Kumal people
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Kumal people
| image = Kumal cultural dress .jpg
| image_caption = A Kumal man and woman in their ethnic wear
| popplace = Nepal
| religions = Hinduism 98%, Christianity 1.4%{{cite report |date=2014 |title=Population monograph of Nepal |volume=II |author=Central Bureau of Statistics |publisher=Government of Nepal |url=https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf}}
| related_groups = Tharu, Bote, Danuwar, Darai, Majhi
}}
Kumal ({{langx|ne|कुमाल}}) is a caste or ethnic group in Nepal, traditionally associated with pottery.{{Cite web|title=पहिचान जोगाउन पुर्ख्यौंली पेसातिरै फर्कियो चुलाचुलीको कुमाल समुदाय|url=https://www.thahakhabar.com/news/13074|website=Thaha Khabar|language=en|access-date=2020-05-06}} Their traditional profession is endangered due to competition from cheaper, more durable industrial pots.{{Cite web|title=आधुनिकतासँगै कुमाल समुदायको पुख्र्यौली पेशा सङ्कटमा|url=http://www.onlineradionepal.gov.np/2019/09/12/13364.html|website=Radio Nepal|access-date=2020-05-06}} Fewer youths learn the skills. They are found to inhabit in the Terai, inner Terai and Mid-hills close to the riverbanks where bioresearches are rich to continue to their traditional occupation.{{Cite web |title=Kumal of Nepal |url=https://elibrary.tucl.edu.np/bitstream/123456789/6676/2/chapter%20page%281%29.pdf}} Their traditional dance, the Pangdure, is considered endangered.{{Cite web |title=पाङदुरे जोगाउँदै कुमाल |url=https://ekantipur.com/pradesh-4/2020/01/15/157906163675255977.html |access-date=2020-05-06 |website=ekantipur.com |language=ne}}
Language
Kumal people speak the Kumal language.{{Cite book |last=Panthī |first=Dīna |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k-ZIAQAAIAAJ |title=Pālpā-Gulmelī upabhāshika: Lumbinī Añcalakā tīna Pahāṛī jillā Gulmī, Ardhākhān̐cī ra Pālpāmā boline Nepālī bhāshākā sthānīya bhedako biśesha adhyayana |date=2002 |publisher=Nepāla Rājakīya Prajñā-Pratishṭhāna |language=ne}} According to the population census of 2011, 121,000 Kumals live in Nepal; there are 12,000 native speakers of the Kumal language.{{Cite book |author=Government of Nepal. National Planning Commission Secretariat. Central Bureau of Statistics |url=http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf |title=National Population and Housing Census 2011 (National Report) |year=2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130418041642/http://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/National%20Report.pdf |archivedate=2013-04-18}}.Less number of people speak kumal language (own language).
Geographic distribution
The 2011 Nepal census classifies the Kumal people within the broader social group of Mountain/Hill Janajati.[https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II] At the time of the Nepal census of 2011, 121,196 people (0.5% of the population of Nepal) were Kumal. The frequency of Kumal people by province was as follows:
- Gandaki Province (1.5%)
- Lumbini Province (1.0%)
- Bagmati Province (0.3%)
- Madhesh Province (0.2%)
- Koshi Province (0.2%)
- Karnali Province (0.1%)
- Sudurpashchim Province (0.1%)
The frequency of Kumal people was higher than national average (0.5%) in the following districts:[https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2018/12/Volume05Part02.pdf 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report]
References
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite journal |last=Rai |first=Dhyanendra Bahadur |year=2009 |title=Livelihood Patterns of Majhi and Kumal Communities in the Arun Valley, Eastern Nepal |journal=Geographical Journal of Nepal |volume=7 |pages=7–14 |doi=10.3126/gjn.v7i0.17437 |doi-access=free}}
External links
{{Commons category|Kumal people}}
{{authority control}}
{{Ethnic groups in Nepal|state=collapsed}}
Category:Indigenous peoples of Nepal
{{Nepal-stub}}