The Kusunda are the Nepalese ethnic group. Banmanchhe and Banraja are two more names for them. They are nomads that hunt animals for root foods in the bush. They used to collect taxes from other people groups, but they are now a threatened tribe. Because of the change of clan names and marriages with other castes, they have become increasingly separated. They reside in immediate contact to rainforests. The Kusunda language is spoken by almost half of the population. They speak their own language, which might be Tibeto-Burman or related to Burusasky.
When a child is born, the Kusundas offer wild fowl to the family god. On the eleventh day, relatives see birth pollution. Marriage is not performed within the family. They bury their ancestors. They’ve started performing funeral rituals now. Inter-caste or inter-tribe marriages are common among the Kusunda these days. They have festivities on the first day of the month of Magha. Hunting is their primary occupation, and they excel at it as well as with plants. They are not landowners because they have only lately started working in agriculture.
Where are the Kusundas found?
Some Kasunda inhabit in Tanahu, Dang, Rolpa, Surkhet, and Pyuthan, while others inhabit in the western portion of the nation.
The Kusunda language is a one of the unique language in the world. Kusunda is unique in that it has no phonological, morphological, syntactic, or lexical similarities to any other language on the planet.GyaniMaiyaSen, a 75-year-old lady who is the only person still living in Nepal who speaks the Kusunda language fluently, is in high demand among linguistics students who wish to study the Kusunda language with her assistance. They’re documenting it in the hopes of preserving this endangered language. The Kusunda language has three vowels and 15 consonants, according to researchers.If the Kusunda language goes extinct, we will lose a unique and important portion of our human history for forever.
The Nepalese Kusunda, who number 225, are no longer unreached. Within the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc, they belong to the South Asia Hindu – Other people cluster. Only Nepalese people belong to this ethnic group. Nepali is their primary language (individual language). Hinduism, the major religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent, is the Kusunda’s principal religion.The Kusunda prefer to live in isolation from others and are Nepal’s most endangered aboriginal ethnic group who are Hindus who also worship nature.
The Kusunda are no longer able to travel freely in the forest and have been driven to seek alternative sources of income. The government’s social security scheme is meant to offer marginalized and minority ethnic groups with Rs 500 per month. However, even when accessible, the sum is too small to make a significant difference in the Kusunda’s life.The Kusunda have been hidden from the notice of the public and government for so long because they have been living away from civilization for so long, and they are uninformed of their rights and methods to receive social help. The loss of any of Nepal’s ethnic groups, as well as their culture, legacy, history, and way of life, is a tragedy, and the Kusunda are Nepal’s most endangered ethnic group.
The first step in empowering the Kusunda is for them to be included in all aspects of development strategy, which should be guaranteed in the new constitution. All they want is to live like the other groups, to be treated with respect and dignity like any other human being.The whole Kusunda tribe, together with its last fluent speaker in Nepal, is on the edge of extinction, and it is our responsibility to preserve them. I hope this article will help to make them known to the Nepalese people around and out of the country.
-Article written by: Saru Niraula for Land Nepal
