Wambule Language
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Wambule (; ne, वाम्बुले, translit=Vāmbulē) is a Kiranti language language spoken by the Wambule Rai, one of the
Rai RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many ter ...
groups belonging to the Kiranti (किरान्ती) ethnolinguistic family of eastern
Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...
. Wambule is spoken by more than 5000 people living around the confluence of the Sunkosi (सुनकोसी) and Dudhkosi (दूधकोसी) rivers near Kui-Bhir Hill. The Wambule-speaking area comprises the southernmost part of
Okhaldhunga Okhaldhunga is the headquarters of the Okhaldhunga District in the Sagarmatha Zone of Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 3761 living in 790 individual households. Background The name Okhaldhunga originates from ...
district, the westernmost part of Khotang district, the northernmost part of
Udayapur district Udayapur District ( ne, उदयपुर जिल्ला, is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district, with Triyuga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and in 2001 had a population of 287,689, in 20 ...
, and the northeasternmost part of Sindhuli district.


Names

'' Ethnologue'' records numerous other names that are used for this language. They include Umbule (उँबुले), Ambule, Awambule (अ्वाम्बुले), Caurasia, Chaurasia, Chaurasya, Chourase, Chourasia, Ombule, Radu Yor./Ayor, Tsaurasya, Umbule, Vambucauras Raduyor/Raduayor, Vambule, Vambule Radu Yor/Ayor, and Vambule Yor/Ayor. The Wambule use several native and Nepali names to designate their language, such as 'Vāmbucaurās Rāḍuyor', 'Caurāsiā', 'Ombule', 'Umbule' and 'Vāmbule'. The language most closely related to Wambule is the western neighbour Jero. It is one of a number of Kiranti languages, a language family also known as the
Rai languages The Kiranti languages are a major family of Sino-Tibetan languages spoken in Nepal and India (notably Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kumai) by the Kirati people. External relationships George van Driem had formerly proposed that the Kir ...
.


Geographical distribution

Wambule is spoken in the following villages of Nepal ('' Ethnologue''). *Wamdyal/Awamdyal dialect (in southern
Okhaldhunga District Okhaldhunga District ( ne, ओखलढुङ्गा जिल्ला) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. The district, with Okhaldhunga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 156,702 ...
, Sagarmatha Zone): Ripdwam, Fokul, Darbu, Simkaku, Balangchokfu, Grindi Muchhipum, Shikhai, Daddyal, Kolpum, Khatridyal, Katualdyal, Tarkom, Rinuwal, Dhypti, Sodo, Khachapu, Kurbwamlung, Hukku, Peku, Kakdhyamphu, Gairigau. *Hilepane dialect (in southern
Okhaldhunga District Okhaldhunga District ( ne, ओखलढुङ्गा जिल्ला) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. The district, with Okhaldhunga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 156,702 ...
, Sagarmatha Zone): Pipale, Bhadare, Hilepani, Thakle, Mandhare, Sokma Tar, Dundunma, Jakma, Jerun, Ricuva, and Lambole *Udayapur dialect (in southern
Okhaldhunga District Okhaldhunga District ( ne, ओखलढुङ्गा जिल्ला) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 in eastern Nepal. The district, with Okhaldhunga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 156,702 ...
, Sagarmatha Zone): Udayapur, Phedigau, Barasi, *Jhappali dialect (in western
Khotang District Khotang District ( ne, खोटाङ जिल्ला) is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district, with Diktel as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2021) of 206,312.Sagarmatha Zone): Kurleghat, Majhkhani, Byanditar, Rupatar, Kharka, Cuvabot, Jhapa, Lurkhudada, Vaitar, Balui, Thumka, Pakauci, Goviar, Gurdum, Jayaram Gha, Bahuni Dada, Todke, Limlun, Damli, Vetagau, and Temtuku *Udaypur dialect (in northern
Udayapur District Udayapur District ( ne, उदयपुर जिल्ला, is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. The district, with Triyuga as its district headquarters, covers an area of and in 2001 had a population of 287,689, in 20 ...
, Sagarmatha Zone, and northeastern
Sindhuli District Sindhuli District ( ne, सिन्धुली जिल्ला), a part of the Bagmati Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Sindhulimadhi Kamalamai as its district ...
,
Janakpur Zone Janakpur ( ne, जनकपुर अञ्चल ) was one of the fourteen zones of Nepal, reaching from the Indian border in the south to the Tibetan border in the north and Sagarmatha Zone in the east and Bagmati and Naryani Zones in the we ...
): Lekhani, Ghurmi, Salle, Sorun, Salleni, Pallo Salleni, Sindure, Majhkhani, Bhirpani, Kusumtar, and Jortighat *Sunsari dialect (in south mid Sunsari and near of morang District, Koshi zone, Chatra, Jhumka, Parkhspur, Ithari, And there is one of most Wambule people lives in Panmara and dharan. *Morang dialect (in South and North Morang district Laxmimarga, Gacchiya, Belbari, Nalbari, Farsadangi, Kanepokhari, Biratnagr Wambule people.


