Nepal is recognized as the flower orchard of several castes and
ethnicities of people living in the geographically diverse areas of the country.
There are several castes, ethnic groups and sub-groups of people in Nepalese
society. Among them, one is the Gopali ethnic group, which is also known as
‘Gwala’ or ‘Gwal’. It has been said that Nepal was named after the earlier name
(Nep) of this ethnic group. There are some similarities between this folk group
and the Newar community living in Kathmandu valley and other parts of the
country.
Gopalis consider themselves as the ancient ethnic group. They believe that their
ancestors were the Gwalas who came to Shonitpur (Thankot, Kathmandu) from
Dwarika during Dwapar Yug (a mythical period in the ancient time) with Lord
Krishna, for the purpose of killing the demon King Banasur. Gopalis call
themselves the descendants of Nandagopali and Krishnagopali, but there is no
evidence yet to support the claims they make about their ancestors. However,
historians have said that there is some truth in the Gopalis’ belief on this
matter.
According to the legend, Krishna’s son Praddumna had married Prabhavati, the
daughter of Banasur.
Later, Krishna went back to Dwarika after establishing the
Gwalas’ kingdom in Kathmandu valley. The Gwalas ruled over the kingdom for a
long period in the valley. They followed the tradition of worshipping the cow.
It is found that they had ruled over the valley for 9 generations of kings,
prior to the arrival of the Mahispal and Kirant kings in the kingdom.
As some historians have explained, the Gopal kings belonged to the sub-group of
Nep ethnic group, and Par was the name of the sub-group who used to live taming
buffaloes. Both Nep and Par (also called Mahispal) ethnic groups were interested
in taming animals (cows and buffaloes respectively), so they wanted to reside
near the forest areas because pasture land was essential to keep their domestic
animals. So, they resided in the localities where there was jungle in the
hillside above and plain land on the foot of the hills – like the places of
Tistung, Palung, Thankot, Balambu, Kisipidhi, Kirtipur, etc.
In this connection, some information is mentioned in the inscription found in
Toukhel, Chitlang VDC ward no. 6 (Makawanpur district), which was established by
Amshubarma in sambat 37. According to the inscription, king Amshubarma had given
some land to the local people to transfer the village from one locality to
another because there was the scarcity of land to keep the domestic animals in
the village. From this evidence, we can say that Gopalis were living by taming
domestic animals including cows and buffaloes. Explaining this inscription,
historians have said that the typical ethnic group residing in the localities of
Chitlang such as Toukhel, Nhulgaun, Kunchhal etc. are the Gwalas or Gopalis.
In this way, we can notice the presence of Gopali folk group from the ancient
time to the beginning of human settlement in Kathmandu valley and the Lichchhavi
Era. Nowadays, they are residing in some localities of Kathmandu valley and in
some villages of Makawanpur district.
It seems Gopalis had entered the northern part of Makawanpur district from
Kathmandu valley and from Simaraungad, which lies on the south.
In Kathmandu valley, Gopalis are residing as the indigenous residents in the
places like Thankot, Machchhegaun, Kirtipur etc. In the northern part of
Makawanpur district, they are found in Bajrabarahi, Chitlang and Daman VDCs. The
localities of their permanent residence include Kunchhal, Gahate, Kulgaun and
Papung of Bajrabarahi VDC, Toukhel and Nhulgaun of Chitlang VDC and Shikharkot
of Daman VDC.
In the villages of Toukhel and Nhulgaun (Chitlang VDC), Gopalis have settled for
a long period. The inscription of sambat 37 found in Toukhel is the evidence of
this. According to Ratna Bahadur Gopali (48) of Toukhel, nowadays 80 households
are living in this village (as of 2062-7-24 B.S.). They came to this village
migrating from Naukhande, a neighbouring village.
In Papung village of Bajrabarahi VDC ward no. 1 (Kothanani Tol), 60 households
of Gopali ethnic group are living nowadays. Similarly, in Gahate (ward no. 5 of
the same VDC), there are 29 Gopali households; and 7 households are found in
Kulgaun (ward no. 7 of the VDC). Kunchhal village lies in ward no. 6 of
Bajrabarahi VDC, which is an old settlement area of Gopalis; and the entire
village is their settlement. ‘Kunchhal’ was named after the Gopali word ‘kuncha’,
which means ‘the corner place’, since this village lies in the cornerside of a
hill. There are more than 200 Gopali households in Kunchhal; and most of the
villagers are Gopalis. The total population of Gopalis living in this village is
1228.
