►►Background
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| Nampa Peak |
epal Police has included PGDPS course within its
Police Inspector Basic Training since 2004 with a view to expand on the
analytical and theoretical knowledge of the trainees. Currently, NPA has been
running the 165th Batch of Police Inspector Basic Training (PGDPS 8th
Batch, TU affiliated). As a part of PGDPS course, a nation-wide visit was
conducted, dividing the 130 trainees into four groups. The main objective of
the visit was to provide the trainees with the practical knowledge,
experience and insight into the social, cultural, geographical and other major
aspects of Nepal which is crucial to develop the professional expertise and
produce qualified and well trained Police officer for Nepal Police.
This field-report is based on the trainees visit
to Far-western Development Region of Nepal; the main destination being the most
remote part of Nepal—Tinker, Darchula. Therefore, even though the trainees have
been to other parts of FWDR, this report has focused primarily on the
socio-cultural aspects of Darchula district. Sauka community is at the
focus of attention as very few people know about them.
►Keywords:
Byansi, Darchula, Sauka, Rang, Tinker.
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►►Introduction
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| A Rock on a Balance |
Darchula is one of the most remote districts of
Nepal, located in the far north-western part of Nepal, between two districts:
Baitadi and Jumla, and borders connected with China and India. Darchula falls
within Mahakali zone in FWDR.
Etymologically, Darchula is derived from the
compounding of two words, viz. Dhar+Chula, which literally mean Edge and
Fire place in Nepali language. Legend has it that in ancient times Hermit “Byas”
cooked rice between the three mountain ranges surrounding Darchula to cook his
meals, thus one of the peaks is even named Byas Rishi Himal. Other connotation
connects with the Tibetan word “La” which mean hill bye pass from where
people used to go to Tibet.
Darchula (Khalanga) has an Indian counterpart town
to its northwest, named Dharchula. With an area of 2322 sq. km. and a
population (2011) of 133274, the split between the two towns is just virtual as
the traditions, culture and lifestyle of the people living across the both
regions are quite similar.
►The People:
Traditionally, Darchula was the centre of
trans-Himalayan trade. It still is the summer home of the Rang people. The
practice of winter migration has been a traditional phenomenon for all local
communities of this region. The Rangs used to practice sheep-rearing and
trading—they were a part and parcel of the brisk trade that took place between
India and Tibet before Indo-Chinese war of 1962.
Following the 1962 Indo-China conflict, life in
this region has undergone complete change. They began to give up the
traditional way of living for a modern and relatively easier and physically
less demanding lifestyle.However, the people of Darchula are warm and friendly,
adept in the practice of the Rang social code called nocksum, i.e treating most strangers as guests and guests
as family.
►Culture:
Culture is the values, beliefs, behaviors, and
material objects that together form a people’s way of life. Many research have
been done on the various indigenous communities of Nepal—the Newars, the
Magars, the Gurungs—to name a few. This allows us to know about their
socio-cultural aspect. But very few people know about the indigenous groups
living in far remote part of Darchula. Different people have different
impressions of them, and some think that they are Buddhists. While some
celebrate only Tihar, those at Tinker are the only Sauka community
celebrating both the Dashain and Tihar, often identifying themselves as
Mongol-Hindu.
The direct interaction with the Saukas
(Byansis) helped us to get a clear understanding of this less-known group
of people-known as the “Nomads of Himalayas”.
The ‘Sauka’, or in the
literature also called ‘Bhotiyas’, consist of several communities that
live in the Himalayan mountains in the upper Mahakali valley in the border
region of Nepal, Tibet and India. In former times they were involved in
trans-Himalayan trade between the Gangetic Plains and the Tibetan Plateau until
the Sino-Indian border was sealed in 1962 due to war. With mainly sheep and
goats, the ‘Sauka’ traditionally transported sugar, grain and woolen products
from India to Tibet and exchanged these commodities for salt, raw wool, animals
and borax, for which there was demand in the lower areas of India and Nepal.
Due to the harsh environmental conditions in the mountains, the ‘Sauka’ perform
a system of transhumance, which means that they move with their complete
household during the cold winter period to the lower valleys, to the warmer
urban areas of Khalanga. During the summer months once the snow has melted and
the passes are open, they return back to their summer homeland in the high
mountains of the upper valleys—Tinker, Chhyangru. Even today most of the
communities are still following the rhythm of the year, although the trade
volume has decreased tremendously and the amount of livestock is also much less
than before. Most households now depend on different sources of income: they
are employed by the government, have businesses, or are involved in the
collection and trading of wild medicinal and aromatic plants. Especially the
exploration of ‘Yarsagumba’ in the last 10 to 15 years has changed their
lifestyles dramatically.
Byash VDC was the main
destination of our visit to Darchula. Tinker used to be a major trade route in
this region until the Government of Nepal shut it down citing illegal trading
of medicinal herbs. Byash is gifted with a beautiful landscape, an area of
steep gorges and fast flowing rivers, thick vegetation and forests,
with great views of the snow-covered Himalayan Mountains. Many ‘Sauka’ people
believe that their gods live in the Himalayan Mountains protecting them and
providing them the necessary life-giving resources. Sauka worship the Mother
Nature. In popular theological term, they follow Naturism/Paganism—a
polytheistic or pantheistic nature-worshipping religion.
Chhangrue village, in the heart
of the Byash VDC, was our one of the major destinations – a village located in
Nepal, next to the Indian border where two rivers (Nampa and Tinker) join the
Mahakali. The structure of the village resembles an ancient alpine mountain
village. Old stone houses with nicely carved wooden windows and doors surround
a small square used as a meeting place for festivals and community discussions.
The whole area gives an
impression of being forgotten by the world. Located between high mountains and
bordering China and India, the area is harsh and politically sensitive. The
Government of Nepal is far away and the few district officials who have made
the way up to the headquarters of Byash VDC in the last years can be counted on
one hand. The people of these communities have always relied mainly on
themselves and have always had to be adaptive to changing political and
socio-economic conditions to be able to survive. Since seven years ago, this
whole area is part of the newly established Api Nampa Conservation Area, with
the aim of conserving the natural resources and improving the livelihood of the
local people. This is another change which the local people have to adapt to.
At the same time, through the community-based approach of the conservation area
and the facilitation of government institutions, it provides a great opportunity
for them to conserve their natural resources, their culture and traditions and
identify new sources of income to improve their livelihood.
►►Conclusion:
The Byansis have a mixed type
of culture, partly influenced by Tibet, partly by Hinduism. People generally
call them Byansis. ‘Sauka’ and ‘Byansi’ are the names given by
others. Rang is the ethnonym which they use to refer to themselves in their own
mother tongue. Some call them Bhotiyas.
However, they extremely despise being called that. They prefer to identify
themselves as Matwali Chhetris. Many rang identify themselves as both
Mongolian and Hindu.
It was a great experience and
fortune for all of us to be able to visit and share some brief moments with the
‘Sauka’ people in their homeland. Now it is time to join hands to work
together so that this great natural place can be preserved and its people can
adjust their way of living to the changing conditions without losing their
identity or exploiting their natural resources.
►►REFERENCES
Nawa, Katsuo.
1997. “Ethnic Categories and their Usages in
Byans, Far Western Nepal”. The Japanese
Journal of Ethnology
Wallrapp,
Corinna. (n.d.)“Sauka-The nomads
of the Himalayas.” Retrieved from:
http://farwestnepal.org/sauka-the-nomads-of-himalayas
Wikipedia. “Darchula District”.
©Linkinmyth: Socio-cultural Study of Darchula
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