The objective of the paper is to report on the personality structure of the Gurungs, a preliterate group traditionally inhabiting the mid-western hilly region of Nepal and to compare findings with those reported by other investigators in other cultures.
Modal personality is a concept developed in psychological literature on national character and refers to the most frequently occurring and relatively stable personality characteristics and behavioural patterns among the adult members of a specific cultural group.
One hundred Gurung adults between the ages of 20 and 91 were individually tested using the Rorschach (inkblot) test. The subjects were drawn from Lamjung, Tanahu, Gorkha, Rumjatar and Chitwan. Gurungs belong to the upper northern reaches of the Himalayas, at the foothills of the Annapurna, Lamjung Himal and Himal Chuli, of the Gandaki Zone. They belong to Tibeto-Burman stock of Mongoloid race, known for their ethnic cohesion, and they live in remote and relatively inaccessible areas. Apart from the native Gurungs, this sample also includes eastern Gurungs of Rumjatar, the Terai- migrated Gurungs of Sharada Nagar, Chitwan. The sample includes males and females, literate and illiterate, educated and preliterate respondents from rural and remote areas.
