Rai people
The Rai (Kirati: Khambu, Rāi; Devanagari: राई) is an ethnolinguistic group belonging to the Kirat family and primarily Tibeto-Burman linguistic ethnicity.[7] They mainly reside in the eastern parts of Nepal, the Indian states of Sikkim, West Bengal (predominantly Darjeeling and Kalimpong Hills) and in southwestern Bhutan.This title is said to have been conferred on the Khambu chiefs by Prithvinarayan Shah after the Gorkha conquest of Khambuan," but even prior to that the Sena potenates of Eastern Nepal had referred to them similarly.[12] Kiranti Rai are hill tribes who once possessed considerable power and territory but were reduced to submission by Prithvi Narayan Shah after his conquest of Nepal.Rai tradition relates that the first of the ancestral Kirati entered Nepal's eastern hills through the Barahachhetra gorge of the Kosi Valley the natural gateway into the region through the Mahabharat Range, which separates the hilly hinterland from the plains.Under the able leadership of their chieftain "Yalung" or Yalambar the Kiratis defeated Bhuwan Singh; the last king in the Ahir Dynasty and brought the Kathmandu valley under their sway.when Prithvi Narayan Shah invaded the Dhulikhel border area of (Wallo Kirat) in 1768 AD, that time the Kirat King of Dhulikhel Chaukhat Mahindra Sing Rai and his brother Namsing Rai strongly resisted and fought valiantly with Prithivinarayan shah's huge army for a very long time.It is mentioned in the book "Mechi to Mahakali" Part-1 eight thums forts of (Wallo Kirat) Okhaldhunga, namely Bungnam, Taluwa, Chyanam, Solu, Tilpung, Chisankhu, Chuplu and Chauras.[44] On 29 August 1772, Ram Krishna Kanwar crossed Dudhkoshi river enter Chaudandi to invade of Kirant and Saptari region with fellow commander Abhiman Singh Basnyat.they inflicted heavy losses on the Gorkhalis, so that Prithivinarayan Shah had to send reinforcement sounder the commend of Subedar Shiva Narayan Khatri.within a period of 5 months the Gorkhalis occupied Rawa, Halesi, Majuwa, Kulum and Dingla thus conquering the hole of Majh Kirat.Marriage in Rai group is not merely a biological and psychological relation between the couple, but essentially considered a social phenomenon that must be approved by the society.The pollution and purification rituals are completed on the same day in such cases If a pregnant woman dies, her lower abdomen is bisected with a bamboo knife and the child is removed from her body.Although man is usually the head of the family, woman's role is equally important in planning and decision making on domestic matters.Male dress comprises headgear (feta; pagari; sayabung); Betebung shirt (dawm; lockchham); pant (suruwal; langsup); sleeveless coat made of stinging nettle plant fiber (chhakchha; fenga); waistband (narimokty); (patuki, chakchhinma), a large knife (khukuri, dabhay).During the course of their recent history the Rai has increasingly borrowed elements from the major religions they have had contact with from Lamaist Buddhism or Nepalese Hinduism without however renouncing their own tribal traditions.The Rai in East Nepal consist of numerous subtribes, and even though they speak different languages and have their own distinct traditions, they all share a common linguistic and cultural heritage.Gaenszle (2002: 40–42), who has done pioneering work in the field of Kirati ritual, has extensively studied about it and collected different terms, which are as follows: Rai have distinct cultural tradition.The major philosophy of Sakela is nature worship; importance is placed on paying tribute to ancestors to whom current generations owe their existence.The choreography of silli depicts important daily activities, and explains the traditional origins of agricultural practices such as digging, tilling, weeding and farming cotton.This new year day is also celebrated as Maghe Sankranti in Nepal when people eat sweet potato and various kinds of yams and sel roti.[69] Tody in the field of Nepali music, vocal lyrics dance and other arts the Kirati- Rai occupied a large space.Some of the musical instruments found in Rai community are: Dhol, Jhyamta Binayo, Murchunga, Murali/Bansuri, Mandala (madal), Jhyali, Majira, Bimbilia, Sumbak), Khakuma, Pung, Sillimi, Yalamberbaja etc.Binayo is made by digging in the middle of a small bamboo-about six-inch stream, removing the tongue, tying the thread on both sides and carving a beautiful pattern.Binayo made in this way is played by shaking the long rope of the bar in front of the tongue When playing in this way, Binayo is placed on both the lips of the mouth to make various vakas and the vibration caused by the push of air from inside is affected by the tongue.This instrument is carried by a Kirat Rai woman hanging on the tuna of her cholo.In almost all households women Raise buffalo, pigs and chickens, and they run tiny provision stores for supplementary income, especially used to sell homemade beer and alcohol (Lee, 2005:16).In the past Rai people were into hunting and they liked to use bow and arrows, and they used to weave their own clothes made from Bhangra (allo) to wear.Along with their relatives they have had the opportunity to work and live abroad in countries like United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Brunei and India.The planting and harvesting seasons from spring to autumn gives them plenty of work to do and in winter time villagers make trips towards the important towns to buy necessary goods such as salt, oil and materials for clothing.Traditional Bullocks are used for ploughing the land, the grass and dry undergrowth are burned away, supplying the soil with ash residue (ibid: 38).
bow and arrowBhutanBagmatiMadheshGandakiLumbuniSudurpashchimKarnaliWest BengalSikkimArunachal PradeshUttarakhandMeghalayaNagalandHimachal PradeshMizoramRai languagesNepaliDzongkhaKiratismAnimismHinduismChristianitySunuwarYakkhaDhimalSino-Tibetan peopleKiratiDevanagariethnolinguistic groupTibeto-BurmanIndian statesDarjeelingKalimpongSakelaUbhauliKathmanduShamansNakchhongDudh KoshiTamur RiverKiratdeshH.H. RisleyPrithvi Narayan ShahGorkha KingdomProvince No. 1KhotangBhojpurSolukhambuDhankutaSankhuwasabhaOkhaldhungaRatnawatiSindhuli DistrictChamlingSampangNachhiringTilungBantawaDungmaliKulungMewahangKhalingThulungSotangBahingYamphuLohorungAthpareBelhareChilingChulungMugaliWambuleJerungUdaypurSindhuliMakawanpurRai gaunPanchtharTerhatumTaplejungMorangSunsariKathmandu Valley2011 Nepal censusKoshi ProvinceBagmati ProvinceGandaki ProvinceMadhesh ProvinceLumbini ProvinceKarnali ProvinceSudurpashchim ProvinceSolukhumbuUdayapurNuwakotLalitpurKurseongDooarsnortheastern statesHong KongBarahachhetraMahabharat RangeKhuwalungSun KoshiTama KoshiBhote KoshiTuwachungHalesiKiranti languagesSalpa PokhariHistory of NepalYalambarLichhaviChyasalKiratisLichhavisPatan DurbarPatuk DonGokarnaThankotBirupakshyaAkash BhairavBanepaDulikhelSindupalchok