Bidyut Nath Reward Points : 22200 Member Since : Friday, March 27, 2009
I am keen to know about the origin and culture of Gorkha tribes in Darjeeling district.
Posted On : 3/27/2009 10:38:51 AM
Ratri Basak Reward Points : 37600 Member Since : Thursday, December 13, 2007
Gurkha, also spelled as Gorkha, are people from Nepal and northern India... HOWEVER, the Gorkhas of north Bengal are distinct from the Bengalis of the plains and those of the hills. Gorkha identity of North Bengal is multiethnic and unstructured. Their origin is to some extent evolved over time however it remains disputed. Some assume that the Gorkhas name themselves after the Gorkha district in Nepal. While this may appear a rational etymology, others trace the Gorkhas to the 8th-century warrior-saint Gorakhnath and his Rajput disciple, Rawal. The Gurkhas are staunch Hindus and celebrate all Hindu festivals with equal dedication. But Dussehra is the most popular Gurkha festival.
In 1780, the Gorkha tribes marched into Sikkim, annexed the lower Terai slopes, and advancing to the Teesta and Mahananda rivers, inadvertently trod on the toes of a new waxing power in Bengal, the East India Company. In 1814 a war was fought between the Company and Nepal, the tract ceded, and the Raja of Sikkim reinstated by the Company Bahadur. Sikkim, then including Darjeeling, became a buffer state between Nepal and Bhutan. Initially, the Gorkha warriors were recruited largely from the Magar, Gurung, Rai clans of the mountain regions. They were and are mountain agriculturists. Their dress consisted of a white dhoti called Patuka which could be folded or unfolded. The Patuka enabled working in the mountains while planting rice fields in muddy soil or climbing trees to cut fodder for their animals. The garment offered ease of movement for any kind of hill work. The patuka was held in place with a Kamarpati or belt made of fabric or leather. A waistcoat called astcoat is the upper garment, alongwith a galbandi or muffler and a topi/cap. In extreme cold, they would drape a woolen shawl. The old timers still sport this attire. The Gorkha mountain dwellers with this dress could even withstand the coldest of weathers. The Dauro suraal was worn by those who did not live working off the land, mainly by the Bahun-Chhetri clans. The villages priest Bahun Baje always wore the Dauro Suruwal even today.
Tribes In North Bengal Hills