In Daman VDC, a small Gopali village is Shikharkot, having 76 households.
Gopali Language
The language of Gopalis is similar to Newari. However, it
differs from the standard Newari in accent, vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence
structure, word formation etc. Besides, the influence of localization is found
in the language, and there is also a mixture of some Nepali and Tamang words in
it. The language is spoken with a long tune, and it is difficult to understand
for the Newari speakers. If there are outsider Newari speakers listening to the
conversation of Gopalis, the outsiders simply remain the observers, without
understanding anything.
There are some differences in the language from one village to another as well.
The Gopali language spoken in Kunchhal is not intelligible for non-Gopalis. It
is not well-intelligible even for the Gopalis who reside in the villages other
than Kunchhal. Pure Gopali is spoken in this village. This must be because only
the speakers of this language reside in the village and there is very rare
chance for the Gopalis to be mixed with the speakers of other languages.
Gopali language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of Sino-Tibetan language
family. It is spoken for communication but its script is not developed so far;
so it is limited only to oral communication, having no development of written
literature.
The Gopalis of Kunchhal village call their language Gwaa Bhay or Newaa Bhay and
the language spoken by the Shrestha community of Kathmandu, Patan and Saraswati
Bajar (of Bajrabarahi VDC) as Syasya Bhay.
One significant characteristic of colloquial Gopali language is vowel sound
deletion in the syllable sequence. In most of the Gopali words,
the phonological
feature of medial vowel deletion is noticed in pronunciation. As a result,
instead of pronouncing the original two-syllabic words as it is, the words
become monosyllabic in utterance, after deleting the vowel in the initial
syllable. For example, khuche (dog) becomes khche (/u/ is deleted). In the
morning, Gopalis eat their traditional food Dhindo (made of flour) with pumpkin
curry, milk etc. In the evening, they have rice, vegetables, Gundruk (fermented
mustard leaves), Sinabali (fermented radish) etc. They eat Mali (made of flour),
curd, roasted corn, Thon (home-made beer) etc. in the afternoon. They also eat
Bajee (beaten rice), peas and beans, buffalo meat etc. and drink alcohol in the
feasts and festivals.
Gopalis have their own traditional dresses. The women wear Haku Patasi (black
home-made sari), Putulan (a kind of blouse), white home-made Jani (also called
Patuka, which is worn round the waist), and Gacha (shawl). Similarly, the
traditional items of Gopali male dress are: Khesa tupuli (cap made of khesa, a
kind of thread), Tapalan (home-made garment like Nepali Daura), Jani (white
waist-cloth), etc. They also wear Suruwal, Istakot and shoes. Gopalis used to
wear the shoes made of straw materials or Nalu (a plant fibre), and the women
used to wear beads made of silver coins. But nowadays the use of these
traditional items is gradually reducing.
Village, Gods and Festivals
Gopalis are rich in their folklore and folk culture. They have their own
identity reflected in their customs, festivals, Jatra, folk gods-goddesses, etc.
They like to live at a place making the houses very close to each other, so
their houses in the village are very much concentrated, and mostly the houses
are joined to each other. There are narrow pathways in the Gopali settlements.
There are taps, inns, wells and worshipping places or temples in the village;
and there is Lachhi (square-shaped platform for social and cultural
performances) in the centre.
Ganesh, Bhimsen and Mahadeva are the gods compulsorily worshipped by Gopalis.
Gaikeshwar, Champakeshar, Unmukteshwar, Pandukeshwar etc. are the main forms of
Mahadeva worshipped by Gopalis. Similarly, they also worship the folk
gods/goddesses Chuni, Satkanya and Panchkanya. Basically, all Gopalis follow
local Hinduism, but nowadays some of them have begun to follow other religions
as well.
Several festivals observed by Gopalis are similar to those celebrated in the
Newar community. They celebrate Gathemangal, Byanjankegu, Gai Jatra, Jugan
Charha, Yanya Punhi, Dashain, Family and Kinship
There are two types of Gopali families living in Kunchhal village: joint family
and nuclear family. Usually, a nuclear family splits from the joint family after
the son’s marriage, whereby the members of the split family (including the
husband, wife and child/children) prepare their own food on a separate oven,
though it may be in the same house. But even after separation, they help each
other in the agricultural activities of Bola or Parma – the indigenous system of
exchanging labour work.
