History of Gurungs (TAMUS)
The Gurungs(Tamus)
are one of the ancient people of Nepal. So their history is also very
old. Unlike other ancient civilizations of the world like Mesopotamia,
enough research is yet to be done about the primeval people of Nepal.
The documented history of Nepal, which is taught in our schools and
colleges, doesn’t go much beyond the era of unification by Pirthvi
Narayan Shah. Very little is mentioned in the books of history about
the Lichavis and Kirats (33 generations) who ruled Kathmandu valley
before the Malla and Shah dynasties. So the modern history of Nepal
covers the events of only about 3-4 centuries in the past till now.
The civilization flourished in Nepal for thousands of years. The
evidences of this past society can be found in Nepal in many forms, if
we look closely the traditions, customs, and culture of the
descendants of those ancient people who still live in Nepal. Time has
traveled a long journey since the beginning of civilization in Nepal.
So there is a missing link between the descendants of the ancient
people and their history. Gurungs are one of them. To reveal their
roots, few Gurung scholars and others have dared to go back to the
past. Amazingly, the scholars have been successful to come up with
some convincing facts about the history of Gurungs based upon their
traditions, practices and legends. The most compelling evidence of
these findings is the translation of pae, a ritual and religious
practice that has been passed down from one Gurung generation to other
for thousands of years. This ritual is very sacred and has not changed
much for centuries. Based upon the findings of the scholars, we have
summarized a history of Gurungs that you might find very interesting
and informative.
In 1958, Bernard Pignede, a French student of anthropology came to
Nepal to study about Gurungs. He spent seven months in a Gurung
village Mohoriya (Kaski, Gandaki) and traveled through many
neighboring Gurung villages to do his research. In this short period,
he documented very valuable information about Gurungs and learned
Tamu-kuwei (Gurung language). Unfortunately, he died tragically at the
age of 29 in 1961. After his death, Professor Louis Dumont had
published Pegnede’s work in France in 1966. The book was immediately
recognized as a major contribution to the anthropology of the
Himalayas. Later, Sarah Harrison and Alan Macfarlane translated it in
English and published the first English version in 1993. Sarah and
Alan did further study of Gurungs based upon Pignede’s work and added
more facts to the wonderful work of Bernard Pingnede. The English
version of book is called "The Gurungs", which is probably the most
illustrated work about Gurungs so far. Our heartfelt salute to Bernard
Pignede, Professor Louis Dumont, Sarah Harrison, Alan Macfarlance,
Chandra Bahadur Ghotane (assistant to Pignede in 1958), and all other
countless individuals who have provided the Gurungs with this
incredible gift of knowledge about our past through this book, "The
Gurungs".
An excerpt taken from Bernard Pignede’s book "The Gurungs" consists of
a brief history of the Gurungs as compiled by Bhovar Palje Tamu and
Yarjung Kromchhe Tamu based upon the TAMU PYE..
"The Tamu (Gurung) Pye refers to the very beginnings of civilization,
more than eight or nine thousand years ago. They tell the origin of
human beings and of the materials that they used. Tamu Priests still
use some of these primitive utensils in their rituals. The Pye do not
seem to have changed substantially over time. They refer to the
ancestors of the Tamu, their Aji-khe (Khe-ku, nine male ancestors),
Aji-ma (Ma-i, seven female ancestors), and Aba Kara Klye, spiritual
master, lords, ghosts etc.
Tamu Pye tells how the first people lived in Cho (Tso) Nasa, a
lakeside village, where they planted the first grain, barley. Then
they dispersed to other places such as Sa Nasa, Dwo Nasa, Si Nasa and
Kro Nasa, the latter being in the south, hot and fertile. Later the
northern Cho Nasa was rich in religious activity, speaking Tamu-Kwyi.
Other Tamu villages developed according to their proximity to the
northern and southern ends. There are also stories about the discovery
of fire, how the drum was first made, and many other things in the Pye.
The ancestors of the Tamu, Ma-i and Khe-ku, seem to have been
represented as seven lakes (the former) and nine mountain peaks (the
latter). Though there is no real evidence, there is a traditional
assumption that Cho Nasa, as described in the Pye-ta Lhu-ta, lay in
western Mongolia, and was ringed by seven lakes and surrounded by
three mountain ranges. To the south, in Sinkian in Western China,
north of Tibet, in the Turfan Depression, lay Kro Nasa. Large lakes
are called nuur in Mongolia, nor in Western China, and tso(cho) in
Tibet.
In Tamu tradition, as they migrated from one site to another, they
would call the new site by the old name if it was similar in aspect.
