Tharu people

Distribution

As of 2011, the Tharu population of Nepal was censused at 1,737,470 people, or 6.6% of the total population. In 2009, the majority of Tharu people were estimated to live in Nepal. There are several endogamous sub-groups of Tharu that are scattered over most of the Terai:

Smaller numbers of Tharu people reside in the adjacent Indian districts Champaran of Bihar state; Gorakhpur, Basti and Gonda of Uttar Pradesh state; and Nainital, Uttarakhand state. In 2001, Tharu people were the largest of five scheduled tribes in Uttarakhand, with a population of 256,129 accounting for 33.4% of all scheduled tribes. In the same year, they constituted 77.4% of the total tribal population of Uttar Pradesh with a population of 83,544.

Culture

The Tharu people themselves say that they are a people of the forest. In Chitwan, they have lived in the forests for hundreds of years practicing a short fallow shifting cultivation. They plant rice, mustard, corn and lentils, but also collect forest products such as wild fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants and materials to build their houses; hunt deer, rabbit and wild boar, and go fishing in the rivers and oxbow lakes.

The Tharus never went abroad for employment – a life that kept them isolated in their own localities. In this isolation they developed a unique culture free from the influence of adjacent India, or from the mountain groups of Nepal. The most striking aspects of their environment are the decorated rice containers, colorfully painted verandahs and outer walls of their homes using only available materials like clay, mud, dung and grass. Much of the rich design is rooted in devotional activities and passed on from one generation to the next, occasionally introducing contemporary elements such as a bus or an airplane. The Deukheri Tharu are known for their colorful, shell and/or feather decorated basketry, including ram topne water jug covers.

Household structure

In the western Terai, most Rana Tharu prefer living in Badaghar called longhouses with big families of many generations, sometimes 40-50 people. All household members pool their labor force, contribute their income, share the expenditure and use one kitchen.

Social structure

Tharus from the mid west and far west of Nepal have been practicing the Badghar system, where a Badghar is elected chief of a village or a small group of villages for a year. The election generally takes place in the month of Magh (January / February), after celebrating the Maghi Festival and after completing major farming activities. In most cases, each household in the village which engages in farming has one voting right for electing a Badghar. Thus the election is based on a count of households count rather than a headcount. The role of the Badghar is to work for the welfare of the village. The Badghar direct the villagers to repair canals or streets when needed. They also oversee and manages the cultural traditions of the villages. They have an authority of punishing those who do not follow their orders or who go against the welfare of the village. Generally the Badghar has a Chaukidar to help him. With the consent of the villagers the Badghar may appoint a"Guruwa" who is the medic and chief priest of the village.

As Tharus society is mainly involved in farming, irrigation is one of the most important aspects of the community. Tharus in western Nepal built canals that irrigate thousands of hectares of land. Hundreds of years ago, without using any sophisticated tools, they built hundreds of kilometers of irrigation canals in the Kailali and Bardiya districts of Nepal. An irrigation canal could be used by several villages. Its water and diversion works need to be managed fairly. For this purpose, the Badghars of different villages elect a person for the position of Chaudhary to manage a canal system. When needed, the Chaudhary orders the Badghars to send people to repair or build the canals. In most cases the Badghars and Chaudharis are unpaid leaders of the community. However, they are exempt from compulsory physical labor for the betterment of the society. As a token of respect, the community members may also help them in farming for a day free of cost.

Language

There is no one Tharu language unifying Tharu communities in different parts of Nepal and India. Several speak various endemic Tharu languages. In western Nepal and adjacent parts of India, Tharus speak variants of Hindi/Urdu and Awadhi. In and near central Nepal, they speak a variant of Bhojpuri. In eastern Nepal, they speak a variant of Maithili. More standard versions of these dialects are widely spoken by non-Tharu neighbors in the same areas so that there are no important linguistic barriers between Tharus and their neighbors. However, there are linguistic barriers between these dialects standing in the way of communication between Tharus from different regions.

