The Hulmi-Khyampas of far western Nepal: A study in ethnogenesis

The Humli-Khyampas of far western Nepal are a little known Nepalese ethnic group. They belong to one of the several Tibetan-speaking communities in the Himalayan belt who are known in the Nepalese language as Bhotyas, a term reflecting their cultural affinities with the Tibetan people. The study of this group's economy and social organisation shows that the Humli-Khyampas are a relatively recent group with genealogies which only go back six generations. Because of this short span of time, the older generation of the Humli-Khyampas retains knowledge of their ancestors who acted as 'founders.' This situation is somewhat unique: the starting point of the Humli-Khyampa ethnic group is recent and verifiable in contrast to that of many other ethnic groups whose beginnings are putative or a matter of legend. This article attempts a historical reconstruction of the Humli-Khyampas through informants' accounts and explores some of the interlocking cultural and economic factors which were involved in the formation of the Humli-Khyampas as a distinct ethnic group. The study is restricted to the empirical problem of the Humli-Khyampas' ethnogenesis - the author's term for the emergence and formation of a new ethnic group - and does not specify broader theoretical implications about ethnogenesis in general.