Two types of kinship systems are mostly observed. The first one is consanguine
kinship – which includes the blood- related family members, i.e. father, mother,
son, daughter, grandfather/mother/son/daughter. The second type is affine
kinship – including the kin-related family members, e.g. maternal uncle/aunt,
sister-in-law, brother-in-law, etc. The roles of different kins in the rituals
like Maha Puja, Bhai Tika, Chhewar, Beyanki, Leratei, marriage etc. show their
social unity in this folk group. Kins play a very important role in Bola too,
because most of the Bolas are from the kinship.
Guthi and Bola System
Guthi plays the role of a powerful social institution among Gopalis. This is the
final authority to take decision on the important matters of socio-cultural
activities to be held. Generally, membership of Guthi is not allowed for women;
so they do
not participate in the decision making procedures in Guthi. Usually,
there is no gender discrimination in Gopali society. However, since Guthi
members enjoy a greater socio-cultural status and prestige than others, it has
assigned a better position for males than females in an indirect way, by
restricting its membership only among the males.
The Guthi’s activities are different from one locality to another. Guthi
organizes some important rituals for uniting the people of Gopali folk group. It
organizes Chunni Shikari Puja three times a year, one month long Dapha Bhajan in
Kartik, Kumari Puja and Gokeshwor Puja on the day of Shree Panchami, Bhosala
Puja in Baishakh etc.
Guthi has five main Naikes (the supreme or head of the village) from five main
Toles (small section of the settlement) and five Thakalis (the oldest male
person in the village) from five Toles. Besides, there are three Bahidars from
the three main Toles and the Chhimies (Guthi members) in the Guthi.
Bola is a unique type of exchange labour system inagricultural activities. This
is the foundation of Gopali society. Without this, no one can complete the
agricultural works from
plantation to harvesting. It is not confined to agricultural works but also
found in the construction of houses, making canals, feasts, Dapha Palo Bhoj
(feast arranged by the singing groups in turn), etc. By doing this, they don’t
take money or grains but they must participate in a feast organized by the host
family after completing the particular work.
Life Cycle Rituals
Although Gopali folk rituals are found similar to those followed by the Newar
community, there are differences between the two. For example, while the ritual
of Ihi (girl’s marriage to Bel, a wild fruit) and Bara (a ritual of keeping the
girl in isolation after Ihi) are customary in Newari culture, Gopalis do not
observe these rituals. Instead of Bara, they have the tradition of fasting for 5
days and giving Gunyu-cholo (a set of traditional lady’s dress) to the girl.
Some typical rituals observed by the Gopalis are described below.
Macha Byanki: After the birth of child, Gopalis have the practice of
observing Sutak (period of ceremonial uncleanliness) for 4 days. They invite
Derima (a lady having special duty to fulfil on this occasion). Generally, women
deliver the baby on the first floor of the house. The woman sleeps on paddy
straw. The ritual for purifying the woman after the 4-days of uncleanliness is
called Macha Byanki. To perform this ritual, the baby is exposed to the sunlight
and kept on a bundle of the straw which was used for delivering the baby. After
taking the bundle of straw out, it is kept at a place safely, and Derima
scratches the bundle with an arrow. Then food items are put in a leaf plate
which is kept on the bundle.
Bhusha Khaya (hair cutting): The hair cutting ritual is performed between
the 6th and 12th
year of the male child’s age. After hair cutting, some Gopalis,
though not all, also perform the ritual of Bratabandha or Kaitapuja. The boy’s
sisters, paternal aunt and maternal uncle have special duty on this occasion.
Maternal uncle usually cuts the hair and the boy’s paternal aunt collects the
hair in a brass plate and then takes it to the stream nearby to dispose it and
let it flow with water. Gopalis do not cut their boy’s hair prior to this
ritual; and even if it is cut before, the hair should be kept safely and should
be taken to the water in the stream on this occasion. Bya (marriage): In the
past, Gopalis had the tradition of child marriage. But nowadays, it is no longer
in practice. However, the youngsters are considered ready for marriage after the
age of 13-14 years. Even these days, there are events of marriage between the
girls and boys of 15-16 years. There are several instances of love marriage in
this age.
