Wishesh Magazine August 2016

”
The Bhotiyas are identified as
Raghuvanshi Rajput and prefer
to be referred as Thakur or
Rajvanshi. The Bhotiyas may be the
original immigrants to north
Oudh in the period of Nawab Asaf-
Ud-Dowlah (1775 to 1797).
”
include the Shauka tribe of
Kumaon, the Tolchhas and
the Marchhas of Garhwal. A
third related group are the
Dzongkha speaking Ngalop,
the main ethnolinguistic
group of Bhutan. The
Bhotiyas are also related to
several dispersed groups
in Nepal and the adjacent
areas of India including the
Tibetans and Sherpas.
Bhotiya marriages are similar
to Hindu weddings. When
the bride’s palanquin arrives
at her husband’s house,
gods are worshiped and then
she is admitted to the house.
Rice, silver or gold is put in
the hands of bridegroom,
which he passes on to the
bride. She places them in a
winnowing fan, and hands
them as a present to the wife
of the barber. This ceremony
is known as Karj Bharna.
A man may have not more
than three wives. The first
wife is the head wife, and
she inherits an additional
one tenth of the husband’s
estate.
The Bhotiyas have distinctive
funerary traditions. Young
children who die of cholera
or snakebite are buried
while others are cremated.
There is no fixed burial
ground and no ceremonies
are performed at the time of
burial. The wealthy keep the
ashes for lowal to several
streams, while others bury
them. After cremation, a
stalk of kusha (grass) is
fixed in the ground near a
tank of water and sesamum
is poured on it for ten days.
This makes it a refuge for
the deceased’s spirit until the
rides are completed.
AUGUST 2016 | WWW.WISHESH.COM