Editing Chepang people

{{more citations needed|date=November 2014}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Chepang
| native_name      = चेपाङ
| native_name_lang = 
| image            = Little farmer IMG 2657.jpg
| image_caption    = Chepang children
| population       = 84,364
| total_ref        = <ref>{{cite report |date=2021 |title=National Population and Housing Census 2021, Caste/Ethnicity Report |author=National Statistics Office |work=Government of Nepal |url=https://censusnepal.cbs.gov.np/results/downloads/caste-ethnicity}}</ref>
| total_year       = 
| total_source     = 
| regions          = {{flag|Nepal}}
| languages        = [[Chepang language|Chepang]]{{*}}[[Nepali language|Nepali]]
| religions        = [[Hinduism]] 64.5%{{*}}[[Christianity]] 25.5%{{*}}[[Prakriti]] 9.7%<ref>{{cite report |date=2014 |title=Population monograph of Nepal |volume=II |author=Central Bureau of Statistics |publisher=Government of Nepal |url=https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf}}</ref>
| related_groups   = [[Bhujel]], [[Tibetan people|Tibetans]], [[Mongol people|Mongols]] 
}}
[[File:Chepang Home.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A typical Chepang home in [[Makwanpur District]], Nepal]]
[[File:Chepang Man.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A traditional device used by Chepang to extract oil from [[Chiuri]] seeds]]
The '''Chepang''' ({{langx|ne|चेपाङ जाति}}), also known as Chewang,<ref>https://www.ncard.org.np/categorydetail/chepang.html ; visum 2020-06-10</ref> are a [[Tibeto-Burman]] ethnic group from the rugged ridges of the [[Lower Himalayan Range|Mahabharat mountain range]] of central [[Nepal]].<ref name="Beine 2012">Beine, Caughley and Shrestha. 2012. Chepang Then and Now: Life and Change Among the Chepang of Nepal. Blurb Books.</ref>

With increasing populations, lack of arable land and few irrigation options, [[malnutrition]] has been a historic problem for the Chepang despite forest supplements. The Chepang have often been characterized as the poorest of Nepal's poor.<ref name="Beine 2012"/> Forced teenage pregnancies are common.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-12-14|title=Scores of teen moms in Chepang community|url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/scores-of-teen-moms-in-chepang-community/|access-date=2020-12-22|website=The Himalayan Times|language=en-US}}</ref> Chepang men and women are basically egalitarian and no social ranking exists as it does in caste Nepalese society. Many Chepang cannot read and write due to a lack of education beyond elementary school, and this illiteracy stands in contrast to the great gains Nepal has been making in reducing [[illiteracy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-12-20/children-in-chitwan-deprived-of-education-past-primary-level.html|title = Children in Chitwan deprived of education past primary level}}</ref> They are mostly located in [[Dhading District]], [[Chitwan District]], [[Gorkha District]], [[Makwanpur District]], and [[Tanahun District]].<ref name="nnem"/>

==Geographical distribution==
The [[2011 Nepal census]] classifies the Chepang within the broader social group of Mountain/Hill Janajati.<ref> Population Monograph of Nepal, Volume II [https://nepal.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/Population%20Monograph%20V02.pdf]</ref> At the time of the [[2011 Nepal census]], 68,399 people (0.3% of the population of Nepal) were Chepang. The frequency of Chepang people by province was as follows:
* [[Bagmati Province]] (1.2%)
* [[Gandaki Province]] (0.2%)
* [[Koshi Province]] (0.0%)
* [[Lumbini Province]] (0.0%)
* [[Madhesh Province]] (0.0%)
* [[Karnali Province]] (0.0%)
* [[Sudurpashchim Province]] (0.0%)

The frequency of Chepang people was higher than national average (0.3%) in the following districts:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2018/12/Volume05Part02.pdf |title=2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report |access-date=2023-03-21 |archive-date=2023-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230314170005/https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2018/12/Volume05Part02.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Chitwan District|Chitwan]] (5.0%)
* [[Makwanpur District|Makwanpur]] (4.6%)
* [[Dhading District|Dhading]] (4.3%)
* [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]] (1.3%)

