Relationship of Kusunda to other Caste and Ethnic groups of Nepal

The endangered ethnic community Kusunda primarily resides in the western and mid-western part in Tanahu, Gorkha, Arghakhachi, Kapilwastu, Pyuthan, Rolpa, Dang, and Surkhet districts of Nepal. It is smallest ethnic groups, according to the census of 2011, which has the total number of population 23. But from the field study, they have 151 population and 40 households. Then language, cultural traditions, traditional knowledge and technologies are on the verge of extinction. Now they have been formulating new cultural codes, dress, festivals and trying to adapt to new environment by establishing the relationship to other caste/ethnic groups of Nepal. This article mainly concerns Kusunda people and their relationships to other caste and ethnic groups of Nepal.

academicians as well as other websites are also used for this article.
There are various theories that can be used to study the relationship among the ethnic and caste related groups. Among them multicultural theory is frequently applied for this purpose. This theory provides the potential for diminishing societal hierarchy and various types of relations to survive the ethnic communities. Members of high status groups like Brahman and Chhetri profit from societal hierarchy, whereas those of low status are placed at a relatively disadvantaged situations. Since multiculturalism legitimizes the diminishing hierarchy, nondominant group members should be more in favour of it. Indeed, Verkuyten and Brug (2004) found that dominant group members are more likely to repudiate multiculturalism as it challenges their power. Thus they proposed an ideological asymmetry hypothesis wherein dominant group members reject multiculturalism where non-dominant groups support it (Joffe, 2014).

Present Conditions of Kusunda
The Kusunda people have long been regarded as a relic tribe of South Asia. They are often described as shorter as and darker than neighboring tribe (Gautam, 2012). In the same vein, Hodgson (1848) mentioned that, in height they are scarcely below the standard of the tribes around them who, however, are notoriously short of stature but in color they are very decidedly darker or of a Nigrescent brown. They have elongated heads, protuberant large mouths, low narrow foreheads, large cheek-bones, flat faces, and small eyes. But the protuberance of the mouth does not amount to prognathous deformity, nor has the small suspicious eye much, if anything, of the Mongolian obliqueness of direction or set in the head. They are similar to Magar, Thakuri, and other Tibeto-Burman ethnic community.
They have their own language which is unique and not similar to neighboring languages. They have stayed in jungles or forests until 1980s but now with the help of the government, they are settled near to the village or town. The origins of the Kusunda people have never been established but they are believed to have lived in the Midwestern hills of what is now Nepal for hundreds of years. They traditionally rely on hunting to survive and are adept at using bows and arrows for killing wild animals, lizards and wild fowl being their meal of choice (Adhikari, 2010).
Brian Hodgson (1874) is credited with first recording the name of the language and people as "Kusunda," which he derived from Kusa, the Nepali designation for the group. The Kusa bought the grass for use in the construction of chakati and for ritual activities, and named the human kusunda, literally "the one who lives alone in the jungle, in Nepal. The ethnonym Kusunda is the term of choice among most members of the community itself. This autonym, or "self-name", is used almost by Kusunda and speak Nepali in interactions.
The ethnonym Kusunda has the meaning of "barbarians" Hofer's point indicates that, Himalayan ethnic groups and their cultures are all too often portrayed as being non-standard offshoots of one of the "great" linguistic or religious traditions, rather than as viable cultural entities in their own right. Generally, subordinate languages and cultures are often derided or despised for their peripherality. In medieval Europe, the speakers of dominant languages used the term "barbarous" to describe those who spoke languages perceived as marginal. In a Tibeto-Burman context, the ethnonym Kusunda may well have a comparable semantic provenance to the modem English word "barbarian." (Turin, 2007). Generally, Kusunda claim their ancestry to the Kusa, the son of Rama which indicates the linkage towards the royal family or Surya Bamshi dynasty

Population of Kusunda People
Kusunda people had no single permanent settlement due to their long-continued nomadic nature before their settlement 1980s. According to Kusunda population and settlement found so far, the biggest population of Kusunda is in Pyuthan, Dang, Surkhet and Gorkha. The latest population census of 2011, exhibits Kusunda's population as 273 members only all over the country. It is an ethnic group of Nepal which has only 273 population according to CBS report 2011. But in field, there are only 151 Kusunda People in different parts of Nepal. This research used 41 household to collect the information. This census has no rural municipality/District level division of ethnic groups but if we assume the previous population census as the basis of study; Kusunda settles in different districts of Nepal. On the basis of my field study, the population of Kusunda is given in the following