Tharu were already living in the Terai before Indo-Europeans arrived, raising the question of what they may have been speaking at that time. The only surviving pre-Indo-European language in the Terai is Kusunda, Santhali further west.

Tharu food

Tharu people of Nepal has different and own food items like Dhikri, Ghonghi . Dhikri is made of rice flour. The dough from the rice flour is given different shapes - many are stick-like but some are also given the shapes of birds, fish and animals. It is cooked over steam and eaten together with chutney or curry. Ghonghi is a type of edible snail sourced from nearby water sources. The ghonghi are left overnight so that all the gooey materials inside them comes out. Their tail-end is cut so that it is easier to suck out the meat out of the shell. They are then boiled and later cooked like curry adding spices like coriander, chilies, garlic, onions and so on.

Marriage system

Traditionally, marriages were often arranged during the pregnancies of two women. If they gave birth to opposite sex babies, the two babies were supposed to be married if they grew up as friends. It was problematic if a boy or girl came of age and rejected their assigned fiance(e). Finding a replacement was difficult because most girls and boys were already engaged. However this custom has been disappearing. Most Tharus now practice conventional arranged marriages. They also practice love marriages, inter caste marriage, marriage after courtship and eloping.

Religion

The spiritual beliefs and moral values of the Tharu people are closely linked to the natural environment. The pantheon of their gods comprises a large number of deities that live in the forest. They are asked for support before entering the forest.

According to the 2001 Census of Nepal, 87.63% of the Tharu people were Hindus whereas 13.95% were Buddhists.

Resistance to malaria

The Tharu were famous for their ability to survive in the most malarial parts of the Terai that were deadly to outsiders. In 1902, a British observer noted: "Plainsmen and paharis generally die if they sleep in the Terai before November 1 or after June 1." Others thought that the Tharu were not totally immune.

Contemporary medical research comparing Tharu with other ethnic groups living nearby found an incidence of malaria nearly seven times lower among Tharu. The researchers believed such a large difference pointed to genetic factors rather than behavioral or dietary differences. This was confirmed by follow-up investigation finding genes for thalassemia in nearly all Tharu studied.

History

The origin of the Tharu people is not clear but surrounded by myths and oral tradition. The Rana Tharus claim to be of Rajput origin and have migrated from the Thar Desert to Nepal's Far Western Terai region. Tharu people farther east claim to be descendants of the Śākya and Koliya peoples living in Kapilvastu.

Modern history (1846-1999)

In 1854, Jung Bahadur Rana, the then Prime Minister of Nepal, enforced the Muluki Ain (General Code of Nepal|General Code), Nepal's first legal system. It comprised applications of traditional Hindu Law and clauses to accommodate ethnic practises. In the Muluki Ain both Hindus and Non-Hindus were classified as castes based on their habits of food and drink. Tharu people were considered "enslavable alcohol drinkers" together with several other ethnic minorities.

In the 1950s, the World Health Organisation supported the Nepalese government in eradicating malaria in the forests of Terai. People from hills migrated to the Terai and claimed the fertile land. Tharus lost their traditional land and became slaves of the new landowners. This resulted in the development of the Kamaiya system of bonding generations of Tharu families to labour.

When the first protected areas were established in Chitwan, Tharu communities were forced to relocate from their traditional lands. They were denied any right to own land and thus forced into a situation of landlessness and poverty. When the Chitwan National Park was designated, Nepalese soldiers destroyed the villages located inside the boundary of the park, burned down houses, and beat the people who tried to plough their fields. Some threatened Tharu people at gun point to leave.

Recent history (2000-present)

The Government of Nepal outlawed the practice of bonded labour prevalent under the Kamaiya system on July 17, 2000, which prohibits anyone from employing any person as a bonded labourer, and declared that the act of making one work as a bonded labourer is illegal. Though democracy has been reinstated in the country, the Tharu community has called for a more inclusive democracy as they are fearful of remaining an underprivileged group.