A grammar of Yakkha, 2015

2.2 Cultural and historical background
Figure 2.4: The statue of the mythical Kiranti king Yalambar in Mudhe Sanischare
2.2.2 The Yakkha
2.2.2.1 Ethnic affiliation
Within Kiranti, the largest subgroups are the Rai and the Limbu. While the Limbu
speak a few very closely related languages, the term Rai is a broad category that
subsumes at least 20 linguistically and ethnically distinct communities.
The Yakkha perceive themselves as closest to the Limbu both culturally and
linguistically (see also Russell (1992: 90)). Marriages between Yakkha and Limbu
are more common than between members of other Kiranti groups. The closest
linguistic relative of Yakkha, however, is not Limbu, but the Belhare language,
since Yakkha and Belhare share some innovations and unique features that are
not found in any other Kiranti language (cf. §2.3 below). The most likely historical
scenario is that the Yakkha have adapted culturally to the Limbu because the
latter have been the economically and socially most powerful group in the region.
Formerly, the Yakkha were also known as Rai (Russell 1992: 90). 14 The Yakkha,
however, stress that they neither belong to Rai nor to Limbu. In line with this, it
14 Russell suggests that the name Rai was used when communicating with outsiders to benefit
from the reputation of those Rai in the British Gurkha regiments. In present times, too, when
talking about my research outside the Yakkha area, I was frequently confronted with the assumption
that the Yakkha are a Rai group.
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