Tamu Pye tells that the soul of a dead person is believed to go first
to Koko-limar-tso, which is under water. In the Qinghai region of
China lies a huge lake with an island in the middle called Koko Nor (
or Ching Hai). It is similar to Hara Usa Nuur (one of the seven lakes)
of western Mongolia, and some near-by places have names which end in
"chow", conceivably derive from the Cho Nasa of almost six or seven
thousand years ago, described in Tamu Pye. Similarly Sa Nasa, Two Nasa,
Si Nasa and kro Nasa could be placed in the Qinghai, Kansu, Sichuan
and Yunnan regions of China respectively, running southward.
Among the minority groups in China are the Tu peoples who live in the
area around Lanchow and the Naxi (Nansi) people who live in the
Sichuan and Yunnan regions. Tu and Naxi are also the names of two of
the nine Tamu clans.
The Tibetans (Bod people) apparently migrated from the border regions
of Qinghai, Kunsu, Sichuan and Yunnan. Later came a wave of Han
(Chinese) immigrants. Chamdo (Chhyam Toh: nice village) in eastern
Tibet seems to have been gateway to Tibet for all these peoples. A
neolithic settlement at Karo not far from Chamdo has been dated as
being more than 4,600 years old. The Han settlers called it Kham
suggesting that they grew millet there. They may have been the
ancestors of the Khampa (Bhotiya) or Khambu (Rai) of Nepal. Later a
third wave of immigrants, possibly the Mhina Kugi (people of the nine
clans) replaced the Han settlers. By this time it had become a
cattle-grazing area though it may also have been an important trading
post.
From Chamdo, the Mhina Kugi moved westward to the Yarlung valley of
the Lhoka region. Here they were known as Tamu (Tubo) by 1,000 B.C.
and during the course of time developed Bonism, the pre-Buddhist
religion, with it’s priest, the Nam-bo or Pa-chyu. Some of the Bon
priests would have traveled to Cho Nasa. Another group of Tamu settled
to the west of Lhoka.
There is a mountain called Tsan-Tang Goshi near Tsedang (Chetang?).
The historical encounter there with Nya (Tri) Tsan (Po) around 2,500
years ago and the story of Nha-Chan (nha: ear: chan: pulled,
elongated: long ears) in Tamu Pye are undoubtedly the same. Nha-Chan,
the strong, was alone when he met the herdsmen and joined up with
them. He helped with the hard, dangerous tasks of the tribe. Later he
became known as Rhima-rchhe (great). By trickery he was married to a
royal servant girl ( a poor Kugi), Cha Pa-mrishyo, instead of to the
daughter of a Klye (king). His descendants became the Kwonma (mixed)
clan.
Some Tamus settled in the northern Bagmati region, having gone through
the Kerung or Ku-ti Pass, and became Tamangs. A sixth generation
descendant of Nha-Chan from Lhoka joined with another group of Tamu,
perhaps around Shigatse. Nyatri Tran-po, a thirteenth generation
descendant of Nha-Chan became king of Lhoka around 300 B.C. Tamus may
have settled in the Mustang area before the Kyar-Bo (Kyabri) developed
in Lhoka around 100 B.C. Under the thirty-third Tsan-Po king of the
Tubo dynasty, the powerful Song-Tsan Gam-po (629-650 A.D.), Tibet was
unified and the capital moved from Lhoka to Lhasa. The power shifted
to other border tribes during this period. Buddhism (not Lamaism) was
adopted alongside Bonism. Later, in the eight century, Padma Sambhav
(an Indian vajrayanist) founded Lamaism (Nyingmapa or red sect). He
mixed Bon beliefs (the five lords), Hindu concepts (Garud Puran) and
Vajrayan (Tantra mantra) to Mahayan, and populised it as Tibetan
Buddhism. The Tibetans used to worship him (Om Mani Padma Hu) more
than the Buddha. Tough the Bon priests were repressed by the Lamaists
and the State, Bonism remained strong until the thirteenth century.
However, the Bon priest of the Tamu or Tamangs do not mention Song-Tsan
Gam-po as they had left Tibet many centuries before he came to power.
Bonism, the pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet, was a very advanced form
of animism. It is still preserved, almost solely, by the Tamu priests
in the form of the Pye-Ta Lhu-Ta. It relates the practical experiences
of the ancestors in matters concerning the soul, the spirits, masters
and lords, as lesions for the living, through which the priests can
overcome the power of witches and ghosts. Bonism divides the universe
into three worlds: heaven the earth and under world. It is believed
that when a person dies, his soul leaves the body and lives on in an
invisible dream world. The priests’ role in the Pye is to carry the
soul across Tibet towards Qinghai and then make it fly to heaven (the
world of the ancestors), following the route given in the Sya-rka Kwe
in the Pae.
