Most Recently Recorded Data on Kusunda Language

Sat Mar 6 15:17:31 UTC 2004

RECENTLY RECORDED MATERIALS  ON THE KUSUNDA LANGUAGE[1]

          The Fifth Harvard Roundtable on
Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia
 Cambridge  MA, USA

May 10 - 11, 2003

 B.  K. Rana[2]

[PROVISIONAL HANDOUT NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

Kusundas, previously foraging people around the Himalayas; believed to be remnants of some broken tribe during the great transitional eras of society are  ‘deemed very precious by all the real students of ethnology  with ethnic facts of high values.’ [Hodgson 1857]. These peoples  are now nearing extinction.

Population 164 in total.  Male 85 and female 79. Speakers 87 [National Population Census Report 2002/www.cbs.gov.np], however, differences persist against the report. After the discovery of Raja Mama [Kusunda] in  February 2000, there is  a reasonable awareness among the  Kusundas. Thus the number seems to have considerably increased than our previous estimate around 50 in total.

Kusunda language is enormously important. It is not yet  fully studied and classified.  Ethnologue declared this language dead in 1985 [http://www.ethnologue.com/country_index.asp]. Below are some of the most recent data on this language.

Agricultural Products:

ipan= maize [ makai (Np)]

sisin=paddy/rice [dhan (Np)]

kharubau = wheat [gahu (Np)

rankumame = millet  [ kodo  (Np)]

gisakala= oat  [jau (Np)]

paizo abok= pulses  [ dal  (Np)]

uthomame = millet  [phapar (Np)]

kapang = turmeric  [ besar (Np)]

waigai = ginger  [ aduwa  (Np)]

began= chili [ khursani (Np)]

olang= sugar  [chini (Np)]

jakau=  a kind of herb with pungent smell [ timmur (Np)

xanthroxylum alatum ( Gk )]

ramkanda=pumkin (pharsi ( Nep)]

lankan = cucumber  (kakro Nep)]

mako=  a part of  arum lily, the root of which is eaten [pidalu ) caladium arumaciae (Gk)]

Caste/Tribal names :

yagambu = Magar [  one of the Janajatis[3] { indigenous peoples} as: Rana,                     Thapa,  Ale, Buda.   Pun, Budhathoki, Roka etc.]

inwak= Brahman/Bahun [Upaddhya, Jaisi]

raksa = Chhetriya /Khas Chhetri/ Thakuri Chhetri

kaubade =   Kami [blacksmith -  Dalit[4] -  untouchable[5] Shudra]

inaurat = Tharu ( the other ethnic people in the Terai of Nepal)

danjila=  Badi [ singer/dancer - untouchable Shudra ]

ignited=  Sarki [ cobbler - untouchable Shudra]

paitawa =   Darjee /Damai  [ tailor -  Dalit untouchable Shudra ]

jantal=  Gaine  [bard -  Dalit untouchable Shudra]

gemyhak =  Thakuri [ King/Raza]

Colors:

kharugan = red

kapangan=yellow

sokchhogaram = black

kairoga=purple

hariwan=green

neelwan=blue

kasigan/kasiki= white

Verbs:

kisagan = to cut

rangu = to get angry

gaman = to eat

aga=  to come

gepanagu = to talk

yuagu = to  sleep

hapagu gaman= to eat[baked]

hulagu   ,,           = to eat [cooked]

dagai = went

tagai = to go

agai = to come

yanagan =  to  defecate

kachhago= to tear

hangnu= to sit

kyuago = to scratch

seago/chimago= to wash

Adverbs:

ping = in front of

angze = above

kujang = less/little

mane/mony = many

malang = slow

siba = fast

easta = near

huntung = far

Adjectives :

hunkai = small

khoyet= dumb

khombogai= insane

puhut= hot

yakhau = cold

uhin = good/nice

kolam =  bad/ugly

Sentences:

1. hampe   nagan ?.

  where       to go ?

2. hampe nugun ?

where [have] you come from ?

 3. nu rangu [ kambukai rangu ?]

    you are angry

4. aaitphera gepanago

again    speak  [tell me]

5. ghasagaman [ghasa +gaman]

cigarette smoking

6. kisagan    lappa      dagai

     cut         blood      went

7. gelong ja put agan

    jungle  fire   [smoke]  came

8. malang      anin

    slow   do not [be]

9. siba            aga

    quick    come [you]

10. nulumbuagan

       nu lumbu + agan

      men  fight     start

11. ipan khaugo

      maize  bake [to]  prepare popcorn

Some Observations:

1) ipan  (maize), sisin, (paddy), kharubau (wheat)  etc. in Kusunda cannot be found in  other TB languages .

2)   Kusundas have their own words  for a particular group of peoples in their neighborhood. However,  some other  group of peoples  also have such names for example : katha or katte for Brahmins,  khas or khasiya for Chhetriyas, kode  for Newars, kiruwa for Rais bhote for most Himalayan peoples. But these are all Nepali words and are for derogative usage.  What is interesting here is  that such Kusunda   words are not for any derogatory meaning.

