Yolmo

The Hyolmo people (also Yholmo, Yolmo, Yohlmo, Yolmopa) are an indigenous group of people that natively reside in the Helambu and Melamchi Valleys of northeastern Nepal situated over 43.4 kilometres (27 miles) and 44.1 kilometres (27.4 miles) to the north of Kathmandu respectively. They also have sizeable communities in Bhutan and some territories within India, primarily Darjeeling and Sikkim. They speak the Hyolmo language which has a high lexical similarity to Tibetan, although the two languages are not completely mutually intelligible.

The Hyolmo communities in Nepal were badly affected by the Nepal earthquake, particularly the communities in Drupadong, Sermathang, Tarkeghyang, Melamchighyang where many local residences were destroyed.[1]

History

Hyolmo speakers [2] migrated from the Kyirong Valleys of southwestern Tibet around two to three hundred years ago.[3] They settled in the valleys of Helambu once they arrived there, and gradually, intermarriages between the male Yolmo lamas and the Tamang women local to the region became common.[2]

In the 1980s, an increased number of Hyolmos began identifying themselves as the "Helambu Sherpa", even using the appellation as a surname to align themselves with the more prominent Sherpa people of the Solukhumbu District.[4] Although this name is still used to refer to the Hyolmo people and their language in certain instances, including the ISO 639-3 language codes,[5] very few Hyolmo people would be likely to identify themselves as a subsection of the Sherpas in the current date.[6]

Characteristics

The Hyolmos are among the 59 indigenous groups officially recognized by the Government of Nepal as having a distinct cultural identity.[7] They refer to themselves as the "Yolmopa" or "Hyolopa".[7] Their primary religion is Tibetan Buddhism of the Nyingmapa school, intermixed with animism and paganism as incorporated within the general dimensions of Shamanism.[7]

Essentially, the Hyolmo people are agriculturalists. Potatoes, radishes, and some other crops constitute their primary sustenance, along with the milk and flesh from the yak which Hyolmos are known to herd.[8] Theve villages or in various other parts of Nepal.

The Hyolmo people are organised into several clans, all of which follow the patrilineal system of descent. They used to practice a form of bride "stealing" as part of their tradition, but that practice is no longer encouraged.[9]

The Helambu region has become a popular site for tourism and trekking in the last few decades, and some Hyolmos are now employed in the tourism industry, serving as guides either in their own respective villages or in various other parts of Nepal.

Distribution

Nepal

According to the Nepal National Census of 2011, the population of the Hyolmo people living within Nepal is 10,752, and they are distributed over 11 districts of the country. 99% from this population speak the Hyolmo language. The number of monolingual Hyolmo speakers is very low and on a gradual decline, as many people also speak Nepali.[7] The largest Hyolmo settlements, comprising a total of about 10,000 people, are located in the Helambu and Melamchi valleys, about 44 and 27 kilometres/27 and 17 miles to the northeast of Kathmandu, respectively. A separate group of about 700 reside in the Lamjung district while some have settled closer to Pokhara.[10] There are also a number of villages in the Ilam district where Hyolmo is spoken.

India

The Hyolmos are listed as a Scheduled Tribe in the states of West Bengal and Sikkim in India.[11]

Other Countries

The Yolmo language is also spoken by a considerable population in Bhutan and the Gyirong County of southwestern Tibet.[7]

Etymology

The term "Yolmo" or "Hyolmo" consists of two separate words — Hyol, which means "a place or area surrounded by high mountains", and Mo, "goddess", indicating a place under the protection of a female deity.[7] For centuries, Tibetan Buddhists have referred to the Helambu region using the term "Hyolmo". In more recent times, most people, Hyolmos and otherwise, seem to prefer the name "Helambu" itself. It is also often claimed that the name "Helambu" is derived from the Hyolmo words for potatoes and radishes (Hey means "potato" and lahbu is "radish").[12][13] This etymology is disputed and often considered spurious. Some refuters of this explanation argue that "Helambu" is an ambiguation of the word "Yolmo" phonetically contoured by Nepali speakers.[14]

There is an ongoing discussion amongst Hyolmo scholars regarding the spelling of 'Yolmo' in the Latin script. Some favour 'Yolmo' while others prefer 'Hyolmo' or 'Yholmo'. The presence of the letter 'h' in the spelling is to indicate that the first syllable of the word is spoken with a low, breathy tone. It is worth noting that Robert R. Desjarlais and Graham E. Clarke (works cited below) both use 'Yolmo', while the Nepal Aadivasi Janajati Mahasangh (Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities) use 'Hyolmo'.[15]

Language

The Hyolmo language has high lexical similarities to Sherpa and Tibetan. It has been recorded in both the Tibetan and Devanagari scripts.

The Hyolmo language is also very closely related to Kagate, another language of the Kyirong-Kagate language sub-group. The Kagate people stem from the original Hyolmo inhabitants of the Helambu and Melamchi valleys. What distinguishes them from the Hyolmo is the fact that they began migrating southeast from Helambu (and eventually, into the Ramechhap District) over one-hundred years ago,[10] and that during their peregrinations, they practiced the craft of paper-making in order to make a living. Hence, the name "Kagate" (which is Nepali for 'Paper maker'). They have since developed certain characteristics in their speech that are distinct from traditional Hyolmo. The Hyolmo speaking groups in the Lamjung District and Ilam District have also historically been called Kagate although both groups claim a clear distinction between themselves and the Kagate of Ramechhap.[10] Oftentimes, people will use 'Hyolmo' and 'Kagate' as terms for both the ethnic group and the dialect interchangeably.

Further reading

References

  1. ↑ "CLICK HERE to support Help the Hyolmo community in Nepal!". Indiegogo Life. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
  2. 1 2 Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "Lama and Tamang in Yolmo". Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson: 79–86.
  3. ↑ Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "A Helambu History". Journal of the Nepal Research Centre (4): 1–38.
  4. ↑ Clarke, G. E. (1980). M. Aris and A. S. S. Kyi, ed. Tibetan Studies in honor of Hugh Richardson. Warminster: Aris and Phillips. p. 79.
  5. ↑ Lewis, M. Paul. "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Sixteenth edition". Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Desjarlais, Robert (2003). Sensory biographies : lives and deaths among Nepal's Hyolmo Buddhists. California: University of California Press. p. 12.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Hyolmo: Who is Yolmopa/Hyolmo?". Indigenous Voice. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Bishop, Naomi (1998). Himalayan Herders. Fort Worth; London: Harcourt Brace College Publishers. ISBN 9780534440602.
  9. ↑ Sato, Seika (1997). "Crossing 'capture' out: On the marginality of the capture marriage tactics in Hyolmo, Nepal". 帝京社会学第.
  10. 1 2 3 Gawne, Lauren (2013). "Report on the relationship between Hyolmo and Kagate" (PDF). Himalayan Linguistics 12 (2): 1–27.
  11. ↑ List of Notified Scheduled Tribes, Census of India
  12. ↑ Clarke, Graham E. (1980). "A Helambu History". Journal of the Nepal Research Centre 4: 1–38.
  13. ↑ Clarke, Graham E. (1980). M. Aris and A. S. S. Kyi, ed. Lama and Tamang in Yolmo. Warminster: Aris and Phillips. pp. 79–86.
  14. ↑ Hari, Anne Marie (2010). Yolmo Grammar Sketch. Kathmandu: Ekta Books. p. 1.
  15. ↑ "Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities". Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities. Nepal Federation of Indigenous Nationalities. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-24.
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