Dialects

Gaṇeś Rāī (VS 2055: 8-9) claims that four different Wambule dialects can be distinguished: *The Wamdyal/Awamdyal dialect is spoken in the Mānebhanjyāṅ Village Development Committee of Okhalḍhuṅgā district, in the area situated roughly to the west of the Paṅkhu Kholā to the east of the Rūmdū Kholā, to the north of the Dūdhkosī river and to the south to the village of Ketukebhanjyāṅ. The Wambule capital village of Wamdyal (which is presently known in Nepali as 'Ubu', 'Uṃbu', 'Ũbu' or 'Uvu') is situated at an altitude of about 1730 metres. *The Udaipure dialect is spoken in Okhalḍhuṅgā district in a small area along the upper course of the Rūmdū Kholā, just east to the bazaar of Mānebhanjyāṅ. Main village is Udaypur. *The Hilepāne dialect is spoken in two neighbouring districts. Hilepāne proper is situated in Okhalḍhuṅgā district, to the west of the Rūmdū Kholā, to the east of the Bhāḍāre Kholā, to the north of the Sunkosī and Dūdhkosī rivers and to south of the village of Mānebhanjyāṅ. The main village of Hilepānī is situated at an altitude of about 900 metres. A form of Hilepāne that is said to be influenced by Jero is spoken in Udaypur district, in the area situated to the southwest of the Sunkosī river, to the east of the Bahādur Kholā and to the north of the mouth of the Nibuvā Kholā. The village of Salle is situated at an altitude of about 1200 metres. *The Jhāppālī dialect is spoken in Khoṭāṅ district in the area to the west of the Dõthe Kholā and the village of Dāmlī, to the east of the Sunkosī river, to the north of the Khahare Kholā and to the south of the Dūdhkosī river. The main village of Jhāpā is situated at an altitude of about 1270 metres. ''Ethnologue'' lists the dialects Bonu, Wamdyal, Udaipure, Hilepane, and Jhappali, and notes that they appear to be mutually intelligible. *The Sunsari dialect spoken, is like khotnag and okhladunga wambule rai types in rapdacho, brankhalcho, vawachacho, etc. wambule people spoken their wambule languages in basically panmara people.


Mythology

According to legend, there was no earth at the beginning of time. There was only a single aqueous orb. The gods called in the help of seven suns to dry up the aqueous orb. After stones had become visible, termites made a mound of mud. Then insects, seedlings and birds were created. After the creation of the earth, the gods thought of creating the primordial living being. They created a human made of gold. When they tried to make it say things, the human could not utter a single sentence. The gods made many attempts and used different kinds of golden metals, but all these creatures failed to speak. In the end, the gods created a human made of a mixture of bird's dung and ashes. This human was able to speak, but it spoke so badly that the gods became angry and cursed it by inflicting mortality upon it and its kind. The Wambule say that the proof that a human is made of dung and ashes is given by the bad odour emitted by rubbing one's body.


History

According to Gaṇeś Rāī, the Wambule tribe is named after one of their kings called ''Vāṅbu'', who is also commonly known as Vāṅbāhāṅg 'king Vāṅbā'. His subjects were known as Vāmbule and his domain was called Vāmdyāl or Vām Dyāl (Vām Village). Candra Bahādur Rāī also claims that the tribe is named after Waŋbu, one of the tribe's most important hwaŋpo ‘king’. This king, or rather chief, is said to rule over an area comprising the southern part of the present-day district of Okhalḍhuṅgā some time prior to the unification of Nepal under Pṛthvī Nārāyaṇ Śāh, King of Gorkhā, and his successors.


Religious groups

According to Opgenort, Wambule society can be divided into three religious groups. A distinction is made between the ''Jagat'', the representative of the generally accepted religious beliefs, and the two sects called ''Santa-Bhes'' and ''Hwam''. These two sects have more or less abolished the old tradition of paying respect to the deities and spirits, which have been replaced by the most important Hindu gods. However, the influence of Hinduism has also reached the ''Jagat'', who worship Hindu gods beside their native deities and spirits. The Wambule also celebrate the Hindu festivals, which are national happenings throughout Nepal, such as ''daśaĩ ''and ''tihār''.


References


Further reading

* Opgenort, Jean Robert Matheus Leonard. 2007. "About Chaurasia", pp. 203–224 in ''Linguistics of the Himalayas and Beyond''. Roland Bielmeier, Felix Haller, eds. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. *Rāī, Avināth. ''Vāmbule Rāī Śabdakoś''. Lalitpur: Vāmbule Samāj Nepāl. {{Kiranti languages Kiranti languages Languages of Nepal