Kirat Culture: The Rai and Limbu of the East

Kirat is an old name, found in Sanskrit texts and Nepali chronicles, for the hill peoples of the east. Today it is used mainly by four communities: the Rai, the Limbu, the Yakkha and the Sunuwar. They speak Tibeto-Burman languages, share a body of oral scripture called the Mundhum, and have lived in the hills between the Dudh Koshi and the Mechi rivers for as long as any record reaches. Many Kirat families also follow Hinduism, Buddhism or Christianity alongside or instead of the old ways.

Nepali histories traditionally divide the Kirat country into three parts. Wallo Kirat, the near Kirat, lies west of the Dudh Koshi and is home to many Sunuwar. Majh Kirat, the middle Kirat, between the Dudh Koshi and the Arun, is the heartland of the Rai, who often call themselves Khambu. Pallo Kirat, the far Kirat, east of the Arun, is Limbuwan, the land of the Limbu, who call themselves Yakthung.

Nepal's chronicles also remember a Kirat dynasty that ruled the Kathmandu Valley before the Licchavis, beginning with a king named Yalambar. Historians debate the details, but the memory matters: Kirat people see themselves as among the oldest peoples of Nepal, not newcomers to it.

The Rai and Limbu are the two largest Kirat groups and the ones you will meet most often in the eastern hills. They share a great deal, but they are distinct peoples with their own languages, festivals and histories.

The Mundhum is not a single book but a body of oral texts, recited by ritual specialists at births, marriages, deaths, harvests and healings. It tells how the world and the first people were made, how rivers and mountains got their names, and how households should honour their ancestors and spirits. Each community has its own versions, passed from teacher to student in old ritual language that many younger speakers now struggle to understand.

In a Rai house, look at the hearth. Many Rai households honour three stones set by the fire, known in several Rai languages as suptulung, as the seat of the ancestors. Do not step over them, put your feet on them or throw rubbish into the fire. In Limbu houses, offerings of tongba, ginger and rice are part of many rituals, and a pot of tongba offered to a guest is a sign of welcome.

In the Mundhum story told among many Rai, the first ancestors were Sumnima, linked with the earth, and Paruhang, linked with the sky, and their union and quarrels shaped the world people live in. Limbu tradition speaks of Tagera Ningwaphumang as the creator and of Yuma Sammang, the grandmother goddess, honoured in many homes. Treat these as living beliefs, not folklore curiosities.

Sakela is the great festival of the Rai, held twice a year on full-moon days. Ubhauli, at the full moon of Baisakh in April or May, marks the start of the farming year and the move of herds to higher pastures. Udhauli, at the full moon of Mangsir in November or December, marks the harvest and the move back down. Villagers dance Sakela sili in a circle around a ritual leader, the steps copying sowing, harvesting, birds and animals, to the beat of the dhol and the clash of cymbals. In towns such as Dharan and Kathmandu, Sakela gatherings now draw thousands.

Chasok Tangnam is the Limbu harvest festival, held at the full moon of Mangsir, when the first grain of the year is offered to the gods and ancestors before people eat it themselves. It is celebrated with rituals led by a Phedangma, feasting and dancing. Dates for both festivals follow the lunar calendar and change every year.

• Ubhauli Sakela: full moon of Baisakh, April–May
• Udhauli Sakela: full moon of Mangsir, November–December
• Chasok Tangnam: full moon of Mangsir, November–December
• Dashain and Tihar are also widely celebrated in Kirat villages, often with their own local customs

The Limbu Ke Lang, the chyabrung dance, is danced by men and women with a long double-headed drum slung from the shoulder, its steps and beats changing with the occasion. Yalang, the paddy dance, is danced in the harvest season by young men and women who hold hands in a slow, swaying line and sing palam, improvised sung dialogues full of wit and teasing that can last for hours.

Dhaka, the handwoven cloth with bold geometric patterns, is strongly associated with Limbu weavers in Terhathum, Panchthar and Taplejung. Look for dhaka shawls, blouses and the dhaka topi cap in markets in Phungling, Ilam and Dharan. Buying directly from weavers is the best way to support the craft.

For more than two centuries Rai and Limbu men have served in the Gurkha regiments of Britain and India, and in the British Gurkha brigade they were recruited in large numbers from the eastern hills. Dharan grew around a British Gurkha camp; when the camp closed, its grounds became a large medical institute. Pension money, foreign travel and return migration have shaped towns such as Dharan, Dhankuta and Ilam, and many Kirat families now have relatives in Hong Kong, Britain and the Gulf.

Since the 1990s, Kirat organisations have worked to revive languages, record the Mundhum and teach the Sirijanga script, first created for Limbu, according to tradition, by a king named Sirijanga and revived in the eighteenth century by the scholar Te-ongsi Sirijunga. In Dharan and Kathmandu you will see Kirat signboards, cultural centres and community halls.

You do not need to go far into the hills to meet Kirat culture; it is part of everyday life across the east. The places below are on or near our journeys, and a local guide from a Kirat family makes all the difference to what you see and who you meet.

• Dharan: the Budha Subba shrine beside its bamboo grove, Kirat community halls and markets selling kinema, pork and fresh ferments
• Dhankuta: an old hill bazaar with Rai and Limbu villages, orange orchards and farmhouses on the slopes around town
• Hile: tongba bars and family kitchens where Rai, Limbu, Sherpa and Bhote neighbours live side by side
• Phungling, Taplejung: a Limbu market town, with dhaka cloth, cardamom and the road to Pathibhara, which Limbu people call Mukkumlung
• Ilam and Panchthar: Limbu and Rai villages among tea, cardamom and maize, with homestays that welcome visitors

• Greet people with sewaro, a respectful Kirat greeting, as well as namaste.
• Accept tongba or tea with both hands; it is fine to drink a little and leave the rest.
• Do not step over or put your feet on the hearth stones, and do not throw rubbish into the fire.
• Ask before photographing rituals, shrines and ritual specialists, and follow your host's lead at festivals.
• Kirat food often includes pork and alcohol; if you eat neither, say so politely and hosts will understand.