Relationship with other caste/ethnic groups
In Nepal, there are differences on the definition of the terms used to refer to different nationalities. The classification of nationalities is another controversial area. One school of thought divides the people into two broad categories -Aryans and Mangols. But, these are the human races and not nationalities. The second division puts people in two baskets -Tagadhari (those who wear Hindu "sacred" thread or upper caste Hindus) and Matwali (those who consume liquor). These, also are the social groups and not the nationalities. The third classification divides the people into, again, two groups plains). These are the location specific groups.
Another type of classification suggests that in Nepal there are Khas, Kirat (Limbu, Yakha, Rai, Hayu, and Sunuwar), Langhali (Magar, Thami, Chepang, Lapche, Kusunda, and Raji), and Tangan (Newar, Tamang, Gurung, and Tharu). Besides them a few Himalis and Tarayalis are also present (Pokharel, 2013). Tony Hagen has also divided the Nepalese people into two categories -Nepalese of Tibetan origin and Nepalese of Indian origin. He has again divided the groups into two sub-groups each. The first group of Tibetan origin has been sub-divided as Tibetan group (Bhote, Sherpa, and Thakali) and indigenous Nepalese group (Newar, Tamang, Gurung, Magar, Sunuwar, Rai, Limbu, Budha, Ruka, Tharu). The Indian origin group has been, again, sub-divided into two -Nepalese group (Bahun, Chhetri, Khas, Thakuri) and Indian group (Gadhawali, Kumai and other "Indians in narrow sense") (Hagen, 1969). It sounds that by the term "Indians in narrow sense", he refers to other people of Terai.
Janak Lal Sharma has said that there are the descendants of six groups of people in Nepal. They are -Negritos, Austro-Asian, Mangolkirat, Dravidian, Brityamunda and Aryans or Nordic. (Sharma, 1992). According to Bhattachan ( 2000), Nepalese people belong to four racial groups: Caucasian, Mongoloid, Dravidian and Proto-Australoid. Terai castes such as Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and so-called "untouchables," Hill castes such as Bahun, Chhetri and Dalit, and Muslims belong to Caucasian race. Similarly, 61 nationalities or indigenous ethnic or tribal groups belong to Mongoloid, Dravidian and Proto-Australoid races. But the Central Bureau of Statistics has prepared a list of 59 communities called as "Caste/Ethnic Groups" (CBS, 1993).
The Kusunda, a small group of hunter-gatherers, still surviving in the Mahabharat hills, exemplify this, as their language is apparently unrelated to any others and may represent the oldest linguistic stratum in Nepal. Another hunter-gather group, the better-known Raute, now speak a recognizably Tibeto-Burman language but are probably also the descendants of a pre-Tibeto-Burman population. In addition, though Tharu speech has now almost totally converged with local Indo-Aryan dialects, it is believed that their language contains a pre-Tibeto-Burman. Although sometimes erroneously classed as Tibeto-Burman, Kusunda's status as a linguistic isolate is generally recognized.
In Encyclopedia of Indian Tribes, Shashi (2004), mentioned that, the Haiyu, the Chepang, and the Kusundu are three uncivilized Bhot tribes, who dwell amid the dense forests of the central region of Nepal, to the westward of the great valley, in scanty numbers, and nearly in a state of nature. They live in huts made of the branches of trees, on wild fruits, and the produce of the chase. The Chepang are slight, but not actually deformed, though with large bellies. Mr. Hodgson says they are of Mongol descent, their language is akin to that of the Lhopa. The Chepang, Haiyu, and Kusunda seem to belong to the Rawat group of frontier populations. They are named by Mr. Hodgson as Durre, Denwar, and Bramho. They occupy the districts where the soil is moist, the air hot, and the effluvia miasmatic. They dwell in Nepal as the fragments of a tribe of great antiquity, with peculiar traditions, language, and appearance, all tending to isolate them from the people amongst whom they dwell. Like the Kusundas, the Chepangs also shun farming and prefer to forage for tubers for their food. However, they are born hunters. Their clan priests are called Pandes. It is felt that their religion and culture are influenced by the Tamangs. Kusundas resemble the Chepangs in their observances. Kusundas are also known as Ban Manchhe (wild people) and Ban Raja (kings of the forests). They have their own language.
There are various aspects and dimensions of the relationship of Kusunda with other caste and ethnic groups of Nepal. They have the words to indicate the different indigenous groups of Nepal, but they have no words for Gurung, Rai, Dhimal, Sherpa etc. which mostly live in eastern part of Nepal. Some of the words are: Gaine-dzentel, Badi-dodzilaq, Kumal-yanbaru, Tharu-inorat, Newar-ihen and Magar-yegembu. These words indicate that, they have only the relationship with the ethnic groups who live in western parts of Nepal. But it also shows that, some racial or ethnic assumptions have worked with the relation in one side and in another side some extinct orient culture and caste also have been working. It is found that the different relationship among Kusunda and other caste/ethnic groups have been existing since the historical period of time. The relationship of Kusunda with other caste/ethnic groups has been explained on the basis of following points.

