Yakkha is an indigenous ethnic group of Nepal (identical with its Kirat family consisting of Limbu, Rai and Sunuwar of Mongoloid physiognomy). It is one of the progenies of Nepal's prehistoric Kirat dynasty of around 100 BC.
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Scholars have different opinions regarding the origin of the word Yakkha. One school of thought claims that the ethnonym "Yakkha" as per the Aryan Sanskrit grammar had been spelled in the Aryan-Hindu mythologies as "Yaksa-sh" (like Bhisu-shu for an ascetic "Bhikchu" of the Buddhist holy scripts). Although the legendary Yaksa-sh, by the corrupt name of Yakkha, is being hailed in the Hindu holy scripts, Vedas and the ancient Sanskrit literature, Yakkha has historically been consistent in the use of its own endonyms. "Yakkhawa" or "Yakkhapa" is used to denote the male person and "Yakkhama" to denote the female person.[1]
The Yakkhas are also known by the exonyms Majhiya, Jimidar and Dewan, titles they accepted after the conquest of the Kirat land by the Gorkhas under Prithvi Narayan Shah. The Yakkhas were not only given ownership of the land but were also given the responsibility of collecting taxes from the lands utilised by Yakkhas as well as non-Yakkhas living in the area. In Darjeeling district and Sikkim of India, Dewan is commonly used as a synonym of Yakkha, and as Dewans they are placed in the Other Backward Class category.
Today, the Yakkha motherland is considered a patch among the historic Kirat region (i.e., east of the Kathmandu valley). During the so-called national unification of Nepal by Prithvi Narayan Shah, the traditional bases of the Kirati lands were destroyed. The Far Kirat (Pallo Kirat) of the Ten Limbuwan area to the east of the Arun River was divided into seventeen Thums. Among these seventeen Thums, the Panch Khapan, Panch (5) Majhiya and Das (10) Majhiya Tin Thum Yaksalen are regarded as the traditional area of the Yakkhas. This Yakkha area is the southern part of Sankhuwasabha district bordering the Dhankuta district in eastern Nepal. Madi Mulkharka, Tamafok, Mamgling, Ankhibhuin, Chanuwa, Dandagaun, etc. are the names of the 10 Majhiyas and Hatisudhe, Kingring, Chapabhuin, etc. are the name of five Majhiyas.[2]
The Yakkhas have a distinct language, culture and tradition. The Yakkha language is a Tibeto-Burman language. The onset of modernism and influence from external factors have caused a rapid disappearance of the Yakkha language.[3] The Yakkhas practice the Kirati religion of nature worship. There are 32 family names (Thar) in the Yakkhas. Each Thar also has a sub-group called the Sameychong. Marriages do not occur between families sharing the same Sameychong.
As per the national census of Nepal 2001, there are 17,003 Yakkhas in Nepal, of which 81.43% were Kirats, 14.17% were Hindus and 1.04% were Buddhists. A few thousand Yakkhas live in Darjeeling district, Sikkim and the North-Eastern states of India.