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 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.
* Scripture Prayers for the Tamang in India.
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 in India.
Profile Source: Joshua Project |
People Name General | Tamang |
People Name in Country | Tamang |
Population this Country | 262,000 |
Population all Countries | 1,980,000 |
Total Countries | 4 |
Indigenous | Yes |
Progress Scale | 2 ● |
Unreached | No |
Frontier People Group | No |
GSEC | 3 (per PeopleGroups.org) |
Pioneer Workers Needed | |
Alternate Names | Eastern Tamang; Ishang; Lama; Murmi; Nishang; Nishung; Tamanglama; तमंग |
People ID | 18212 |
ROP3 Code | 102861 |
Affinity Bloc | South Asian Peoples |
People Cluster | South Asia Buddhist |
People Group | Tamang |
Ethnic Code | CNN25 |
Affinity Bloc | South Asian Peoples |
People Cluster | South Asia Buddhist |
People Group | Tamang |
Ethnic Code | CNN25 |
Total Subgroups | 21 (only 15 largest shown) |
Lasa 17,000 | |
Bal 700 | |
Bomyan 700 | |
Bopchan 700 | |
Domjan 700 | |
Dong 700 | |
Grongder 700 | |
Gyapole 700 | |
Jhimpa 700 | |
Lopchan 700 |
Country | India | |||||||||||||||
Region | Asia, South | |||||||||||||||
Continent | Asia | |||||||||||||||
10/40 Window | Yes | |||||||||||||||
National Bible Society | Website | |||||||||||||||
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) | |||||||||||||||
Total States on file | 21 | |||||||||||||||
Largest States (only 15 largest shown) |
|
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Specialized Website | South Asia Peoples |
Country | India |
Region | Asia, South |
Continent | Asia |
10/40 Window | Yes |
National Bible Society | Website |
Persecution Rank | 10 (Open Doors top 50 rank, 1 = highest persecution ranking) |
Total States | 21 (only 20 largest shown) |
West Bengal 170,000 | |
Assam 45,000 | |
Sikkim 35,000 | |
Arunachal Pradesh 4,400 | |
Himachal Pradesh 3,500 | |
Manipur 1,000 | |
Meghalaya 800 | |
Uttar Pradesh 600 | |
Uttarakhand 500 | |
Madhya Pradesh 300 | |
Jharkhand 200 | |
Maharashtra 200 | |
Chandigarh 60 | |
Punjab 60 | |
Telangana 50 | |
Website | South Asia Peoples |
Primary Language | Nepali (120,000 speakers) | ||||||
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing | ||||||
Language Written | Yes ScriptSource Listing | ||||||
Total Languages | 5 | ||||||
Secondary Languages |
|
Primary Language | Nepali (120,000 speakers) |
Language Code | npi Ethnologue Listing |
Total Languages | 5 |
Secondary Languages | |
Tamang, Eastern 108,000 | |
Tamang, Eastern Gorkha 2,500 | |
Bengali 2,300 | |
Hindi 900 | |
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) |
Bible-NT Audio | Online |
Bible-NT Text | Online |
Possible Print Bibles | |
---|---|
Amazon | |
World Bibles | |
Forum Bible Agencies | |
National Bible Societies | |
World Bible Finder | |
Virtual Storehouse |
Resource Type ▲ | Resource Name |
---|---|
Audio Recordings | Audio Bible teaching |
Audio Recordings | Online Audio Scripture |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Online New Testament |
Audio Recordings | Story of Jesus audio |
Film / Video | Following Jesus video |
Film / Video | God's Story video |
Film / Video | Jesus Film: view in Nepali |
Film / Video | LUMO film of Gospels |
Film / Video | Magdalena video |
Film / Video | My Last Day video, anime |
Film / Video | New Way (Naya Goreto) |
Film / Video | Story of Jesus for Children |
Film / Video | The Hope Video |
General | Biblical answers to your questions |
General | Gospel resources links |
Mobile App | Download audio Bible app as APK file |
Text / Printed Matter | Bible: Comic Book Version |
Text / Printed Matter | Bible: Nepali |
Text / Printed Matter | Children and youth resources |
Primary Religion: | Buddhism |
Major Religion ▲ | Percent * |
---|---|
Buddhism |
73.24 %
|
Christianity (Evangelical Unknown) |
6.13 %
|
Ethnic Religions |
0.00 %
|
Hinduism |
20.21 %
|
Islam |
0.25 %
|
Non-Religious |
0.00 %
|
Other / Small |
0.06 %
|
Unknown |
0.10 %
|
* From latest India census data. Current Christian values may substantially differ. |
Photo Source | Ramesh Lalwani - Flickr Creative Commons |
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. Read more |