| Wambule | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Nepal |
| Native speakers | 5,000 (date missing) |
| Language family |
Sino-Tibetan
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | wme |
Wambule (Nepali: वाम्बुले Vāmbule) is the language of the Wambule Rai, one of the Kiranti (Nep. किरान्ती) tribes of eastern Nepal. Wambule is spoken by more than 5,000 people living around the confluence of the Sunkosi (Nep. सुनकोसी) and Dudhkosi (Nep. दूधकोसी) rivers near Kui-Bhir Hill. The Wambule-speaking area comprises the southernmost part of Okhaldhunga district, the westernmost part of Khotang district, the northernmost part of Udaypur district, and the northeasternmost part of Sindhuli district.
Some others names by which the Wambule language is also known from the literature are 'Chouras'ya' , 'Chourase' and 'Umbule'. 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.
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According to the Wambule 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.
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.
Gaṇeś Rāī (VS 2055: 8-9) claims that four different Wambule dialects can be distinguished:
According to Opgenort (2002, 2004), 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.