Kusunda and Brahmin
There was not seen direct relation between Kusunda and Brahmin. Kusunda had none relation with Brahmin in hunting-gathering age and it was not found that Kusunda accepted the Brahmin as high caste. According to Lila Bahadur Kusunda of Pyuthan, Kusunda used to assume them the supreme caste and did not use to have the food touch by Brahmin. After entering the settlement period, Kusunda invited Brahmin priest in ritual activities, festivals and other household puja. Lila Bahadur Kusunda mentioned that he called Brahmin after constructing a new house to do Satya Narayan puja and Ghar Paiso (home entering ritual).

Kusunda and Thakuri
On the basis of Hindu caste system, Kusunda assumed chhetri dynasty themselves, that's why; they have the concept of no differences between themselves and other chhetries. In Hindu varna system, among the chhetries, Thakuries are taken as the form of ruler caste. Kusunda prefers being proud of belonging to Thakuri generation. According to Reinhard (1977), Kusunda laid claim to the equal status and being related to the Thakuris, the caste to which the king belongs and which is second in caste hierarchy only to the Brahmins. Part of the rationale behind this claim appears to be based upon the fact that they have been traditionally regarded as "banko raja" i.e kings of the forest. They feel that they are the rulers of the forest land just as the King is ruler of the cultivated land, and do not feel bond to any laws formulated by the central government. They forcefully say that Thakuries are the king of village and they are the king of forest. Marriage relation with Malla, written surname like Sen, Khan and Shahi, justified that Kusunda and Thakuri are the offsprings of the same descendent. According to Rana (2002), Kusundas and Rautes have been found taking Thakuri surnames such as Sen, Singh, Saha, Malla etc.,mainly to uphold their social status. If only a few of them are "Upgraded Kusundas" then the Kusunda population would increase appreciably. The Thakuris of Nepal are generally of mixed origin: Brahmin (Indo-Aryan) father + ethnic (non-Indo-Aryan) mother. When addressed abusively Thakuris are also called 'Kusundas' by other peoples. The present Shah King dynasty belongs to the Thakuri community. In the coat of arms there is a picture of a hunter with a bow and arrow in his hands. The Kusundas have the word tut and mui for 'bow' and 'arrow' respectively. According to Dhan Bahadur Kusunda, all the Thakuri are Kusunda but they have written surname Shah to reveal their high dignity and civilized status.

Kusunda and Raute
The Raute are another ethnic group who are ethinically very near to Kusunda, which live in the jungles of West Nepal even today. They speak Khamchi, a Tibeto-Burman language, and they have clan names (Shahi, Sen, Thakuri, etc.) just as the Kusundas. According to Reinhard (1968), some Raute claimed that they have or had a paper from the government allowing them to cut the trees while others have admitted to me that they have no such paper but they are jungle men who are not subject to the laws of the villagers. They say they have always done this and it is necessary for their existence. They apparently have also told villagers that they pay taxes to the Kusunda, the acknowledged "Ban Raja" (Kings of the Forest) and therefore do not have to pay the government anything. This seems a clever way to lessen conflicts with villagers but not to have any basis in fact. (Reinhard 1968: 246). But the few surviving Kusundas are reported to have adopted the agriculture within the past four or five years. Some people believed that the Raute respected Kusunda as their king, but others thought that the Rautes were planning to go down to Surkhet valley this year and did not do so only because someone told them that there were Kusundas in Surkhet, which showed that Rautes were afraid of Kusunda (Bista 1976). Fortier (2009), despite some researcher' claims that Rautes were afraid of Kusundas, there seems to be scant evidence to support such antagonism. No defense of territories would be necessary and there was little overlapping of resources. Furthermore at least one Kusunda man was married to a Raji woman and Rautes, Banrajis and Kusunda share at least one name for a hunting deity, suggesting that they at least occasionally intermarried and shared some similar cosmological views. Some of the surname of Kusunda and Raute matches each other. Both of them claimed that they are Thakuri. They have the concept of Kusunda king and Raute people as ruler and ruled or Raja and Raiti relation. This fact is accepted by Kusunda but Rautes disagree with this statement. Rautes themselves assumed as real king of the forest.

