Culture of Rai Community in Nepal

Nepal is a very historic country, which used to be dominated by the many dynasties in the past. Among them, the Kirat rule is taken as a very enormous one, being the longest length that prolonged from pre-historic to the historical period. In historic Hindu scriptures, Nepal is referred to as the “Kirat Desh” or “the Land of Kirats”.

The Kirat Rai belong to the Kirati group or the Kirat confederation that consists of the Rai, Limbu, Yakkha and Sunuwar, Dhimal, Hayu, Koche, Thami, Chepang, and Surel ethnic clan additionally reflect on themselves to be of Kirati origin.
The place of origin of the Rai extends throughout the Solukhumbu, Okhaldhunga, Khotang, Bhojpur, Dhankuta and the Udayapur districts in the northeastern hilly/mountainous area of Nepal, west of the Arun River in the Sun Koshi River watershed. Rais is additionally observed in substantial numbers in the Indian nation of Sikkim and the northern West Bengal cities of Kalimpong and Darjeeling.
According to Nepal’s 2001 census, there are 635,751 Rai in Nepal which represents 2.79% of the complete population.

Language & Script:

Kirat Rai speaks more than 32 unique languages and dialects inside the Tibeto-Burman languages family. The oral language is prosperous and ancient in Kirati history, however, the written script to be right geared up as almost all traces of it used to be destroyed via the subsequent rulers of Nepal. Nearly Rais languages eradicated by the Lichhavis, Malla and Shah dynasty.
The Rais are divided into many special sub-groups – Bantawa, Chamling, Sampang, Dumi, Jerung, Kulung, Khaling, Lohorung, Mewahang, Rakhali, Thulung, Tilung, Wambule, Yakkha, Yamphu, Sunuwar, Ambule, etc. Some corporations solely a few hundred members only. Every sub-group talk distinctive languages.

The Kirat Rai has their  Kiranti script. It disappeared for many years and reintroduced via Sirijonga in the seventeenth century. This Sirijonga, who used to be believed to be the reincarnation of the first, was once interestingly martyred in 1743 for the sake of this script by the Sikkim Lamas, who tied him to a tree and flung poison arrows at him. The script used to be named ‘Sirijonga’ in his honour via the Limbu student Iman Singh Chemjong in 1925.

Religion & Culture:

Nakchong (the Rai priest)

The ordinary Kirati religion is predating than Hinduism and Buddhism, which based on ancestor-worship and the placation of ancestor spirits with rituals ruled using policies known as Mundum. Sumnima and Paruhang are worshipped as primordial parents. Sikatakhu Budo, Walmo Budi, and Jalpa Devi, amongst others, serve as Kirati deities. A foremost Rai excursion is the harvest festival, Nwogi, when freshly harvested meals are shared with the aid of all. The Bijuwa or Nakchhung or Priest performs an essential position in Rai communities.

The Rai people can be described as worshippers of nature. When the natural world starts to evolve transferring to the mountain hills of the Himalayan degrees whilst the seeds were sown in the fields utilizing the tribes develop and bloom with flowers, the tribes operate Sakewa puja which consists of dancing and singing. The dance is known as Silli and mimics the actions of birds and animals all through their migration. The overall performance of Sakewa puja is led by using the Nakchong (the Rai priest) or via the head of a necessary household in his absence. During Sakewa puja contraptions such as the Dhol, the Jyamta, the Bow and Arrow, the Wabuk, the Yak tail, and the cock and chicken are used.
After Sakewa Puja, the Rai neighbourhood is banned from taking part in any musical instruments till after they have carried out the harvest festival, Udhauwli. At this time the birds and the animals return from the mountain hills to the low lands and puja Silli is completed.