South Asia People Groups

Tribals of western Nepal

(Gurung and Magar people)

There are a total of more than 1,500,000 Gurung and Magar tribal people located in the mountainous country of Nepal. The majority of their villages are in the western region, situated on mountain slopes at elevations between roughly 3,000 and 6,000 feet. Their languages and dialects vary from village to village and valley to valley, but these hundreds of thousands of villagers need to hear the Gospel in their own cultural and language context.

Most of the Gurung and Magar are farmers. Despite the fact that they are hard workers, most of them are very poor. The meager amount of food that they are able to produce is barely enough to sustain them. Their main food sources are millet, maize and some rice. They also raise soybeans, grains and various vegetables.

The Gurung and Magar usually live in villages built high on mountain ridges. The people live in whitewashed houses with slate roofs. The men usually wear vests and loin cloths. They also sometimes wear kilt-like garments. Women wear colorful wraparound dresses and upper garments over blouses. They also wear nose rings or earrings.

Although the Gurung are predominantly animists (believe that non-human objects have spirits), they have been strongly influenced by Hinduism. The Magar are more predominantly Hindu. When a Gurung dies, an astrologer consults his horoscope to determine whether the body should be buried or cremated. Then, thirteen days after the death, an image of the deceased is made and dressed in his or her clothes. The priest recites scriptures while the headman of the village and the relatives of the deceased bring offerings to the image.