There are two types of marriage among Gopalis:
arranged marriage and love
marriage. In the case of love marriage, the boy and girl go away from their
family and stay in the house of the boy’s relatives for some time. In such
cases, the boy’s party has to organize Leratei (a special ritual-cum-feast),
with the consent of the girl’s parents, to make the marriage socially
acceptable.
Si (death ritual): Gopalis have a Singuthi (an indigenous organization
like ‘trust’) to manage the death ritual. In Kunchhal village, altogether 105
households are involved in the Singuthi. In the funeral ritual, all the members
of Singuthi go to the funeral procession with a piece of firewood. Death ritual
consists of several works, which the members of Singuthi have to perform. In the
case of their denial to perform, they should pay the fine. After the death of a
senior person, the family members should mourn for 13 days, and thereafter they
are considered purified. In the past, Gopalis used to invite a Newar pundit for
performing this ritual, but nowadays the Aryan pundit is invited. Generally,
Gopalis wear white dress for 6 months after the death of their mother and for 1
year after the death of father. This period is called Barkhi.
Indigenous Technology and Wisdom
Some of the important indigenous technologies found among
Gopalis include: drainage for irrigation, Pani Ghatta (stone-made flour mill
running through water power), using the oxen-pulled ploughs, etc. But nowadays,
the tractor has also been introduced among Gopalis as modern technology.
To mention the folk knowledge, the Gopalis seem to be expert in making Sinabali
by pressing the radish in the deep hole under the ground, making Gundruk keeping
the mustard leaves in the heat of manure, making Chana after cutting the radish,
making liquor, etc. The indigenous skill of cloth making using the hand-loom is
also found among them.
Gopalis have the tradition of treating the illness by shamans and traditional
healers. In Kunchhal, people have the belief that the god/goddesses Panchkanya
and Satkanya play role in making people ill; and only the shaman can treat the
illness. In the case of injury in the external body parts, they apply the liquid
of Banmara (a typical wild herbal plant) in the wound.
Folk Art and Architecture
Gopalis used to have three-storey houses. Such houses are still found in
Shikharkot. There are four-storey houses in Kunchhal, Gahate, Papung and Kulgaun.
In Papung and Toukhel, the houses are made of bricks; but in Gahate, Kulgaun and
Shikharkot, the houses are stone-made. In Kunchhal, the houses are of mixed
type.
In Papung, altogether 33 houses were destroyed due to fire in
2033 B.S. (around 1976); and there are lots of differences in the style of
houses constructed before the event and thereafter. The traditional house
buildings are totally changed after their renovation. Nowadays, Gopalis have
followed the modern style of house construction – e.g. making cemented houses,
constructing the cemented pillars, etc. Traditional houses have the carvings in
the wood, but the modern ones do not have such type of art.
Economic Life and Livelihood
Although most of the Gopalis are living on agriculture and animal husbandry,
some are involved in other occupations as well. Their economic life and
livelihood can be described in the points given below.
Agriculture and animal husbandry: Most of the Gopali families are
depending fully
on their agricultural land for their survival as well as for
economic activities. They have two types of land: a) Boon (plain terraces),
where they grow paddy, potatoes, cabbage, chilly, maize etc.; and b) Keu or Bari
(slope terraces), in which they grow radish, millet, corn, horse-bean, and other
vegetables.
Gopalis also tame animals keeping them at Goths (sheds). They construct the
Goths in Keu, which is usually far from their house.
Basically, all the Gopalis manage their economic activities by using their farm
and live-stock products. Despite their limited income, they do not have
hand-to-mouth problems.
School teacher: Some Gopalis of Kunchhal village are teachers in the
local primary schools. In addition to their regular duty of going to school, the
teachers are also involved in the farm activities in the morning and evening
hours.
Business: Some persons are involved in business activities, including:
a) Collecting and selling farm products: The vendor collects
vegetables, paddy and other products from the villagers at a place and supplies
these goods to the cities in gross
quantities;
b) Managing small shops: The shopkeeper sells the items of
daily use – e.g. soap, matchboxes, kerosene, cooking oil, biscuits, sandals,
cigarettes, local wine, etc.
