Jirel people

The Jirels (Nepali: जिरेल जाति listen ) of eastern Nepal are both ethnically and linguistically related to both the Sherpas and Sunuwars. Their population of 5,300 is centered on the Jiri Valley. Jirel are long lost Kirati brothers of Rai Limbu Sunuwar and other Kiratis. According to the Jirel legend, a brother living around Ramechhap district are called Hayu, another brother living in and around Jiri and Suri are known as Jirel and Surel respectively. Another brother living in Likhu Khimti are called Sunuwar. A brother living in Bhojpur and around are known by Rai and the brother living in the far eastern region are called Limbu. But the fact is they are all the brothers from same mother.

According to the Surel legends, their forefathers were 5 brothers among whom eldest was the Surel and where as the youngest was the Hayu. Second was the Limbu and third was the Rai and fourth was the Sunuwar. The descendants of these 5 brothers gradually evolved their own individual characteristics and languages.

Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization is the most notable book about the local socio-cultural issues of Nepalese people was written by Nepal renowned anthropologist Dor Bahadur Bista gives a brief insight into Jirel people. Dor Bahadur Bista wrote " The eastern hills, which largely comprise the Kirat area, were not hierarchized because the Bahuns did not arrive in the area until much later that their appearance in the Kathmandu Valley and the regions to the west. They began to trickle through only after the reunification of the Kirat region with the rest of Nepal. Most of the Kirats east of Sunkoshi river - namely the Jimi, the Rai, the Yakha, the Hayu, the Jirel, the Thami and the Limbu practice their own religion with their own gods and goddess, priests and spirit mediums. Their various gods remained in ascendance even after the introduction of Hindu deities". - Fatalism and Development: Nepal's Struggle for Modernization By Dor Bahadur Bista

Their main form of subsistence is agro-pastoral production, combining the cultivation of wheat, barley, and maize, with the herding of goats and cattle. Little is known about them, but they have certain cultural affinities close Sunwars and the Sherpas suggest that their culture is a form of the Bhoti culture.

The Jirels practice Tibetan Buddhism, have their own lamas. There is a Sherpa Buddhist monastery and a Jirel monastery in the valley. Like other ethnic groups, the Jirels' religious beliefs include elements derived from Hinduism, as well as shamanistic practices. Jirel shaman are known as phombos, whose practices are similar to the shamanistic activities elsewhere in eastern Nepal. According to the 2001 Nepal Census, there were a total of 5,316 ethnic Jirel, of whom 87.00% were Buddhists and 10.55% were Hindus.^[1]

Footnotes

References

• Maibaum, Anita and Esther Strahm. 2005. Jirel-Nepali-English. Kathmandu: Central Department of Linguistics. Tribhuvan University.