The name Tamang means "horse trader." They were involved with a long war with their rivals, the Gurkhas, who eventually defeated them. The Tamangs once had forced labor obligations. Their land was divided by clan. They have about 100 clans. Most of the Tamang live in Nepal or India, but there are smaller numbers of them in Bangladesh and Bhutan.
They are generally very poor, yet they enjoy festivals, music and cultural events. They have their own song and dance style called Tamang Selo. These songs can be about sorrow, humor, joy or satire. Their main festival is Sonam Lhochhar. It welcomes the new year in February or March.
The majority of Tamang follow Tibetan Buddhism but mix this heavily with animism and to a lesser extent, with Hinduism. Their priests, or lamas, have a dominant role in the community and perform ceremonies for funerals, etc. Perhaps the most powerful person in society, however, is the shaman, who exorcises demons and interacts with the spirit world.
The Tamang community in India has a significant number of Christian believers. Perhaps these followers of Christ will carry the gospel to their own people in Nepal and Bangladesh.
There are some followers of Jesus today among the Tamang of Nepal. Pray for these, and for those others the Lord will soon bring to himself. Pray they will seek each other out in order to fellowship together. Pray they will be zealous to know Christ and follow his ways. Pray for the entire Tamang community to be able to care well for their families, to find ways to generate income and meet basic needs. Pray for a powerful movement to Christ among the Tamang people.
Scripture Prayers for the Tamang in Bhutan.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Tamang |
People Name in Country | Tamang |
Alternate Names | Eastern Tamang; Ishang; Lama; Murmi; Nishang; Nishung; Tamanglama; तमंग |
Population this Country | 9,300 |
Population all Countries | 2,064,000 |
Total Countries | 3 |
Indigenous | No |
Progress Scale | 1 ● |
Unreached | Yes |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 1 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | 1 |
People ID | 18212 |
ROP3 Code | 102861 |
ROP25 Code | 307900 |
ROP25 Name | Tamang |
Affinity Bloc | South Asian Peoples |
People Cluster | South Asia Buddhist |
People Group | Tamang |
Ethnic Code | CNN25 |
Total Subgroups | 18 (only 15 largest shown) |
Bal 0 | |
Bomyan 0 | |
Bopchan 0 | |
Domjan 0 | |
Dong 0 | |
Grongder 0 | |
Gyapole 0 | |
Jhimpa 0 | |
Lopchan 0 | |
Moklan 0 |
Country | Bhutan | ||||||
Region | Asia, South | ||||||
Continent | Asia | ||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | ||||||
Persecution Rank | 40 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | ||||||
Total States on file | 4 | ||||||
Largest States |
|
Country | Bhutan |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
Persecution Rank | 40 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 4 |
Western 8,800 | |
Eastern 500 | |
Southern 50 | |
Central 20 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
91.61 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
3.59 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
4.79 %
|
Islam |
0.00 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.00 %
|
Unknown |
0.00 %
|
* From latest Bhutan census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Primary Language | Nepali | |||
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing | |||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | |||
Total Languages | 2 | |||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Nepali |
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 2 |
Secondary Languages | |
Tamang, Eastern | |
People Groups | Speaking Nepali |
Primary Language: Nepali
Bible Translation ▲ | Status (Years) |
---|---|
Bible-Portions | Yes (1850-1961) |
Bible-New Testament | Yes (1821-2010) |
Bible-Complete | Yes (1914-2012) |
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 |
Photo Source | Copyrighted © 2023 Kerry Olson All rights reserved. Used with permission |
Map Source | People Group data: Omid. Map geography: UNESCO / GMI. Map Design: Joshua Project. |
Profile Source | Joshua Project |
Data Sources | Data is compiled from various sources. Learn more. |