Foreign-wage labourers: Some people within
the age group of 18-30 have gone to the foreign countries for employment. They
are employed as labourers in Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and Malaysia.
Cottage industries: Some Gopalis are also involved in the
domestic/cottage industries – e.g. weaving looms; producing goods of domestic
use such as Doko (bamboo-made basket), Namlo (long strip for carrying load); and
making Gundruk (fermented leaves of mustard, radish etc.), Sinabali (fermented
radish), Leu Chana (long slices of radish, which are dried hanging on ceilings
etc.), Lespati (small pieces of radish dried on the floor), etc. They sell these
products going to the city.
But the people involved in making such items do not spend their whole time in
these works. As a regular business, they are involved in the farm activities; so
they spend only their spare time in producing these goods.
Folk Literature
Folk literature is defined as the people’s literature in
which the folk’s thought is presented in the folk language in the folk style for
the welfare of the folk people. This sort of literature is found among Gopalis
as well. They have fewer folk ballads, but their interest in folk songs is
remarkable. Particularly due to their religious belief, they give much time in
worshiping the folk gods and goddesses, and in singing the religious and
devotional songs. They spend the morning and evening hours for worshipping and
singing religious songs. The religious song Gula Dapha is performed in the month
of Shrawan; and Kwayala Dapha is performed in Kartik.
They have the tradition of Hile Naach (‘dancing in the mud’) on the occasion of
Saparu (also called Gai Jatra, cow festival) festival every year. There is also
the tradition of Barabarse Naach (a typical dance programme organized once in
every 12 years). Bade Pyakha (a dance devoted to goddess Bajrabarahi), and Swet
Vinayak Pyakha (devoted to god Swet Vinayak) are the religious dances found
among Gopalis.
Gopalis sing the ballad based on the biography of King Gopichand and Bharathali.
Among the folk songs, the important ones are Tamimye (old folk songs), Baramase
Geet, children’s songs, and several other songs related to love and attraction
as well as trouble and pain – e.g. Maya Madhula, Juta thwa pir, etc.
Based on the available data and the relevant materials, Gopali folk literature
can be studied by classifying it into: a) folk songs – which include religious
songs, seasonal songs, short folk songs, festival songs, children’s folk songs,
and folk ballads; b) folk tales and legends, c) biography and memories, d) folk
proverbs, e) riddles etc.
Performing Folk Culture
Under the performing folk culture, two dramatic song performances deserve
special mention, which are performed on the occasion of Barabarse Naach. The
dance narrating the story of King Kam Singh and Chandra Singh is peformed in
Kunchhal. Another dance is the Barabarse Bajrabarahi dance, which is performed
in the participation of all the local people including the Gopalis of Purano
Tistung (Old Tistung). This dance is based on the story of King Satal Singh. In
these dances, we can see the mixture of Newari and Nepali languages to some
extent. The tradition of such a dramatic song, performed once in every 12 years,
is found in Toukhel also.
On the occasion of Gai Jatra festival, a folk dance called Gunla Pyankha is
famous in the villages of Kunchhal, Papung, Toukhel etc. Similarly, Twak Naach
is a dance performed on the occasion of Kartik Purnima (Full Moon Day in the
month of Kartik – i.e. around October-November) in Toukhel.
Among the various folk musical instruments found in the Gopali community, some
major ones are: Khin, Jhyali, Ta, Bagu, Ponga, Bansuri, Dha, Muhali, etc.
Folk Entertainment and Folk Games
Nowadays, Gopali youths play cards and carom board as part of
their entertainment. Similarly, among the games played by children, some popular
ones are: Dhyaba (throwing coins), Khyapu (rope skipping), Gatta (playing small
stone pieces), Khopi (gambling with coins), Bhamcha or Katamari, Chungi,
Bheladekini (kitchen-utensils), Baghchal, marbles, hide-and-seek, etc.
Change and Continuity
Despite having their unique forms of folk tradition, folk
culture and values, changes are found particularly among the young generations
of Gopalis in the recent years. As a result of modern education and their
contact with the people of other communities, the traditional norms and values
are gradually changing. Although the old generation is following the practices
discussed in this article, the youngsters seem to be less serious towards
maintaining them. This trend is noticed in the lack of attraction among boys and
girls to the folk songs/dances like Barabarse Naach and Dapha Bhajan, their
reduced membership in Guthis, etc. While the folk dress Haku Patasi is commonly
worn by the women of old age and middle age, it is rare among the young girls.