== Livelihood ==
Over the past two or three generations, the Chepang have begun to slowly shift from a semi-nomadic ([[slash-and-burn]]) lifestyle to a more settled way of life, relying increasingly upon the production of permanent fields of maize, millet and bananas. The severe topography, however, has made permanent farming difficult (and usually insufficient), and the forest has remained an important (although decreasingly so) source of food for the Chepang. Historically, the collection of wild yams and tubers, fish caught from nearby rivers, bats and wild birds, and periodically wild deer hunted from nearby forests, have supplemented their need for [[carbohydrate]]s and [[protein]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pandit|first=Bishnu Hari|date=July 2001|title=Non-Timber Forest Products on Shifting Cultivation Plots (Khoriya): A Means of Improving Livelihood of Chepang Rural Hill Tribe of Nepal|journal=Asia-Pacific Journal of Rural Development|volume=11|issue=1|pages=1–14|doi=10.1177/1018529120010101|issn=1018-5291|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Religion==
According to the 2011 Nepal Census, there are almost 70,000 Chepang in the country, of which 65% were [[Hindu]] and 25% were Christian and 10% were animist.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nefin.org.np/indigenous-nationalities/hill-in/34.html |title= NEFIN - Chepang|website=nefin.org.np |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224232655/http://nefin.org.np/indigenous-nationalities/hill-in/34.html |archive-date=February 24, 2012}}</ref> The Chepangs themselves follow [[Animism]], although they are strongly influenced by both [[Hinduism]] and [[Buddhism]], which came from the [[Tamang people|Tamang]]s just north of them. They observe all the Hindu festivals of Dashain, Tihar and Sakranti besides their own tribal festival ''Nwagi'' or ''Chhonam'', which is performed on a Tuesday during third week of Bhadra (some day in August and September). Chhonam is the auspicious day for eating a new crop. Before the celebration of this festival, eating certain agricultural products is prohibited.<ref name="nnem"/>

In the 5th National Gathering of Chepang, 2004, it was stated they practiced Prakriti (Nature), with ancestor worship as most important. They worship many deities including Bhumi, Aita Bare, Gaidu, Namrung (earth deity) etc. They also observe other different festivals like, Maghe Sakranti, Saune Sakranti, Dashain, Tihar.<ref name="nnem">{{Cite web |url=http://nnem.org/?p=336 |title=Indigenous Chepang : NNEM |access-date=2016-01-02 |archive-date=2016-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052523/http://nnem.org/?p=336 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In recent years, many of the Chepang have converted to Christianity.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Chepang people of Chitwan and their conversion to Christianity|url=https://kathmandupost.com/miscellaneous/2016/01/02/the-chepang-people-of-chitwan-and-their-conversion-to-christianity|access-date=2020-12-22|website=kathmandupost.com|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nepal|title=Nepal - The people|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref>

==Language==
The language is also known as [[Chepang language|Chepang]] but is called {{Transliteration|cdm|Chyo-bang}} by the people themselves. These people are also called ''Praja'' meaning "political subjects". The people speak 3 different dialects of this [[Tibeto-Burman language]] that is closely related to [[Raute language|Raute]] and [[Raji language|Raji]], two undocumented languages spoken in western Nepal. [[Chepang language|Chepang]] is one of the few languages which uses a [[duodecimal]] (base 12) counting system rather than the [[decimal]] (base 10).

==2015 earthquake and political crisis==
Chepang are among the most vulnerable due to the combination of [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake]] and [[2015 Nepal blockade]]. More than 50 per cent of the people killed were from marginalised communities ranked low in the [[Human Development Index]] (HDI).<ref name="tamepi"/> Chepang communities were already suffering from severe malnutrition before the blockade,<ref name="tamepi">{{Cite web|url=http://nepalitimes.com/article/nation/April-25-earthquake-Tamang-epicentre,2407|title = The Tamang epicentre &#124; Nation &#124; Nepali Times}}</ref> along with the [[Tamang people|Tamang]]. Due to historic discrimination and neglect and remote communities, Chepang have suffered discrimination even at the hands of the Nepali Food Corporation in charge of emergency food distribution.<ref name="fckp">{{Cite web|url=http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-10-11/food-crisis-grips-chepang-villages.html|title=Food crisis grips Chepang villages}}</ref> It is said that Chepangs compulsorily eat rice during [[Dashain]], where meat is often eaten by more wealthy groups, but they are unlikely to afford even rice this year (2015).<ref name="fckp"/> Hence they are among the most vulnerable ethnic groups facing potential [[population bottleneck]] in the winter of 2015/16 despite their already small numbers.

== External links ==
* [http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2015-12-30/chepangs-in-lothhar-fight-cold-with-donated-clothes.html Chepangs in Lothhar fight cold with donated clothes (photo feature) Kathmandu Post]
* [http://linguistgeek.wixsite.com/thechepanglanguage The Chepang Language - Linguistics research and language documentation -]
* [https://vimeo.com/laurentetviel] Videos on the traditional practices and cultures of the Chepang.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Ethnic groups in Nepal}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Indigenous peoples of Nepal]]