Kusunda and Chepang
Physiologically, Chepangs & Kusundas resemble the Kirantis-the Rais and Limbus but their lineage to them is yet to be confirmed. Their totems are dog ('Che' is dog in their dialect) and arrow ('Pang' is arrow). Their dialect belong to the Tibeto -Burman group of languages. It, however, differs significantly to the Tamang dialect. They call themselves Sunpraja and Praja. They consider themselves as progeny of Lava ('Lohari' in Chepang dialect) the son of lord Rama in the great Hindu epic Ramayana. There seems no near relation between Kusunda and Chepang but a myth is prevailed in both people in context of their origination. A myth of Sita, she had two sons Lava and Kusa. Kusunda born from Kusa and Chepang from Lava. According to the Legends, the goddess Sita, the consort of Lord Rama gave birth to a son Lava while she was in exile in a hermitage of sage Balmiki near Narayani river in Nepal. One day , she went with her son to take a bath in the Narayani river. The sage saw the cradle empty and created another living likeness of the baby out of Kusha grass, fearing that Sita would be shocked at not finding her son and blame the sage for not watching the baby properly. On her return from bath, Sita was startled to find another baby in the cradle. The sage, later on , explained her the details and advised her to raise both of them as her own sons. The other was brought up as Kusha.
Chepangs believe themselves as the progeny of Lava and Kusunda as the descendants of Kusha. ( or Kushari in Chepang dialect). Chepangs and Kusundas are natural enemies.
Chepangs fear that Kusundas kill them on sight. Kusundas in the primitive stage lived in the forests and caves in the forests of the western part of Nepal. Hodgson had found them 'few degrees above the Kusundas'. Nevertheless, a few of them can still be found in caves. They are doing better in recent years. Now, they are in settled life and live in Dang, Surkhet, Gorkha, Tanahau etc district of Nepal. Chepang mainly live in Dhading and Makawanpur district. Chyuri ( an indigenous fruit) is the favorite fruit of Chepang. A Chepang family not owning a Chyuri tree is considered poor and generally looked down upon. Chepang form an strict exogamous clan. But in Kusunda, they have no such type of belief system. Offspring from a Chepang woman and a non-Chepang man becomes a Chepang as they are not accepted by other orthodox castes. Out of this aspect, there is no other specific uniformity as the account of custom, tradition, and belief system.(sworna travels, 2020).

Kusunda and Magar
Research scholars opine that the Sen kings and Thakuris of the Magrant districts are also Magars. These facts make the Magars as one of the most pervasive ethnic groups of Nepal.