Among the young men also, the traditional dresses are less popular.
Due to the contact of this folk group with the Newar community of Kathmandu
valley, some changes are noticed in their way of celebrating the folk festivals
and rituals also; and they are slightly modifying their traditional rituals – as
in the case of Kukur Pooja (worship of the dog) and Kija Pooja (worship of the
brothers by their sisters) during Tihar. Some influences of Brahmin culture are
also noticed in their folk practices.
Like in the case of socio-cultural practices, changes are noticed in language
use also, resulting into their tendency of mixing the Nepali and some English
words in the conversation using Gopali – their mother tongue. In their speech,
the influence of Nepali, Tamang and Kathmandu-based Newari accent is noticed. It
indicates that, instead of their language being maintained as it is, there are
ample possibilities of changes in the coming days.
Conclusion
Gopalis are known as one of the ancient ethnic groups of
Nepal. The people of this folk group have their own folklore, folk tradition,
folk language, folk rituals, folk religion, folk literature and folk practices.
They have maintained some differences from the Newar community in language and
culture. They used to be called the Gwalas or Gwals. Later, they disliked these
words and started to use the word Gopali for their identity. But nowadays they
like to be called themselves Gwalas again. They have, thus, begun to think that
the word Gwala carries a greater value to refer to their ancestors.
Prepared by: Mr. Tej Prakash Shrestha
In association with: Dr. Rudra Laxmi Shrestha, Mr. Ekaram Maharjan and Mr.
Jitendra Kumar Chaudhary
Translated into English by: Binod Luitel
There are several castes, ethnic groups and sub-groups of people in Nepalese
society. Among them, one is the Gopali ethnic group, which is also known as
‘Gwala’ or ‘Gwal’. It has been said that Nepal was named after the earlier name
(Nep) of this ethnic group. There are some similarities between this folk group
and the Newar community living in Kathmandu valley and other parts of the
country.
Later, Krishna went back to Dwarika after establishing the
Gwalas’ kingdom in Kathmandu valley. The Gwalas ruled over the kingdom for a
long period in the valley. They followed the tradition of worshipping the cow.
It is found that they had ruled over the valley for 9 generations of kings,
prior to the arrival of the Mahispal and Kirant kings in the kingdom.
In this connection, some information is mentioned in the inscription found in
Toukhel, Chitlang VDC ward no. 6 (Makawanpur district), which was established by
Amshubarma in sambat 37. According to the inscription, king Amshubarma had given
some land to the local people to transfer the village from one locality to
another because there was the scarcity of land to keep the domestic animals in
the village. From this evidence, we can say that Gopalis were living by taming
domestic animals including cows and buffaloes. Explaining this inscription,
historians have said that the typical ethnic group residing in the localities of
Chitlang such as Toukhel, Nhulgaun, Kunchhal etc. are the Gwalas or Gopalis.
In this way, we can notice the presence of Gopali folk group from the ancient
time to the beginning of human settlement in Kathmandu valley and the Lichchhavi
Era. Nowadays, they are residing in some localities of Kathmandu valley and in
some villages of Makawanpur district.
structure, word formation etc. Besides, the influence of localization is found
in the language, and there is also a mixture of some Nepali and Tamang words in
it. The language is spoken with a long tune, and it is difficult to understand
for the Newari speakers. If there are outsider Newari speakers listening to the
conversation of Gopalis, the outsiders simply remain the observers, without
understanding anything.
the phonological
feature of medial vowel deletion is noticed in pronunciation. As a result,
instead of pronouncing the original two-syllabic words as it is, the words
become monosyllabic in utterance, after deleting the vowel in the initial
syllable. For example, khuche (dog) becomes khche (/u/ is deleted). In the
morning, Gopalis eat their traditional food Dhindo (made of flour) with pumpkin
curry, milk etc. In the evening, they have rice, vegetables, Gundruk (fermented
mustard leaves), Sinabali (fermented radish) etc. They eat Mali (made of flour),
curd, roasted corn, Thon (home-made beer) etc. in the afternoon. They also eat
Bajee (beaten rice), peas and beans, buffalo meat etc. and drink alcohol in the
feasts and festivals.
goddesses, etc.
