The Western Gurung people live in the Kaski, Syangia and Parbat districts of the Gandaki Zone in central Nepal. According to the 1991 census, 72,000 people can still speak the Western Gurung language, just over 50 per cent of the population. The rest speak Nepali as their first language.
Over the past two hundred years the Gurung have migrated into surrounding nations. There is a community of Gurung living in the Samtsi District of south-west Bhutan, where they are commonly labelled as Nepalis. In India, Gurung communities can be found in the hilly terrain of the South, West and East districts of the state of Sikkim, throughout the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, and around the city of Dehra Dun and throughout the Pithoragarh District in Uttar Pradesh. In India, the Gurung have not been recognized as a Scheduled Tribe. Consequently population figures are not available for them, but they probably total a few thousand.
Gurung history is clouded with uncertainty because of their lack of a written script in the past. Legends were handed down orally from one generation to the next. We do know that, during the 15th century, a Gurung king named Ghale Raja was overthrown by a Nepali king. In the 16th century the Khasa armies took over large tracts of land in Nepal and the Gurung came under their control. The Gurung were highly regarded as fighters and many of them were enlisted in the Khasa's armies. Later, after the British took control of India, many Gurung men were enlisted as Gurkha soldiers in the British army. Thousands have served in places from Hong Kong to Bosnia and the Falkland Islands.
Religion plays an important role in the everyday lives of most Gurung people. Their belief system is a mixture of Buddhism, Hinduism and shamanism. As one researcher wrote, 'Buddhism is followed by the Gurungs today although in ancient times they practiced the animistic and shamanistic form of religion similar to the pre-Buddhist Bon religion of the Himalayan regions. The northern areas of the kingdom are populated with people of mongoloid stock who are mostly followers of Tibetan Buddhism, and so these Gurungs can also be included within this category, though currently Hindu Gurungs have also emerged due to their contact with the Hindu lowlanders. '
The ceremonies and rituals that the Gurung perform also have mixed origins. One interesting custom, called tuno bandhane, takes place three days after the birth of a baby. 'This entails wrapping the newborn baby (after it has been washed in either cow's milk or cow's urine) in a long piece of cloth. '
Less than one out of every thousand Western Gurung people are Christians today. One source found there to be just 23 known Western Gurung believers in 1997, but this number has increased in recent years. The Western Gurung New Testament was first published in 1982, but it has fallen out of print since because of the small number of Western Gurung Christians and because there is no demand for it.
Scripture Prayers for the Gurung Ghaleg in Nepal.
Profile Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
People Name General | Gurung Ghaleg |
People Name in Country | Gurung Ghaleg |
Alternate Names | Birbangshi; Daduwa; Gurkhal; Gurum; Gurun; Kyi; Manang; Syangja; Tamu; Tamu Kyi; Western Gurung; गुरुंग |
Population this Country | 609,000 |
Population all Countries | 749,000 |
Total Countries | 4 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 2 ● |
Unreached | No |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | |
People ID | 15366 |
ROP3 Code | 110781 |
ROP25 Code | 302893 |
ROP25 Name | Gurung |
Country | Nepal | |||||||||||||||
Region | Asia, South | |||||||||||||||
Continent | Asia | |||||||||||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||||||||||||||
National Bible Society | Website | |||||||||||||||
Persecution Rank | Not ranked | |||||||||||||||
Location in Country | Approximately 180,000 Western Gurung people live in the Kaski, Syangia and Parbat districts of the Gandaki Zone in central Nepal....Over the last 200 years the Gurung have migrated into surrounding nations. There is a community of Gurung living in the Samtsi District of south-west Bhutan, where they are commonly labeled Nepalis. In India, Gurung communities can be found in the hilly terrain of the South, West and East districts of the state of Sikkim, throughout the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, around the city of Dehra Dun and throughout the Pithoragarh District of Uttar Pradesh. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 | |||||||||||||||
Total States on file | 14 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States |
|
Country | Nepal |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | Not ranked |
Location in Country | Approximately 180,000 Western Gurung people live in the Kaski, Syangia and Parbat districts of the Gandaki Zone in central Nepal....Over the last 200 years the Gurung have migrated into surrounding nations. There is a community of Gurung living in the Samtsi District of south-west Bhutan, where they are commonly labeled Nepalis. In India, Gurung communities can be found in the hilly terrain of the South, West and East districts of the state of Sikkim, throughout the Darjeeling District of West Bengal, around the city of Dehra Dun and throughout the Pithoragarh District of Uttar Pradesh.. Source: Peoples of the Buddhist World, 2004 |
Total States | 14 |
Gandaki 296,000 | |
Bagmati 92,000 | |
Narayani 51,000 | |
Lumbini 45,000 | |
Kosi 36,000 | |
Mechi 30,000 | |
Bheri 17,000 | |
Dhaulagiri 12,000 | |
Rapti 7,800 | |
Sagarmatha 7,000 | |
Janakpur 6,500 | |
Mahakali 3,100 | |
Karnali 2,500 | |
Seti 2,100 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
76.54 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
5.01 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
13.76 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
4.59 %
|
Unknown |
0.09 %
|
* From latest Nepal census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Gurung (327,000 speakers) | |||||||||||||||
Language Code | gvr Ethnologue Listing | |||||||||||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||||||||||||||
Total Languages | 27 | |||||||||||||||
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) |
|
Primary Language | Gurung (327,000 speakers) |
Language Code | gvr Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 27 |
Secondary Languages (only 15 largest shown) | |
Nepali 180,000 | |
Nyeshangte 3,700 | |
Kham, Western Parbate 3,200 | |
Lhowa 1,800 | |
Tibetan, Central 1,500 | |
Bantawa 1,300 | |
Dotyali 1,100 | |
Jumli 900 | |
Bhujel 900 | |
Hyolmo 500 | |
Chamling 500 | |
Lepcha 500 | |
Sherpa 400 | |
Musasa 300 | |
Phangduwali 300 | |
People Groups | Speaking Gurung |
Primary Language: Gurung
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1972-2010) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1982-2020) |
Bible-Complete | No |
FCBH NT (www.bible.is) | Online |
YouVersion NT (www.bible.com) | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name | Source |
---|---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching | Global Recordings Network |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | God's Story video | God's Story |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Gurung | Jesus Film Project |
Film / Video | World Christian Videos | World Christian Videos |
General | Faith Comes By Hearing - Bible in text or audio or video | Faith Comes by Hearing |
General | Gospel resources links | Scripture Earth |
General | YouVersion Bible versions in text and/or audio | YouVersion Bibles |
Mobile App | Android Bible app: Gurung | YouVersion Bibles |
Mobile App | Bible app direct APK download | SIL |
Mobile App | iOS Bible app: Gurung | YouVersion Bibles |
Text / Printed Matter | The Ancient Path | Live Global |
Photo Source | Timothy Two Project International |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | Peoples of the Buddhist World, Asia Harvest Copyrighted © Used with permission |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |