka (home made cloth of nettleplant bark), nanglo, (winnowing tray, Doko ( Wicker basket ), Thunse (Bamboo – band basket), Wearing Namlo ( band made from jule thread used to place round one’s fore head when carrying loads on the back) thanka ( indigenous art), mukundo (mask- making) etc. are the original vocatious of Tamangs. The actual meaning of the word ‘TAMANG’ have been defined differently by the scholars the authenlic meaning is – ‘ The original tribe of Nepal.’



The Tamang tribe of Nepal was brought to Kathmandu Valley by King Srong-sen Gampo of Tibet in the 7th century AD as a cavalry division. Their own tradition also says that their original habitat was in Southern Tibet in a place called Uichang.
Tamang folk tales reveal that during the early days of resettling in the Kathmandu valley, a public sport to prove the physical as well as spiritual might of the Twelve Tamang leaders was held to prove themselves worthy as military officers. Moktan, the chief of them all, took the initiative and brought a heavy iron beam and twisted it. Seeing this, the Bal leader brought a long pole and drove it against a precipice and pierced the innermost part of the precipice with so much force that water oozed out in a current. Bomzan then weaved a golden basket and collected this magical water without allowing even a single drop to leak from the basket. Ghising by the dint of his magic vaporized a lake and transformed it into a massive cloud. Pakhrin then brought a bronze plate and stared at it so hard that the strength of the glare broke the plate into pieces. Yonzon in turn suddenly produced a raging hailstorm while Syangdan created fire and the Thing leader extinguished the fire by pouring rain over it. Not daunted by such magical prowess Goley revealed a skyful of stars in broad daylight and Giaba spread a thick blanket of haze over it. Then Mikchan transformed a stick into a poisonous viper and Bozu made a vulture swallow it. Although, these folk tales now sound highly fictitious, it proved that the twelve vying Tamang leaders were skilled occultists and qualified as worthy Tibetan military officers.
Now, the Twelve Tamang officers made Central Nepal their permanent settlement and settled around the Kathmandu valley and renamed villages after their names. Their villages were respectively called Moktan kipat, Bal kipat, Bomzan kipat, Ghising kipat, Pakhrin kipat, Yonzon kipat, Syangdan kipat, Thing kipat, Goley kipat, Giaba kipat, Mikchan kipat and Bozu kipat in the Chatara and Dhading districts. They ruled these villages till the Gurkha invasion in the west. Their kipat lands were annexed to the Gorkha Kingdom during the reign of King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1768 AD.

Adoption of Nationality

All offspring from a Brahmin, Kshetri and Thakuri with a Tamang woman would be included in the Tamang tribe with the family title of Gothar or Godar Tamang of the Atharah jat. In the olden days, prior to the Gorkha conquest the progeny of a Tamang woman with a Khas used to be called Gothar or Godar Tamang. However since the Gorkha conquest, they have been called Khattris*.
The Ngarba Tamang was the term used for the progeny born of a Newar with a Tamang woman. Similarly, Sangri Tamang for progenies of either Gurung, Magar, Limbu, Rai or Sunwar through a Tamang woman. Although this was a good policy for nation building, the tradition of its usage came to an end since the children retained the family titles of their father.

Tamangs as Soldiers

All the Tamangs belong to the Kirat tribe and were recruited along with the other Kirat tribes of Limbu, Rai and Sunwar, Surung and Magars in the 10th and 7th Gurkha
* Gurkhas by E. Vanasitart, page 142
85
Rifles and were identified as being a part of the the brave Gurkhas of Nepalese nationality.

Their Language

Tamang language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman or Kirat group of the Himalayan region, and has a close affinity with the Gurung or Tamu, Thakali or Tamang and Yolmo or Kagatey Tamang languages. Buddhism is their main religion The Sherpas, the Walungeys and the Shingsabas also belong to the Kirat group.

Tamang Classes

Barah Tamangs are divided into Bal, Baju, Baltong, Blan, Bomjan, Chepenkor, Chumi, Dong, Dongba, Dumjan, Glan, Gomden, Ghising, Gaiba, Goley, Gongba, Grangdan, Hopthen Jimba, Jongan, Jumi, Khani khor, Khiungba, Kitung, Kulden, Lama, Gongju, Lamakhor, Loho, Lopchan, Lungba, Marnumba, Mikchan, Moktan, Neki nesur, Pakhrin, Palchokey, Rumba, Sherba, Khor, Syangden, Singar, Syangbo, Suktel, Toishin, Thing, Thokor, Titung, Tungba, Waiba and Yonjan classes.
The Atharah Tamangs are divided into Gothar or Godar, Ngarba and Sangri classes.

Courtesy: Chemjong, Iman Singh. 2003. History and Culture of Kirat Peoples. Kirat Yakthung Chumlung