They like to live at a place making the houses very close to each other, so
their houses in the village are very much concentrated, and mostly the houses
are joined to each other. There are narrow pathways in the Gopali settlements.
There are taps, inns, wells and worshipping places or temples in the village;
and there is Lachhi (square-shaped platform for social and cultural
performances) in the centre.
Several festivals observed by Gopalis are similar to those celebrated in the
Newar community. They celebrate Gathemangal, Byanjankegu, Gai Jatra, Jugan
Charha, Yanya Punhi, Dashain, Family and Kinship
Two types of kinship systems are mostly observed. The first one is consanguine
kinship – which includes the blood- related family members, i.e. father, mother,
son, daughter, grandfather/mother/son/daughter. The second type is affine
kinship – including the kin-related family members, e.g. maternal uncle/aunt,
sister-in-law, brother-in-law, etc. The roles of different kins in the rituals
like Maha Puja, Bhai Tika, Chhewar, Beyanki, Leratei, marriage etc. show their
social unity in this folk group. Kins play a very important role in Bola too,
because most of the Bolas are from the kinship.
not participate in the decision making procedures in Guthi. Usually,
there is no gender discrimination in Gopali society. However, since Guthi
members enjoy a greater socio-cultural status and prestige than others, it has
assigned a better position for males than females in an indirect way, by
restricting its membership only among the males.
year of the male child’s age. After hair cutting, some Gopalis,
though not all, also perform the ritual of Bratabandha or Kaitapuja. The boy’s
sisters, paternal aunt and maternal uncle have special duty on this occasion.
Maternal uncle usually cuts the hair and the boy’s paternal aunt collects the
hair in a brass plate and then takes it to the stream nearby to dispose it and
let it flow with water. Gopalis do not cut their boy’s hair prior to this
ritual; and even if it is cut before, the hair should be kept safely and should
be taken to the water in the stream on this occasion. Bya (marriage): In the
past, Gopalis had the tradition of child marriage. But nowadays, it is no longer
in practice. However, the youngsters are considered ready for marriage after the
age of 13-14 years. Even these days, there are events of marriage between the
girls and boys of 15-16 years. There are several instances of love marriage in
this age.
arranged marriage and love
marriage. In the case of love marriage, the boy and girl go away from their
family and stay in the house of the boy’s relatives for some time. In such
cases, the boy’s party has to organize Leratei (a special ritual-cum-feast),
with the consent of the girl’s parents, to make the marriage socially
acceptable.
on their agricultural land for their survival as well as for
economic activities. They have two types of land: a) Boon (plain terraces),
where they grow paddy, potatoes, cabbage, chilly, maize etc.; and b) Keu or Bari
(slope terraces), in which they grow radish, millet, corn, horse-bean, and other
vegetables.
of the folk people. This sort of literature is found among Gopalis
as well. They have fewer folk ballads, but their interest in folk songs is
remarkable. Particularly due to their religious belief, they give much time in
worshiping the folk gods and goddesses, and in singing the religious and
devotional songs. They spend the morning and evening hours for worshipping and
singing religious songs. The religious song Gula Dapha is performed in the month
of Shrawan; and Kwayala Dapha is performed in Kartik.
special mention, which are performed on the occasion of Barabarse Naach. The
dance narrating the story of King Kam Singh and Chandra Singh is peformed in
Kunchhal. Another dance is the Barabarse Bajrabarahi dance, which is performed
in the participation of all the local people including the Gopalis of Purano
Tistung (Old Tistung). This dance is based on the story of King Satal Singh. In
these dances, we can see the mixture of Newari and Nepali languages to some
extent. The tradition of such a dramatic song, performed once in every 12 years,
is found in Toukhel also.
Despite having their unique forms of folk tradition, folk
culture and values, changes are found particularly among the young generations
of Gopalis in the recent years. As a result of modern education and their
contact with the people of other communities, the traditional norms and values
are gradually changing. Although the old generation is following the practices
discussed in this article, the youngsters seem to be less serious towards
maintaining them. This trend is noticed in the lack of attraction among boys and
girls to the folk songs/dances like Barabarse Naach and Dapha Bhajan, their
reduced membership in Guthis, etc. While the folk dress Haku Patasi is commonly
worn by the women of old age and middle age, it is rare among the young girls.
Among the young men also, the traditional dresses are less popular.