Sarki (ethnic Group)

Sarki () is an indigenous people in Nepal. They are found in the region of the Himalayas, Nepal, across the hills of Darjeeling & Kalimpong and in Terai area of Dooars. Sarki people are ruler in western Nepal before khas maigretion. They have ruled over Dumkot in Surkhet, Bhiyalkot in Mugu, Bhulkot in Bajura, Sarkikot in Jumla, Chamakot in Baitadi and other places and introduced leather money. Historians believe that the Sarki people are the descendent of ancient "kol" Tribe (Kami, Damai, Sarki, Badi, Gaine) the original inhabitants of Western Himalayas who speak Munda language. The Sarki caste has its own culture and tradition. The main festival of the Sarki caste is Baisakh Purnima. Apart from this, the Sarki caste also celebrates Kul Puja, Bai Puja, Jhakri Puja and Dashain Tihar with great pomp. In the Sarki caste along with love marriages, marriages are arranged by relatives and Jhakri. In this way, after the marriage, when the family members visit the boy's side, the bride and groom and an old man from the boy's side go to the girl's family side and say, "We accept your daughter" and give Bangur saffron, alcohol, and other things and they are mandatory taken. In the Sarki caste, when a person dies, the body is first buried in the grave, but nowadays it is often cremated at the ghat. When the funeral is held for 3, 7 or 10 days, a square is made by planting a peepal tree 2/3 hundred meters away from the house in memory of the deceased. In the Sarki caste, marriages or funerals are performed by nephews.

Traditionally Sarki men wear bhoto, kachada, dhakatopi, ascot, while women wear cholo, fariya, and potuka. Now, due to the influence of Western culture, various types of dresses have also been introduced. Now, they wear modern clothes. They are experts in playing their musical instrument " Madal" and performing dance in a group which is also called “Khayali Marooni”. They also have other dance like Thali nach, Sarange nach. According to the 2021 Nepal census, Sarki makes up 1.55% of Nepal's population (452,229 people).
Sarki are referred to in the Nepali and Thakali languages.

Due to many caste-based discriminations in Nepal, the government of Nepal legally abolished the caste system and criminalized any caste-based discrimination, including "untouchability" (the ostracism of a specific caste) - in the year 1963 A.D. With Nepal's step towards freedom and equality, Nepal, previously ruled by a Hindu monarchy, was a Hindu nation which has now become a secular state, and on 28 May 2008, it was declared a republic, ending it as a Hindu kingdom

The 1854 Nepalese Muluki Ain (Legal Code) categorized Sarki as a category. Sarki is categorized under "Hill Dalit" among the 9 broad social groups, along with Damai, Badi, Kami and Gaine by the Government of Nepal.

Geographic distribution

At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 374,816 people (1.4% of the population of Nepal) were Sarki.2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report
/ref> The frequency of Sarki by province was as follows:
* Gandaki Province (4.1%)
* Karnali Province (2.6%)
* Sudurpashchim Province (1.7%)
* Lumbini Province (1.5%)
* Bagmati Province (1.3%)
* Koshi Province (1.0%)
* Madhesh Province (0.1%)

The frequency of Sarki was higher than national average (1.4%) in the following districts:
* Gorkha (7.6%)
* Jumla (7.1%)
* Parbat (6.7%)
* Arghakhanchi (6.1%)
* Baglung (5.6%)
* Lamjung (5.3%)
* Bajura (5.0%)
* Dhading (4.8%)
* Gulmi (4.8%)
* Dadeldhura (4.5%)
* Tanahun (4.3%)
* Pyuthan (4.2%)
* Syangja (4.0%)
* Sindhuli (3.6%)
* Myagdi (3.4%)
* Kalikot (3.2%)
* Palpa (3.2%)
* Dailekh (3.1%)
* Ramechhap (3.1%)
* Okhaldhunga (2.9%)
* Dolpa (2.8%)
* Khotang (2.8%)
* Udayapur (2.6%)
* Kaski (2.5%)
* Doti(2.4%)
* Surkhet (2.4%)
* Bhojpur (2.3%)
* Humla (2.3%)
* Bajhang (2.2%)
* Dang (1.9%)
* Kavrepalanchok (1.9%)
* Jajarkot (1.8%)
* Salyan (1.8%)
* Western Rukum (1.8%)
* Nuwakot (1.7%)
* Kanchanpur (1.6%)
* Terhathum (1.6%)
* Sindhupalchowk (1.5%)

Language

They lost their traditional language, only some old people use some words of their traditional language in remote area. Now they speak Nepali language which is Nepal's official language.
They also speak Gurung
.

References

Bibliography

* {{Cite book, title = A History of Nepal, last1 = Whelpton , first1 = John, year = 2005 , publisher = Cambridge University Press , isbn = 978-0521804707 , url =https://books.google.com/books?id=WSo6PgAACAAJ

Himalayan peoples
Ethnic groups in Nepal
Culture of Sikkim
Dalit communities