According to the Tibetan mythology, Bonism is categorized as:
Nam-bo (Dol or Black Bon) whose priest is the Pa-Chyu which is the
oldest.
Kyar-bo (Striped Bon) whose priest is the Kyabri which possibly dates
from around 100 B.C.
Lam-bo (White or Gyur Bon) whose priest is the Lambo(lAMA) which dates
from 839 A.D.
The Nam-bo Pa-Chyu is the oldest and first priest of the Tamu(GURUNG).
There is no known date of origin. It may have branched into other
forms during its development, adding stories of later ancestors as
time went by.
Some Nam-bos seceded and started Kyar-bo (Kya-bri) after the murder of
Drigum Tsan-Po (a seventh generation descendant of Nyatri) at Lhoka
around 100 B.C. His descendants secretly invited some Bon priests and
wise men from west Ngari, Drusa and Shangshung with the aim of
revenging Drigum’s murder (Lo-ngam Dazi). Later, a Bon scholar,
Shamthab Ngonpo, introduced the doctrines of six different
non-Buddhist schools of philosophy, and combined them with the native
Bon religion to form the complete Bon doctine of the Tubos, known at
Kyarbo. Around that period the first lunar calendar was started.
According to that ancient calendar, Lho-sar or Losar (New Year’s Day)
is celebrated on 15th Paush (early January) as it is among the Tamus
of Nepal to this day, and it is still celebrated on that day in some
areas of Shigatse. Tamus used to call the kyabri, Pai-bo (Pai meaning
Bhot or Tibet).
Pa-Chyu and Kyabri are similar in many ways. They both use the same
GURUNG language. They are both connected to the world of the ancestors
through Cho Nasa. But the third Bon priest, the Lambo(LAMA), reads his
books in the Tibetan language which is not understood by the Tamus.
Lamaism flourished in 838 A.D. His elder brother, Lang Darma, took the
throne, reintroduced Bonism and persecuted Lamaism. Shegur Luga, and
others of his persuasion, continued the translation and reform of the
Buddhist scriptures and enriched the Bon doctrine. Lam-bo (Gyur Bon)
veered towards Lamaism. It is also called translated Bon and lies
somewhere between Bonism and Lamaism. For instance, Gyur Bon needs
animal sacrifice as do the other Bon priests. It is different from the
four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingmapa, Sakyapa, Kagyupa and
Kadampa.
Nowadays, there is a peculiar type of Lama in Tamu society, a fourth
priest, some of whom have changed from third. Kyabri and Lambo need
Pa-chyu with them for the main rituals. The new Lamas do not need
them. They talk about being blessed by Buddha but they find difficulty
in understanding the Buddhist tests, and Tibetan Lamas are critical of
these Tamu Lamas. However, they have been able to influence a poorly
educated society and have caused trouble to both Bonists and Buddhists
as a result.
According to the Tamu legends, Tamus must have settled in Mustang
around the first century A.D., just after the Tamangs settled in
Bagmati zone. These two groups have been separate for no more than
three thousand years. There are two Kohibos (kohmbas or [gumbas]) in
Mustang, one in Fa-li-pro Myar-so for Pa-chyu, the other in Li-pro
Myar-so for Kyabri.
The Tamu used to hunt long distances following wild animals. They
would move their settlements if they found a better place to live.
While they inhabited the banks of Mha-ri-sy (Marsyangdi river) in
Manang, they adopted a new Klye (master) as their chief or king. His
descendants are called Klye (Ghale), an additional clan of the Tamu
tribe.
Some Tamus crossed the Annapurna range in the course of hunting around
500 A.D. They liked the high land and sowed some grain there. When
they returned on a second visit, they had a good harvest. On the third
visit peoples from three clans came and settled there in their three
groups, calling it Kohla Swomae Toh. It was the first historical
village of the Tamus on the southern slopes of the Himalayas and it
became the last united village too. Other Tamus migrated later from
Manang and Mustang. Those remaining in Mustang became the Thakali when
other Tibetan groups, and probably some Tamangs, arrived.
At Kohla, there was a revival of Pye-Ta Lhu-Ta (Bonism). Some further
chapters were added there after the long silence of the centuries of
migration. Tamu Kwyi (Tibeto-Burman language) speaking Tamu peoples
with their pure Mongoloid features, tried to refine their Bonic Pye,
Pae, Failu, Teh, Parka, Lho-sar, Dhu-kor, Rwo-di, etc. their customs
and culture which is totally different from that of Hindu Aryans.
