People of Nepal

Thursday, September 14, 2023

With a few exceptions, the great majority of the People of Nepal live in well-defined, specific geographic regions. Nepal is divided into three regions which are the Himalayan region, the Hilly region, and the Terai region. The Tibetan-speaking Mongoloid people live in the high Himalayan region. It lies on the northern side with an alpine climate at an elevation of between 8848 m to 4800 m.

The south of the Himalayas contains attractive mountain valleys. This region is mainly inhabited by Tibeto-Burman and Indo-Aryan peoples. Its latitude is between 3500 and 7000 feet above sea level. About 50 percent of the People of Nepal live here and the climate is the cool temperature to warm temperature. To the south is a stretch of land that consists of low river valleys and dense forests with various indigenous people whose origins and affinities are quite obscure. Here, as in the case of the high Himalayas, there are fewer inhabitable areas than in the middle ranges. The altitude of this region is 1000 to 2500 feet above sea level.

The fourth and most economically important geographical region is populated by various Indo-Aryan language-speaking Mediterranean-type people and some indigenous people. They are Tharus, Dhimal, Satar, Koche, Musahar, Meche, and Dhangars. This region is agriculturally the most productive of all regions. The climate of this region is tropical savanna with summer monsoon.

The people living near the north and south border have easy access to neighboring countries for trade and social intercourse. Likewise, the energetic middle hill people make some of the best soldiers in the world. They are from the British, Indian, and Nepal armies. A majority of the country’s administrative offices come from this region.

Being to the lack of communication between different groups or casts each remained in this traditional area, isolated from other groups. Every single group spoke a different language or dialect and developed its own marriage and social rules.

The art and culture from the medieval periods were confined and frozen for a century and a half. It was only after World War II, when the world situation had changed, that Nepal was able to unravel herself and open borders to establish relations with the outside world.