Kusunda and Khas
An Indo-Aryan people the Khas, entered Nepal from the west part of Nepal. They spoke an Indo-Aryan language and had ties with west central Asia. Over times these Aryan Khas spread from the eastern hills across the valleys of Nepal. They practiced a form of non caste religion and shamanism. Indeed, the Khas were the indigenous people who have been living within the territory of modern Nepal since time immemorial. The Khas appeared in the Himalayan range long before the origin of Hinduism and Buddhism and even before the Indus civilization of Bronze age which flourished between 3300 and 1300 B.C. (Gangal, Vahia& Adhikari, 2010 Matwali Chhetri or Khas of western parts of Nepal name priests as Dangri. Dangri should have long topknife (tupi). Tupi includes gold, silver, bones of birds and animals etc. It is regarded as power of God. Dangri uses bells of iron, copper, brass and with the help of this bell, it is believed that they throw away evil souls. Dangri uses assistant called Thali who plays a gong (Damaha) and recites tantra and mantra. Thali plays gong loudly and fast when soul of God Goddesses enter into the body of Dangri. Thalis can be five to six in number. Dangri does not feel hot and cold while souls of Gods and Goddesses remain inside the body. At this stage, Dangri can also dance in fire. Dangri blesses people with teeka (made up of curd and rice). This practice can be seen in Kartike Purnima (full moon of November) and Baishak Purnima (full moon of April) every year. Next morning, people offer food and sacrifice of animals male goat, cock hen etc. to Gods for the sake of wellbeing of family. Last day, in the evening, they erect lingo (made by long tree) (Rai 2014). The Khasa culture and tradition of Nepal should not be interpreted as the practices directly borrowed from Indian vedic or Hindu Brahmanistic civilization (Dhungel 2010). Van Driem (2008) also linked the Kusunda with Chhetries or Thakuries of Nepal. According to him,"Turning now to the third language isolate, it has already been mentioned that the Indo-Pacific ethnolinguistic theory is rooted in the 'Pan-Negrito Theory' of physical anthropologists of yore. The theory essentially represents what Roger Blench has called 'a crinkly hair hypothesis'. Phenotypically, however, the Kusunda exhibit no traits that could credibly be qualified as 'Negroid' or 'negrito'. In addition to mtDNA, the Y chromosome was collected from three of the four patrilinear Kusunda clans known from the ethnographic literature, i. e. ´Sahi, Simha and Sen, but not yet Khan. It is known that the Kusunda sometimes claim Thakuri status, which raises a few questions in view of the role which this sub-caste of the warrior caste has played in Nepal's history. There is much that we might yet come to know about the successive waves of peopling that have washed across the Himalayas" Driem (2008). Non-Khas still tease Khas (Chhetris and Thakuris) by calling them Kusunda (King of the wild), (Chhetri 2010).

Kushwaha and Kusunda
The Kushwaha generally claim descent from Kusha, a son of the mythological Rama, himself an avatar of Vishnu. This enables their claim to be of the Suryavansh dynasty but it is a myth of origin developed in the twentieth century. Prior to that time, the various branches that form the Kushwaha community -the Kachhis, Kachwahas, Koeris, and Muraos -favoured a connection with Shiva and Shakta. Ganga Prasad Gupta claimed in the 1920s that Kushwaha families worshiped Hanuman described by Pinch as "the embodiment of true devotion to Ram and Sita" during Kartika, a month in theHindu Lunar Calendar. Kushwaha (sometimes, Kushvaha) is a community of theIndian subcontinent, which has traditionally been involved in agriculture (including beekeeping). The term has been used to represent at least four subcastes, being those of theKachhis, Kachwahas, Koeris and Muraos. They claim descent from the mythological Suryavansh (Solar) dynasty viaKusha, who was one of the twin sons of Rama and Sita. Previously, they had worshipped Shiva and Shakta.

Chhantyal and Kusunda
Chantyals are believed to have thrived in a sacred place called "Chhantu," and sometime in the remote past and spread along the southern slopes of Dhawalagiri Himal. They are found concentrated in the villages of Myagdi, Baglung and Mustang districts. Their population is believed to be around 20, 00. As inhabitants of the Magrant region, the Chhantyal culture and habits resemble those of the Magars. They have their own language quite akin to Thakali. However, the Bhalanja section of Chhantyals considers the Kusundas as their ancestors. Some Kusundas call themselves Chhatyals. The Chhantyals are animists and profess shamanism. In most religious practices, they are closer to the Magars. In the past, they were well-known for their exceptional knowledge and skills of mining. The Chhantyals are animists and profess shamanism. NEFIN (n.d.) indicates those Chhantyals of Bhalamja clans consider Kusundas as their ancestors but it was not clear from the other reading materials available whether they are culturally, linguistically and physically closer to Kusundas. It is also not clear the genetic linkage between Chhantyal and Kusunda, because there are only some minor studies where people have looked at a few genes in some IPs of Nepal. For example, Kusunda genome is being investigated. Tharus, Satar (Santhal), and Meches of India have been investigated. There may be virtually no difference between these populations in India and in Nepal. There has to be research that is it true that the bhalanja clan of Chhantyal family is closely related to kusundas? How is it possible because the kusundas language is totally unique and there is no relation to their culture?

Conclusion
More than 80 percent of ethnic people and their languages are in endangered situation which is the serious issue because each cultural groups shares such an intricate bond with the culture, it is associated with that which alone can facilitate a somewhat thorough analysis of culture. It is believed that language is a vehicle of culture, belief, ideology and shared history and that language and culture are mutually constitutive. Research shows that from ancient periods to now ethnic people, either they are in large or small populations have been established various types of relations for their survival strategies. This stands as true for Nepal's endangered ethnic communities including Kusunda as it does for any other people of the world.