At Kohla, the Kyle, Kugi, Kwonma and clan chieftains were king,
ministers, administrators and Kroh (Mukhiya) respectively. Though they
had different ancestors, Klye and Kwonma did not intermarry. However,
both did intermarry with the Kugi. After some centuries of peace,
politics began to affect development. An interesting turn of affairs
happened as a result of a Pae for Chimi-Udu. The Pae was conducted
first by Syo-labe Pa-chyu, but the Asyo-Kwei was not given. The soul
could not proceed on it’s journey and sent a message to repeat the Pae
with a piece of Asyo-Kwei. The Pa-chyu performed the Pae again with
some Kyabris in the manner requested. As a result, the Kyabris became
the royal priests and were given the name Klye-pri (Khe-pri). Thus,
these priests gained greater prestige in the society. Pa-chyu were by
ancestry from the Lhege and Kromchhe clans, Klebri from the Tu and
Mhabchhe. Other clans were not taught to be priests originally.
The increase in population caused great problems at Kohla. Groups of
people moved on, to the south-east, south and south-west, to start new
settlements. It would appear that there were no other tribes in the
Gandaki zone except for some neolithic Kusundas (now extinct). Beef
was eaten by the Tamu before their contact with the Hindu castes.
A legend tells how some of the Kwonma clan went from Siklis to Nar in
Manang to learn Lamaism from recently-arrived Tibetan Lamas. On their
return those who had learned well were called Lam, those who had not,
Lem. Then the Kwonma divided into three sub-clans, Kwon, Lam and Lem,
according to the closeness of their kinship connections with each
sub-clan. The Lam and Lem (followers of the Lama priest) formed
marital links with the Kwon (followers of the Pa-Chyu, Kyabri). In
fact, these sub-clans (Swogi) are the descendants of the same
ancestor. Despite this they formed strong groups. Later, during the
period of Samri Klye of siklis, Lam and Lem began to marry with the
daughters of the Kyle. However, the Kwon did not change their custom
and did not marry with the Kyle, although they had different
ancestors. Lamas introduced the world Guru, indicating high prestige,
and it became the familiar term when distinguishing the tribe from
other tribes or casts, eclipsing the word Tamu."
Besides this document, Bernard Pingde also collected other texts from
various sources which tell the origin of Gurungs. But not any of them
is that thorough or convincing than the previous one. We still want to
present them here for your reading:
a). One of the texts which was in Nepali came from the east of Nepal
where the Rais and Limbus live. It goes as follows: "The Kirati are
the oldest inhabitants of Nepal. Soyenbumanu who lived in the land of
Hemonta had several children, The second Thoinua, went off towards
Japan. The third went towards Thailand, Burma and Cochin-China. The
eldest went towards China, then Tibet, and arrived at the nothern
frontier of India. His name was Munainua. He had ten children:
Yoktumba, founder of the Limbus, Yakakowa, founder of the race of Rais,
Lunpheba, founder of the Larus, Thanpheba, Suhacepa, founder of the
Sunwars (Chepangs, Thamis), Gurupa, founder of the Gurungs, Mankapa,
founder of the Magars, Toklokapa, founder of the Thakalis, Tamangs and
Sherpas, Thandwas, founder of the Tharus and of the Danwars. For
thirty-three generations, the Kirati governed in Kathmandu".
b). C.B Ghotane, a Gurung scholar has the following interpretation of
Gurung history:
"The origins of the Gurungs, Magars, Tamangs, Tharus, Sunwar and
Danawar of central Nepal seem to be connected with the ancestors of
the Kirats, an ancient Indian tribal group, who occupied the northern
area of the Indo-Gangetic plain and the foothills of the whole
Himalayan range which extends from the Kashmir valley to Assam,
Nagaland and Manipur.
The earliest civilization of Kathmandu valley was founded by Kirats.
They lived in the foothills and the large inner valleys of Nepal. They
appear to have fled to the green mountain tops for safety after the
overthrow of the Kirat ruler in the first century A.D. They were
pushed further north with the invasion of Indo-Aryans, who infiltrated
Nepal in great numbers during the period of Muslim attacks on India
from the fifteen century.
There are also few other "vansavalis" that Bernard Pingde collected
which were prepared by Brahamin priests. Their contents are very
conflicting and show no resemblance with the facts. The accountability
of such "vansavalis" is questionable since they were prepared only
couple of decades ago and is totally influenced by the Hinduism and
it’s castism. Pingde did his research at a time (50's) when most of
the Gurungs were still living in their original places and when their
rich culture and traditions were still well preserved. So his work is
convincing. Today, most of the Gurungs have migrated to the cities of
Nepal and unfortunately, they are forgetting their language and other
forms of identities. Bernard Pingde's work could be used as the
foundation for further research in the future about the Gurungs, one
of the ancient people of Nepal.
