Tharu people

Infobox Ethnic group
group = Tharu


image_caption = A Tharu man in Nepal
region1 = flag|Nepal
pop1= 1.2 millions [cite web |url= http://www.macalester.edu/~guneratne/Teaching/TharuResources.html|title=The Tharu Page |accessdate=2008-03-16 |author= |date= |work= |publisher= ]
region2 = flag|India
region3 = spaces|11"Uttarakhand"
pop3 = 85,665 [cite web |url= http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_uttaranchal.pdf|title=Uttaranchal, DATA HIGHLIGHTS: THE SCHEDULED TRIBES, Census of India 2001 |accessdate=2008-03-16 |author= |date= |work= |publisher= ]
region4 = spaces|11"Uttar Pradesh"
pop4=83,544 [cite web |url= http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Tables_Published/SCST/dh_st_up.pdf|title=Uttar Pradesh, DATA HIGHLIGHTS: THE SCHEDULED TRIBES, Census of India 2001 |accessdate=2008-03-16 |author= |date= |work= |publisher= ]

languages = Tharu
religions = Hinduism, traditional beliefs
related = Boksa (tribe)· Bhotiya· Pokhariya· Van Rawats

The Tharu people are indigenous people living in the Surkhet Valley in the west mountain region, Chitwan Valley, Dang Valley,Deukhuri Valley,Sindhuli and Udyapur in Inner Terai Valleys of Nepal and the Terai plains on the border of Nepal and India. The population of Nepal is 28,287,147 (July 2006 est.), of which the Tharu people make up 6.6%. [cite web
url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/np.html#People
title=CIA fact page - Nepal
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ] A smaller number of Tharus live in India, mostly in Champaran District of Bihar and in Nainital District of Uttarakhand. [cite web
url=http://www.macalester.edu/~guneratne/Teaching/TharuResources.html
title=The Tharu Page
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-07 ]

The Tharu are recognised as an official nationality by the Government of Nepal Plains. [cite web
url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=the
title=Tharu, Chitwania - a language of Nepal
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ] Majority of Tharus in West plains of Nepal were the primary victims of the Kamaiya system outlawed by the government of Nepal on July 17 of 2000. It is now illegal to contract for labor through debt bondage or indenture. [cite web
url=http://www.ockenden.org.uk/index.asp?id=1832
title=Freed Kamaiyas
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ] Though democracy has been reinstated in the country, the Tharu community has called for a more inclusive democracy as they are fearful of remaining a backward, underprivileged people. [cite web
year=2006
month=November 10
url=http://www.gorkhapatra.org.np/content.php?nid=6001
title=Tharu community calls for inclusive democracy
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-07 ]

Description

The Tharu is largest and oldest ethnic group of the Terai region(southern plains along the length of Nepalese foothills), living in villages near dense malaria-infested jungles in regions that were isolated over the millennia, allowing them to develop a unique culture.cite web
url=http://www.asianart.com/tharu/
title=The Tharu of the Tarai
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-07 ] They work usually as farmers or peddlers. Although physically the Tharu are similar to other peoples in the area, they speak their own Tharu language believed to be originated in Sanskrit and is now recognised officially. [cite web
url=http://www.visitnepal.com/nepal_information/people.php
title=Nepal's People and Ethnic Groups
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ]

Recent medical evidence supports the common belief that the Tharu people, having lived in the swampy Terai region for centuries, have developed an innate resistance to malaria that is likely based on an unidentified genetic factor. [cite web
url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=3041928&dopt=Abstract
title=Decreased malaria morbidity in the Tharu people compared to sympatric populations in Nepal
publisher=www.pubmed.gov
accessdate=2006-12-07 ]

History

According to Nepali author Subodh Kumar Singh, a series of invasions by the other races,from north India across the border and from hills and mountains of Nepal, eroded the influence of the indigenious Tharus. In 1854 Jung Bahadur, the first Rana prime minister of Nepal, developed the Mulki Ain, a codification of Nepal's indigenous legal system which divided society into a system of castes. The Tharus were placed at next to the bottom(lowest touchable,above untouchables) of the social hierarchy. Their land was taken away, disrupting their community and displacing the people. In the 1950s, World Health Organisation helped the Nepalese government eradicate malaria in the Terai region. This resulted in immigration of people from other areas to claim the fertile land, making many Tharus virtual slaves of the new landowners and developing the kamaiya system of bonding generations of Tharus families to labour. [cite web
url=http://in.news.yahoo.com/060819/43/66sh0.html
title=Buddha's sons reduced to outcasts in Nepal
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-07 ]

