THE YAKHA: CULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT IN ...

not at the material level conceived of by most human ecologists, but at
the symbolic and cultural levels with which social anthropologists are
best equipped to deal.
Notes: Chapter Three
1. An alternative view saw the Yakha, Rai (also called Khambu) and
Limbu as groups once separate which, through intermarriage and other
forms of 'intermixing', were in the process of becoming fused as one
group. According to Morris, the Yakha once claimed to be a separate
tribe, but " there appears now to be no aif ference between Khambus and
Yakkas; and whatever their former status may have been the latter now
definiteiy form part of the Rai tribe1' (1933:85).
2, It is interesting that Holmberg (1989) considers the similarly
broad-based category of ethnic affiliation represented by the word
'Tamangl dates from this time too,
3. Other groups in East Nepal have also adopted the term, for example
the Lohorung Rai (Hardman 1989).
4. It could we1 1 have been members of one these households from
Panchthar whom our sister Kamala told us she had once met in Dhankuta
bazaar when she was a student. She said their language sounded rather
like that of Ankhibhui Yakha. Bista would appear to be misguided in
placing the Yakha predominantly in Terhathum District (1967:38), but
considering the widespread dispersion of the group (as well as tne
frequency of Yakha women migrating into districts such as Terhathum) he
may not be totally in error. One man told me of Yakha who are fol~nd in
Bhojpur district to the west of the Arun, but I was not able to verify
this.
5. The distribution of castes (such as Brahmins and Chetris) and ethnic
groups (such as the Yakha, Tamang, Gurung, Rai, Magar, Sunuwar and
Newer) in Tamaphok pancavat (Maps 4 and 5) appeared to be unusualiy
ward-specific. Only the untouchable Kami and Damai caste groups
appeared to be distributed throughout the panciivat. The distribution,
according to data given to us by the praahBn DB-c and suppiementea by
our discussions with other people, were as follows:
At the top, most easterly end of Maya Khola valiey were the
communities of Madam Singh and Mahabir (wards 1 and 2 respectively),
predominantly Tamang with a few Chetris in both and Magars and Rais
(Khaling Rai and Sampang Rail in ward 2,