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कुमाऊंनी, कुमयी | |
|---|---|
| Regions with significant populations | |
 India (Kumaon) | 2.2 million* (2011 census)[1] |
| Languages | |
| Kumaoni | |
| Religion | |
Majority HinduismMinority[2] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| otherIndo-Aryans,Khas people,Garhwali people | |
*The population figures are only of the number of speakers of the Kumaoni language. May not include ethnic Kumaonis who no longer speak the Kumaoni language, but other languages. | |
Kumaonis, also known asKumaiye andKumain (in Nepal),[3] are anIndo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speakKumaoni as their first-language and live mostly inKumaon division in the state ofUttarakhand inIndia.
Kumaoni is also used as a term for people who have their origin in Kumaon. The wordKumain is a direct derivative of Kumaoni.[4]
WorshippingVishnu andShiva is predominant in this region. According toSkanda Purana. Kumaon is believed to be the birth place of Kurma avatar of Hindu god Vishnu.[5]
TheKurmanchal kingdom was a medieval kingdom of Kumaon. it was established by Vasudeo Katyuri. Its capital wasBaijnath. It was one of the oldest Himalayan kingdoms, unified most of the Himalayas, and extended fromSikkim in the east toKumaon in the west at its peak. After the fall of the kingdom, it was divided into eight princely states. The next ruling clan of Kumaon were theChands. The dynasty at its peak controlled theTons to theKarnail river. Kumaon was one of the few countries ofSouth Asia that were never ruled or conquered by any Muslim dynasties.[6]
There was widespread opposition to British rule in various parts of Kumaon. The Kumaoni people, especially from theChampawat District, rose in rebellion against the British during theIndian Rebellion of 1857. Under the leadership ofKalu Singh Mahara, many Kumaonis also joined theIndian National Army led bySubash Chandra Bose during theSecond World War.[7]
In Nepal there are castes ofBrahmins who migrated from Kumaon to Nepal during the medieval period. They are now characterized as 'Kumain Bahun' or 'Kumai Bahuns'.[3]
UNESCO designated Kumaoni as language in theendangered and unsafe category which requires consistent conservation efforts.[8]
Various attires are worn in Kumaon.
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Pichhaura is a traditional attire of Kumaoni women, generally worn for religious occasions, marriage, and other rituals. Traditionally handmade using vegetable dyes, pichhauras are available in red and saffron. Local designs made in Almora, Haldwani and other parts of Kumaon usesilk and accessories made ofpearl. It is now made using machines.[9]
Kumaoni men wear the black Kumaoni cap. White Kumaoni caps are worn during festivals, especially, duringKumaoni Holi.
After harvesting season people mostly relax, rejoice, dance and sing, and thus a festival is generated. At the transition of the sun from one constellation to anotherSankranti is observed. Each Sankranti has a fair or festival connected to it somewhere in Kumaon. Fooldeyi, Bikhauti,Harela, Ghee Sankranti, Khatarua, Ghughutiya are the most-observed Sankranties throughout the region. Other festivals have the bearings in the moon and thus the dates change frequently in the Gregorian Calendar.Basant Panchami, Shiv Ratri,Saton–Athon,Kumauni Holi, Uttarayani,[10] Samvatsar Parwa,Ram Navami, Dashra, Batsavitri,Rakshabandhan, Janmastmi, Nandastmi, andDeepawali are some of the auspicious occasions.[11]
Dasshera festival starts in Kumaon with the performance ofRamlila, which is itself unique as it is based on the musical rendering of thekatha or story ofRama based on the theatrical traditions set byUday Shankar while on his stay inAlmora. These traditions were further enriched byMohan Upreti and Brijendra Lal Sah. Known as the Almora or Kumaon style, Ramlila has been recognised byUNESCO as one of the representative styles of Ramlila in India.[12] The 150-year-oldKumaoni Ramlila was declared as the longest running opera in the world by UNESCO.[13]
Chholiya is popular dance in Kumaon region. It is the oldest folk-dance of Uttarakhand.[14]Jhoda and Chanchari are other folk dances of Kumaon.
Kumaoni theatre, which developed through its 'Ramleela' plays,[15] later evolved into a modern theatre form through the efforts of theatre stalwarts likeMohan Upreti and Dinesh Pandey and groups like 'Parvatiya Kala Kendra' (started by Mohan Upreti) and 'Parvatiya Lok Kala Manch'. Besides this the famous Hindi poet,Sumitranandan Pant also hailed from Kausani, district Bageshwar.
Kumaoni food is simple and comprises largely of vegetables and pulses. Vegetables likepotato (aaloo),radish (mooli), colocacia leaves (arbi ke patte,papad),pumpkin (kaddoo),spinach (palak) and many others are grown locally by the largely agrarian populace and consumed in various forms.
In 2011, the census reported a total of 2,081,057 Kumaoni speaker in India, constituting 0.17% of the country's population.[17]
As per 2011 Indian census, there were 1,981,062 (95.19%) Kumaoni speakers in theKumaon division.[17]
There is a large Kumaoni diaspora in other states as well as outside India. However, due to the usage and acceptance of Hindi as their mother tongue, many Kumaonis do not list the Kumaoni language as their mother tongue. Hence there is an absence of data number of ethnic Kumaonis living outside Kumaon.
Source:[17]
| State | Kumaoni speakers(2011) | Percentage of Kumaoni Population |
|---|---|---|
| Delhi | 32674 | 1.57% |
| Garhwal | 30224 | 1.4% |
| Uttar Pradesh | 11059 | 0.53% |
| Haryana | 4427 | 0.21% |
| Maharashtra | 3582 | 0.17% |
| Rajasthan | 3223 | 0.15% |
| Punjab | 2560 | 0.09% |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 2096 | 0.1% |
| Himachal Pradesh | 1746 | 0.08% |
| Gujarat | 1284 | 0.061% |
| Madhya Pradesh | 1133 | 0.054% |
| Manipur | 1127 | 0.0541% |
| Chandigarh | 1076 | 0.0517% |
There is a large Kumaoni diaspora in neighbouringNepal, because of Katyuri and Kumaon Kingdom. The actual speakers of Kumaoni in other countries, however, are not known. Though there is a presence of Kumaoni speakers outside India and Nepal, especially in Western countries. The Kumaoni NRIs are again returning to their culture with more awareness and concern about its importance and survival.[18]
| Sino-Tibetan (Trans-Himalayan) |
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| Indo-Aryan |
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| Indo-Aryan of adistinct origin | |||||||||
| Other peoples (M,D,i) ofIndus-Ganga |
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| Immigrants and expatriates |
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