Vansavali or Genealogy is the study of families, family history and the tracing of their lineages. Parshuram Tamang in ‘Tamang Vansavali’ explains the genealogy of Tamangs, living all over the world. It took me a while to read the book, which is written in Nepali, and became my priority for quite some time. So let me get into the basic themes, he has discussed about, concerning Tamang vansavali.
Rui relationship
Among Tamang communities, there exists what is called a Rui sambandha or relationship. In Khas – Nepali language, Rui is also called as ‘Jaat’ or caste. According to Parshuram Tamang, the difference between a Hindu community and a Tamang community lies in the system of segregation among their communities. In a Hindu community, the caste system exists as Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vaishya, and Sudra, and these are further sub divided into numerous gotras. In a Tamang community, further sub division does not exist. In many cases, a Rui has been classified on the basis of a clan, or a tribe, or a family genealogy, paternal relatives, bone relatives, and many more. Nancy E Levine, has classified a Rui relationship into three categories. First, a bone relation. Second, on the basis of a similar clan. And third, on the basis of social stratum.
According to Parshuram Tamang, in a Tamang community, the three categories categorised by Nancy E Levine applies. The bone relationship plays a major role while continuing the family genealogy. According to the Tamang beliefs, bone from the father, as well as the blood and flesh from the mother, develops flesh, and blood, and bones in a child. This can be understood in terms of relationship a Tamang community has among themselves. So as a result, the descendants of these common parentage, wherever they may exist in the world, will be related to each other, as all of them have the same ‘bone’ from the father’s side. They are also known as ‘One bone people’ because they are related by the ‘bone’ of their father. This is also known as ‘haad-nata’ or bone relation.
According to Parshuram Tamang, the importance of Rui relationship in a Tamang Community are many. First, it has an integrating role. Within Rui relationship, there exists bone relationships. So the descendants living in any part of the world will feel a sense of bonding and brotherhood. It is also because of the same reason that marriages among these relations cannot happen, because they consider themselves brothers and sisters. Second, within Tamang communities, there exists a culture of worshipping ancestors or common ancestors. It is also known as ‘Kul puja’. Rui relationship signifies, common ancestry, common ancestral domain, and bone relation.
Tamang and Tibet
In this book ‘Tamang Vansavali’, Parshuram Tamang has presented twenty two clans of Tamang community. Among these clans, only Gyaba or Gyabak clan has shown some kind of relation with Tibet. According to Parshuram Tamang, during the wedding ceremony of Songsten Gampo, the Tibetan King, with a Chinese princess, the Gyabak clans were traders in Tibet. So in time, they entered Nepal and other near territories as traders and businessmen, and ultimately settled. Besides the Gyaba or the Gyabak clan, no other clans has any relationship with Songsten Gampo.
The place of origin
Regarding the origin place of the Tamangs, Parshuram Tamang is of the view that the Tamang community has been migrating from the North to the South. These places are Western Tibet, Shyang-Shung, Mansarovar, areas around river Tsang Po (Brahmaputra), Ye Lung, Gyanak, Mugu in northern Nepal, Mustang, Manang, Kerung, Rasuwa, Rame Chap, and the hilly areas of Bhutan. But due to political demarcation of territories, a new political identity has been created, that is different to a caste or a ‘jatiya’ identity.
According to Parshuram Tamang, off the major clans, Yonzon, Bal, Ghising, and Moktan, the ‘Bal’ clan believes that they belong to ‘Dong’ clan. ‘Dong’ clan is one of the clans among the Tamang community, but is also widely present in Tibet. But in Tibet, ‘Dong’ does not represent a clan, but an entire community.
Some origin stories of Tamang community
According to Parshuram Tamang, there are three origin stories of Tamang community.
According to a Buddhist text, the Tamangs came about due to a relationship between a princess and a monkey. This is the first story.
The second story is about the relationship or sambandha between ‘Dong’ clan and Tamang community. According to this story, Dong Chenpo divided the clans among his children.
The third story traces the origin of Tamang community to Bonpo (Lamaism) religion and tradition.
By,
S. K. Ghising
Reference,
1. Parshuram Tamang, Tamang vansavali (nepali edition)
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