Lifestyle

Some Tharu live in longhouses, which may hold up to 150 people. The longhouses are built of mud with lattice walls [cite web
url=http://www.asianart.com/tharu/f02.html
title=Photo of building a wall
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ] They grow barley, wheat, maize, and rice, as well as raise animals such as chickens, ducks, pigs, and goats. In the big rivers, they use large nets to fish.cite web
url=http://www.k2news.com/lesson12.htm
title=Gurkas, Brahmans, Cchetris, Tharu
publisher=
accessdate=2006-12-06 ]

Because the Tharu lived in isolation in malarial swamps until the recent use of DDT, they developed a style of decorating the walls, rice containers and other objects in their environment. The Tharu women transform outer walls and verandahs of their homes into colorful paintings said to be dedicated to Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of prosperity and fertility.

Religion

The Tharu are adherents of Hinduism, but also held Islamic, Animist and Buddhist beliefs. Small numbers have converted to Buddhism in the recent years. Such syncretic practices have led Tharu to practice folk Hinduism. With the advent of religious freedom, others have converted to Christianity and there are a variety of congregations active in the various districts where Tharus are found.

Traditional Tharu worship various gods in the form of animals such as dogs, crow, ox and cows. Such gods are seen in Hinduism. Every village has their own deity, commonly known as Bhuinyar. Tharu in East Nepal call their deity Gor-raja.

Most Tharu households own a statue of a traditional god. Family members often offer animal's blood sacrifices to appease the god. Animals such as pigeons and chickens are used for sacrificial purposes. Milk and silk cloth are also used. Many Tharu would also use the blood of one of the male members in the family for such rituals. Such rituals are conducted through ceremonies, and superficial cuts are made forehead, arms, throat, legs, and/or chest.

The gods are believed to have the ability to heal diseases and sickness. According to traditional legend, gods are given a "bhakal", a promise of something, on condition that the sickness is cured, in any events of misfortunes, plagues and horror dreams. A relative's death is an event of great significance among Tharu, and rituals conducted varies in accordance to regions.

Tharu would approach shamans as doctors, known as Guruba. Such shamans use Buddhist medicines to cure illness. Shamans will also try to appease gods through incantations, beating drums and offering sacrifices. The Tharu believe sickness comes when the gods are displeased, and the demons are at work.

Buddhist converts among the Tharu are found in Saptari, Siraha and Udaypur. Currently it is believed that there are more than one dozen of Buddhist monks and novices among the Tharus. Such practice was possibly based on the fact that they were inspired by the discovery of Lord Buddha as a member of the Tharu tribe.

97.63% of the ethnic Tharu were Hindu according to the 2001 Census of Nepal, where as 1.95% were Buddhists.

Notes

References

*Bista, Dor Bahadur. (2004). People of Nepal. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar.
*Krauskopf, Giselle. (1989). Maîtres et possédés; Les rites et l'ordre social chez les Tharu (Népal). Paris: Editions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique. (French)
*Ashokakirti, Bhikshu. (1999). "Searching the Origin of Selfless Self" 'Journal of Nepalese Studies', Royal Nepal Academy, Kathmandu, Nepal.

External links

* [http://www.nepaldemocracy.org/ethnicity/nationalities_of_nepal.htm Rastriya Janajati Bikas Samiti]
* [http://www.welcomenepal.com/emuseum.asp Nepal Ethnographic Museum]
* [http://internet.roadrunner.com/~rotto/tharu.html Tharu People]
* [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/nptoc.html Country Studies - Nepal]
* [http://www.hariyaliclub.org Tharu Cultural Museum and Research Center, Sauraha, Chitwan]
* [http://www.tharus.org Tharus and Friends Association]
* [http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/414/index.html Documentary about slavery among the Tharu] from PBS "Now" program, April 2008