Gurung people

Gurung
Gurung Ghatu Dance in Tamu Losar festival
Regions with significant populations
Manang, Parbat, Lamjung, Mustang, Gorkha, Kaski, Tanahun, Syangja and Dolpa
 Nepal543,790 (2021)[1]
 India139,000 (above)

USA 17,000 (2023)

UK 75,000 (2023)[2]
Languages
Nepali (Lingua Franca), Gurung (Tamu kyi, Manangi, Mustangi, Loki), Seke
Religion
Buddhism (62,72%), Hinduism (32,18%), Bon (2,32%), Christianity (2,12%)[3]
Related ethnic groups
Tibetan, Qiang, Tamang, Magar, Thakali, Sherpa
Gurung people
Tibetan name
Tibetanཏམུ
Transcriptions
Tibetan PinyinTamu

Gurung (exonym; Nepali: गुरुङ) or Tamu (endonym; Gurung: རྟམུ) are a Tibetan ethnic group living in the hills and mountains of Gandaki Province of Nepal.[4] Gurungs speak Tamu kyi which is a Sino-Tibetan language derived from the Tibeto-Burman language family. The written form of Gurung is heavily dependent on the Tibetan script and history and details related to their culture and tradition is passed on from one generation to the other usually by word-of-mouth.

  1. ^ National Statistics Office (2021). National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report. Government of Nepal (Report).
  2. ^ "Rai-Peoplegrouporg".
  3. ^ Central Bureau of Statistics (2014). Population monograph of Nepal (PDF) (Report). Vol. II page 56. Government of Nepal.
  4. ^ Ragsdale, T.A. (1990). "Gurungs, Goorkhalis, Gurkhas: speculations on a Nepalese ethno-history" (PDF). Contributions to Nepalese Studies. 17 (1): 1–24.