3) Most Kusunda verbs are found with  ‘ agan, aman, ago, agai,  agu, ugun’ etc. prefixes. These prefixes determine tense of a particular verb as ‘kisa+agan’=  to cut, yan+agan’ = to defecate, ‘ga+man’ = to eat , tu+gun = come [V3 or past participle], ta+gai to go  [base or V1], da+gai[goV2 or past ], da+gan = going [progressive or + ing form] etc.

4) Color  words for  red and yellow have ‘agan’ prefix as ‘kharugan = red’ and ‘kapangan = yellow’ and ‘wan’  for green and blue as  in ‘hariwan’ and’neelwan’. These ‘hariwan and neelwan’ have Sanskrit roots.

Annex 1:  Origin Story of Kusundas[6]

1. /hancaa?i cinda mong-andi daahat gitaak ci?nda /

     firstly      that       king-to      three    children  were

2. /taaina?   isyi  naha mong  wa?aaid-ai gidi duguci mizar

then      there  from  king  die -(v)      his  son eldest

mong dhanzigan/

king became.

3. /na mong-a-nun keti kam-ai/

    this king -?- (v) field  work (v)

4. /tainaa  qaadi  ug-uo-da/ waaci watudan/

     then     paddy come up not, bushes grew

5. /qapiraa       mahi             mudadi-g-ai  aambugatan wet-uoda/

    and         water buffalo   milk- he- (v)         milk        come not.

    /qapiraa   mudada-ai    uyu      watan/

    and          milk - (v)       blood   come-out.

6. /qapiraa gidaa-nun iyan-da zingia arzigan/

    and           he -(p)         leg -on    oil         rub

7.  /paasidai naatu mihaa? waad-ai/

          black       like     man      come-out -(v)

8. /mizut                        manzala-nun aa?-zi/

      younger (brother)  second - (p) say -(v)

9.  /mam      nu    natan   kamanan anu-n-na

       brother   you     whatever   work   do- you - ?

     wein  ag-uoda/

     good      is not.

10.  /nu   raaza  daanzi-nu yi?aaninu/

         you  king    remain  you  can not

11. / nu  gilong  dazi haau-nu yotata?a-zi pa?adaan-zi/

       you  forest  live    go -you    beg-(v)        hunt- (vi)

12. /taina gilong-da mihaa? isyi naha ugi/

      then      jungle -in  man    there   from come

13. /manzala         paalo ugan raaza gua/

        second  son     turn     come king  be

14. /manzala kaam   agandan kanianzi wein agan/

       second son work   done         all        good  become

15. /sambaga manzala raaza git baha dambagan/

       thus  second son        king he    firm   got

16.   mong-nun candi puza  agandan

         king      Chandi   worship done.

*****

---------------------------------

[1]  This handout is in sequel to my paper presented to the Fourth Harvard Roundtable on Ethnogenesis of South and Central Asia - May 11 -13, 2002 [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu./~witzel/kusunda.htm, http://vedavid.org/rana] ,http://nepalresearch.org/publications/kusunda_materials.pdf. This work is not completely accomplished. We need more time to fully understand the language.

[2] This   handout includes most recently recorded materials from the field [ April 16 - 23, 2003]

however, some other from the paper mentioned above can be found in it

Saturday, May 10, 2003

[3]   Janajatis are those peoples who have their own mother tongue and culture but who  do not fall in the four fold Hindu caste hierarchy of Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaisya and Shudra. His Majesty’s Government of Nepal  has recognized 59 different  Janajatis  in Nepal . Kusunda is one of them.

[4] The peoples of Indo-Aryan descent, language and culture: who fall in Shudra category within Hindu caste hierarchy ,are generally known  as the Dalits of Nepal. ( Please see Ambedkar ). The government has recognized 21 different Dalits in Nepal. Dalits , more specifically,  are ‘dehumanized, exploited, oppressed  and suppressed ‘in the  contemporary societies. Literally Dalits suggest - ‘ground people’ between social mortars, sunken in swamps’ metaphorically and coming out of which is difficult  and grudging, if not impossible.

[5] There is a need for clarity as to what Dalit means in current context. It was the Muluki Ain (Civil Code 1854) that gave a legal basis to caste hierarchy in Nepalese society. The first category grouped ethnic/caste groups as 1) Water Acceptable, and 2) Water Unacceptable or Untouchable. The Water Acceptable were sub-categorized as:

a)       Thread-wearer,

b)       Non-enslavable Matawali and

c)        Enslavable Matawali

Matawali literally means alcohol drinkers and can be equated with tribal ethnic or Janajatis. The Water Unacceptable were also sub-classified into two: (a) Water purification unnecessary, and (b) Water-purification necessary. The Country Code or Muluki Ain (1854) was revised in 1963 but the democratic Constitution of 1990 labels Nepal as Hindu Kingdom and untouchability remains a fact of every day discrimination. The Country Code did not have the words such as a Dalit and Janajati, which are frequently in much currency. The word Dalit has been commonly used to refer to the Water Unacceptable or impure or Untouchables.

[6] ‘A Preliminary Linguistic Analysis and Vocabulary of the Kusunda Language’ by  Johan Reinhard and Sueyoshi Toba, Summer institute of Linguistics, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. September 1970

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