User talk:Shahramkumar

Title: Sociological Field-Trip of Chepang Community

Place: Shaktikhor, Chitwan, Nepal

Date: 2070 Chaitra 13 B.S. (March 27, 2014 A.D.)

Organizer: BBA 3rd Semester Students of Quest Int'l College, Gwarku, Lalitpur

Type of Tour: A research-Oriented field trip to make report

Name of a Researcher: Ram Kumar Shah

Thanking Interacting Partner:

1) Mr. Nirajan Praja : A leader from that community (Cell :+977- 9807255830) 2) Mr. Kabilal Chepang: A leader as well as the guiding person to carry us to that village (Cell: +977-       9811231711)

Preface to the Chepang community: In the old Days. The chepang are an indigenous tribe and the Government of Nepal has also encloses them under the marginalized group of people. There are found different etymological meaning of chepang tribe. It has made up combining two words "Che" and "Pang" whereas the root words che means kukur (dog) and pang means Dhanukand (the weapon bow). It shows they originally come to the present day by living on the hilly cum Mountain-areas and hunting animals with the help of their dog and the bow. So, still they are supposed to bring up a dog individually to their family. Mostly the chepang communities ancestrally live to the mountain area. They are recognized as a very poor tribe in Nepal; those have not assessed any land ownership certificate from government. They are involved to agriculture to hand-to-mouth their children. Their children are sent to work on labor of landlords instead of sending them to school. This one is such type of the indigenous tribe which still has not been any able to forward themselves from poverty line; and they are compelled to live a tragic life of famine and unavailability. To the context to Nepal, so far, none of leaders have represented the parliament and the constitutional assembly. Form some years they are concerned by government and other non-governmental agencies to look over them but the achievement kept constant as a no-nothing.

About the Chepang Tribe-Community of Chitwan, Shaktikhor:

How was our trip? After a long trip of climbing about half and two hour from shaktikhor- the last edge from the forest Parsa wildlife reserve; having drinking waters and wiping sweats that continuously arriving from the body; in order to reach at the summit of that type of steeply mountain. We were very tired of climbing that type we had never been experienced, walking through a very dangerous and a narrowed foot path, taking the help of branch of trees and creeper. It looked like we could certainly fall beneath the hill if we did pay any unconscious looking towards our foot moment. So our very first concern of threatening them was why don't they come down from the summit to meet us visitors; and if not, why do they live up above so high? Finally we reached a house of chepang and took rest for a while. We were not eligible to reach up to the main dense-community because we had to climb further half an hour we hadn't remain any energy to do so. I was addressing with a young people of that house that seemed to be educated and hurriedly I introduced myself and asked about him. Really looking like a leader of that community, Mr. Nirajan Praja was continuously answering my questions very honestly though other friends were frequently asking the same questions to him. With a short-period conversation taken from him, I was able to understand about the whole questionnaire I had prepared for. As per an interesting and an important research-based interaction, I concluded these things in summary:

The chepang Community in chitwan lies in the places: 1)	Maitesh, Shaktikhor, ward no. 2 (Our research Camp, South) 2)	Bansura, Shaktikhor, ward no. 3 (On left-mountain, east) 3)	Rajban, shaktikhor, ward no. 2 (On right-mountain, weast) Though the Chepang community has certain family houses but has spread in different places. As described in above places they are living with difficulty. A very miserable condition on every aspects of life is a newer challenge to them to every morning-cum-evenings. Their very first problem is they have not possesses of privatized land to stay on. According to Nirajan Praja, there is only one time the government had projected land measurement program (Napi) for the first time in 2026 B.S. and even form that time almost all Chepangs were left to have lands and to make their one's own. They still say that they would be transferred to another comfortable place if the government made managed them to settle permanently. He replied "in this era it is not our intention to stay on these difficult places to the summit of mountain rather the unavailability of land ownership, we have compelled for. If we go to other's land even for shelter they would hunt and beat us. Once we have been experienced too; and still remember those days of we were scared away by the relative Brahaman, Chetri people. Now we chepang people are waiting for the governmental aid to provide us at least a livelihood conductible land ownership." Till the present day, none of the chepang people have their own land. They go to the landlords for labor work on agricultural field. There is a big discrimination on paid-wages on comparison to other tribe people to the society. They are only paid 12 Mana (0.7 litres, 20 ounces) Wheat if they did work for the whole day. In aggregate it comes to 160 Nepali rupees which is the worst and quite inadequate rate of wages in order to sustain the family needs. They noted that they did not know how much money did other peoples are being provided. It shows the high class people are swindling them since they are uneducated. But, it is the minimum price of Rs.350 as wages a person per a day in Nepalese fashion. I quite shocked on hearing such discrimination over them. I appeal to the concerned people or organization to look over their unequal and discriminating wages payment system. (Figure: On the summit of mountain (about 1200 meters up) A single family of chepang basti.) The chepang people of Chitwan, Shaktikhor are totally depended on agriculture. They cultivate on that mountain making the land terraced and grow the products. Due to the stony and non-fertilized soil, they are not able to have their products enough like two season- benefits. Their main products are maize, Millet, Buckwheat (Phapar), and Mustard as their oil-products. The land-structure does not support them to grow paddy crops. These products are depended on Monsoon season. Their main enemy is the wild-monkeys that they eat all the maize during the product season. So they are found sitting and caring of their crops making a small hut/shanty. At this small hut they become a caretaker for whole day and return their home to the evenings. It is general matter of starting to blow the wind horridly to evenings, after a moment to scratching the sun and raining. During monsoon they try to labor much more so that they would be eligible to store foods for the rest of months. They are even a hard-working people with cast. Their mussels of body are strong and compact due to their day-to-day climbing and the laborious activities on fields. They also have been involved on some domestic animals husbandry. According to Nirajan Praja, those chepang femiliy want to nurture domestic animals like Goats, they are being provided loan and goats so that they would be benefited financially after selling them to the markets. On observation, I saw some pairs of goat he had taken on loan that were grown so big. Some decades ago, those chepang people being depended on hunting are totally abandon to hunt and had been involved to cultivation and labor work. These area's chepang people are also discounted from the market facilities. They come to buy their basic needs like wheat, mustard pulse, chilly, spices etc. to the nearest market located at chepang-area, saktikhor VDC (On the bottom off the mountain). Because of being uneducated, probably they may have been felon to cheating. They don’t have enough crops produced to sell on the market. This small market is found some goods and services like cosmetics shop and beauticians, 1Kiranaa dokans, hotels, hair salon, drinking water, general eletrics and electronics like mobile centre, plastic shops and so forth. (Figure: A chepang Tribe People sitting on the Hut, a burning oven and some foods scattering everywhere.) These market products are highly consumed by the local high-cast peoples. There is also availability of transportation means like bus to carry the local people to the main bazaar of Tandi, Sauraha and Narayangadh. This place is about 22 km far to the village area from the birgunj-tandi-bharatpur main highway. Mostly the Bramans people seemed to be lived with a dense population. Most of the houses are built of the brick; rods, cements and some of are with mud-inbuilt.

Those chepangs of Maitesh, Bangsura and Rajban are not highly educated. Due to poverty they had to send their children to 2Kulli works (Porter, carrier) rather to send them to school. As per a data taken from Nirajan Praja, there are only two schools (one at the Bangsura place and another one is located at saktikhor bazaar) each providing education up to three class only. (Name of Schools: Himalaya lower secondary school where rajban himself teaches the students, and Sisiddha lower secondary school that one is located at the bazaar area.) One of these schools the Himalayan lower secondary school is conducting by a project. More than 50 percent go to involve on 2Kulli works after getting education up to five. This one is their compulsion to hand-to-mouth. According to him, there are very few youths having higher education. He is a rising star of his community who has been studying 12 (+2 Education) from commerce. His only one aim is to be a national leader in order to preserve the rights equally of chepang having from the government. He said then it was too late to secure their rights.

The chepang community is very calm in nature. There are not any conflicts raised between the families or among other people from relatives. He told me," we are not supposed to have any conflicts and neither have fallen so far. If any conflict rose vary occasionally people manage them and become silent very soon. Whatever problems come to one family then they ask other families for help and they take care as well. Especially when any of the society member being ill or handicapped, others help them to carry them to hospitals carrying on 3Doko (Basket). So there is a well relationship and bond has been set on everyone. They call and other joins to the comic-cum-tragic moments. It is the good aspect of chepang community which is hardly found on other society people. He also said me pointing a far from place where the governmental Hospital is situated. He added, "We go to have medicines to cure our health and to get rid of infections or from any diseases whenever we are attacked by germs or diseases. Sometimes we also have to buy other medicines that one is not found there." It means they also have got a facility of hospitality. To some years ago, they also used to go to the Military Camp's medicine Centre for diagnosis general health problems.

