Gurung
Gurung
This section has been extracted from THE TRIBES and CASTES of BENGAL. Ethnographic Glossary. Printed at the Bengal Secretariat Press. 1891. . |
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Gurunga, Gurungah ,one of the best or the fighting tribes of Nepal, divided into two endogamous sub-castes and a num¬ber of septs shown in Appendix 1. Gurungs marry their daughters as adults, and like most Nepalese castes allow great lioense in the matter of divorce on repayment of the bride-price to the woman's father, Divoroed women may marry again by the full ceremony, a privilege denied to the widow who may live with a man, especially with her late husband's younger brother (but not the elder) as his con¬cubine, but cannot go through any ceremony.
The caste was once Buddhist, and is now Hindu, Bhim Sen, the second of the Pandava brethren, being their favourite deity. They still retain pronounced traoes of the primitive animism which they professed before their conversion to Buddhism, and worship the mountains and rivers, offering flowers and grass to the former and food to the latter. This worship seems to be of a propitiatory kind, and is celebrated more particularly for recovery from illness or relief from domestic calamity. Brabmans serve them as priests, but if no Brahman is available, a member of the Guaburi tibar may take his place and may perform the ceremonies of marriage and disposal of the dead and nuarmi or purification after childbirth. All Gurungs bury their dead, except members of the Urunta thar, who burn their dead on a hill top and throw the ashes in the air.
At funerals a man of the Leh-Iama thar oasts earth on the grave and recitea mystical formuloo (mantras) sup¬posed to put the soul of the dead man to rest. In other respeots the ceremony is the same as that used by the Sunuwar tribe. Gurungs abstain from beef, pork, or vermin, but eat the flesh of the buffalo and wild pigs and the domestio fowl. The four castes-Ohattri or Khas, Gurung, Mangar, and Sunuwar-are ola8sed together as muJchya 01: ohief. With members of the other castes inoluded in this group a Gurung will not formally intermarry, but if one of them runs away with his daughter, he will accept the bride-prioe of Rs. 140 or Bome definite fraction of that amount. A woman thus married caunot cook rice or dal for her husband, but may make bread or cook meat. 1£ a Gurung steals a wife from one of the other castes in this manner, her children will be admitted into the Gurung caste, but onoe admitted they m~y not eat rice cooked by their mother. If he marries a girl of the Kiranti group, her children are not reokoned as Gurungs.
Gurung
(From People of India/ National Series Volume VIII. Readers who wish to share additional information/ photographs may please send them as messages to the Facebook community, Indpaedia.com. All information used will be gratefully acknowledged in your name.)
Synonyms: Gurung [West Bengal] Exogamous units/clans (that): Bhumjan, Bhutuja, Bullung, Charki, Galeh, Ghatri, Gundane, Jimel, Karang, Lamsanitongi, Leh Lama, Temjani [West Bengal]
