Gurung (exonym; ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal. Gurung people predominantly live around the Annapurna region in Manang, Mustang, Dolpo, Kaski, Lamjung, Gorkha, Parbat and Syangja districts of Nepal and parts of India. They are one of the main Gurkha tribes.
They are also scattered across India in Sikkim, Assam, Delhi, West Bengal (Darjeeling area) and other regions with a predominant Nepali diaspora population. They speak the Sino-Tibetan Gurung language and most of them practice the Bon religion alongside Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism. As a result of foreign and Korean Christian missionary activities, some Gurung people have also converted to Christianity.
Gurung caste
The Gurungs had no caste system and within themselves. Yet for several centuries the Gurungs and other hill peoples have been mixing with the caste cultures of Indo-Aryan and they have been influenced by them in various ways. As a result, Gurung caste system has been fragmented into two parts: the four-caste (Plighi/ Char-jat) and sixteen-caste (Kuhgi/ Sora-jat) systems. Within there are more than thirty named clans.
"Bakhkhu" is one of the traditional clothing items worn by the Gurung community. Crafted from sheep's wool, Bakhkhu serves as a versatile garment, offering protection against cold and rain, while also doubling as a mat and a sleeping cover. This traditional attire reflects the Gurung people's profound cultural connection to their environment and their sustainable practices, which include sheep pastoralism. Read more
Geographical distribution
At the time of the 2011 Nepal census, 798,658 people (2.97% of the population of Nepal) identified as Gurung. The frequency of Gurung people by province was a follows: Gandaki Province (11.4%) Bagmati Province (2.2%) Koshi Province (1.4%) Lumbini Province (0.9%) Karnali Province (0.7%) Sudurpashchim Province (0.2%) Madhesh Province (0.2%)
The frequency of Gurung people was higher than national average in the following districts: Manang (57.1%) Lamjung (31.4%) Mustang (20.1%) Gorkha (19.8%) Kaski (16.7%) Tanahun (11.6%) Syangja (9.0%) Dolpa (7.1%) Chitwan (6.8%) Dhading (5.6%) Sankhuwasabha (5.4%) Taplejung (4.6%) Parbat (3.7%) Rasuwa (3.1%) Tehrathum (2.9%) Ilam (2.9%) Nawalpur (2.9%) Kathmandu (2.6%) Rupandehi (2.0%).
Religion
The Gurung Dharma include Bon Lam (Lama), Ghyabri (Ghyabring) and Pachyu (Paju). Lamas perform Buddhist rituals as needed, such as in birth, funeral, other family rituals (such as in Domang, Tharchang) and in Lhosar. Lamas perform Buddhist ceremonies primarily in Manang, Mustang, and elsewhere. Some Gurung villages have kept remnants of a pre-Buddhist form of the ‘Bon' religion, which flourished over two thousand years ago across much of Tibet and Western China. They have also kept aspects of an even older shamanic belief system that served as a counter to the Bon religion.