Chepang people speak their own language and Nepali one's. They have not divided in to any cast like high cast, low cast or on any other basis; however they are differentiated in each other through their surname. Some surnames are Khopreli, Baangeli etc. Their main occasion or celebration is 4Bayo-Jatra which is celebrated once a year for one day and one night only. This occasion falls on 5Mangshir Month as per Nepali calendar. In this celebration, they pray to their statue (idol) god of Stone-made; a priest called 6pandey on their language begins the worship making 7Jagiya whereas all the informed people and relatives celebrate collectively with vend moments. They also celebrate Hindu cultured celebrations like Dashain, Tihar etc. but some of them also do not take 8tika on Dashain but this one is not any compulsory matter. Their religious faith is Hindu (mostly involved in) and some of them are found to be involved on Buddhism as well. They worship to a stone considering it as their god. This is putted to a specific place and is kept only during the worship time. While shorting about their life-cycle rituals, they are distinct from other cultural backgrounds. When a baby born in family, it is named or made baptism within 1 to 3 months, and then there be celebrated a 9bhatkhyae program conveying and calling to all relatives. To the chepang community there is a trend of getting their daughters married when they become above 15 years and below 25 years. To the present days, this age-group of young male & females have already coaxed to love marriage. There is still a dowry system in trend and they provide some money according to their wealth like 10 -12 thousands (If only they do have the posses) and a tree 10Chiuri. On the marriage system, it is most similar to Hindu tradition- a male family party goes to take the bride to the female family party and they do enjoy and celebrate it with vend. On the death ceremonial custom they do not burn the dead body rather they burry it under the ground to every type of dead people. They have to wait for 13 days to become holy from the death-ceremony; which is quite similar to the Hindu Culture. They burry the dead body to a certain place defined by society. (Figure: A female sitting on the hut and taking rest after climbing the mountain to reach her home.) These Chepang Tribe community also strongly faith on 11Kuldewata and they said," If we don’t follow on kuldewata whatever problems may be come to us and we may also die." These people also keep their faith on siprits. The reason of celebrating their festival-Bayo Jatra is making calm their spirits, too. In these days they do not keep faith on 12Dhami-Jhakri pratha. Whenever they become ill, they go to be hospitalized and finally after not being cured any little, some of bit they organize their pandey as dhami jhakri.

This chepang 13Basti is small whereas there are only about 100 people living to the society (Including about of 60 Females). It is the 40% density of total chepang population all around the nation. They are found on other specific areas like Makawanpur (29%), Dhading (20%), and Gorkha (5%). According to the census 2001 the total population was around 50 thousand (0.23%) of the total population of Nepal. They do not want to bear enough children so their average population is not increasing going on. So far they don't have been involved to any political organizations, and neither of them have the actual information about the people representing as a leader from their society. But, a leader, Nirajan Praja told to me, "We generally are optimistic from the Congress Political leader. Though they come to us only on the election time to ask for votes and then after they never come back to us to see our problems. It is every party's trend. We have very discounted but we can't move alone. We need help of every party and those concerned people." He also showed a ting of poor expectation of being a good political leader and make forward their tribal revolution. This one a highly poor community is in serious consensus and appeal mode. From that community only about 30 young people work on outsides their village on labor work like road, house construction etc.

Present Chepang Community over the oldest one: Developments

There are some developments have made to the chepang Basti- Saktikhor, Chitwan. There is a school established on projects to their own community village and another one is facilitated at the bazaar area. Children at least get opportunity to have and learn education though up to 3 class. Another one, so far 2 young chepang people have passed the SLC level education which one is the greatest achievement. Formerly there were very dangerous and trouble-faced roads but now they have been simplified to walk-able. A recently newer achievement is that there a facility of pipeline of drinking water that have been originated from the top village of chepangs and distributed through the main basti. Finally the pipe-line has reached up to the lowest ground level of bazaar people.

Conclusion: Appeal of Help These Chepang are under a great seeking of help to eradicate their poverty line and have just similar way others are living. The education has become just a dream. They are in waiting of having one's own land ownership and live a comic life. It is our human duty to look after them and forwarding them as well. Let's go on for the supporting these people. Our small effort can be transformed to a huge force. Let's make movement to awake the governmental concern about these people. It will be a praising task and life achievements.